Endorreic Basin: What is, how their evolution and examples are formed,

An endorrheic basin is a geographical region where rainwater and rivers that flow in it do not reach the seabut they accumulate in lakes, lagoons, or infiltrates the ground, often forming salty bodies or swampy areas.

This occurs because the ground of the basin is surrounded by mountains, hills, or reliefs that prevent water from moving Towards rivers that lead to the ocean. These types of basins are found in arid or semi -arid regions, where evaporation is high and rainfall is scarce, which often gives rise to the formation of salares or salty lakes.

Endorheic basins are formed over millions of years due to the interaction of several geological and climatic factors. The formation of these basins generally involves tectonic processes, erosion, and sedimentation. They usually arise in areas where tectonic activity has generated depressions or sinking In the earth’s crust, such as closed valleys or basins surrounded by mountains. These formations prevent water from draining towards the sea.

As the rain and rivers erode the mountains and transport sediments to the basin, these materials accumulate in the background, creating sediment layers They can form soils rich in minerals. Over time, the basin can be deepened or expanded, depending on erosive and sedimentary processes.

In arid or semi -arid regions, the lack of exit to the sea combined with a dry climate means that evaporation exceeds precipitationwhich contributes to the concentration of salts and minerals in the bodies of water that are formed within the basin.

The evolution of the endorrheic basins follows several steps:

• Sediment accumulation: Over time, the continuous arrival of sediments can make the basin be filled partially, altering its shape and volume.
• Salinization: In many cases, the bodies of water in endorrheic basins become increasingly salty due to constant evaporation, which increases the concentration of salts.
• Climatic changes: The evolution of an endorheic basin is also influenced by long -term climatic changes.
• Human activity: Human intervention, such as prey construction, water extraction or agriculture, can significantly alter the natural evolution of an endorheic basin.

Endorheic Basins in Asia

Asia houses several notable endorrheic basins, some of which are the largest and most important in the world due to their size, biodiversity, and unique geological characteristics:

• Caspian Sea Basin: It is between Eastern Europe and Western Asia, bordered by Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan.
• Aral Lake Basin: Between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, in Central Asia.
• Tarim Basin: In the autonomous region of Xinjiang, in northwestern China.
• BALKHASH Lake Basin: in southeast of Kazakhstan.
• Dead Sea Basin: between Israel, Jordan and Palestine. It is the lowest point of the earth’s surface, and its waters are extremely saline, approximately 10 times more salty than those of the ocean.

Endorheic Basins in Oceania

In Oceania, although the continent is known for its diverse and varied climate, it also houses some interesting endorheic basins, mainly in Australia:

• Lake Eyre Basin: In the center of Australia, in the state of South Australia. It is the largest endorrheic basin in Australia and one of the world’s largest.
• Torrens Lake Basin: Also in South Australia, northwest of Lake Eyre.

Endorheic Basins in America

In America, there are several endorheic basins distributed in different regions of the continent, from North America to South America:

North America:

• Great salty lake basin: In the state of Utah, United States.
• Death Valley Basin: In the state of California, United States.
• Lake Chapala Basin: In the states of Jalisco and Michoacán, Mexico.

South America:

• Uyuni Salar Basin: In southwest Bolivia.
• Altiplano Basin: in the Altiplano region, between Bolivia and Peru.

Antarctic Endorheic Basin

Antarctica, despite being an extremely cold continent and covered with ice, also has endorheic basins. These basins are unique due to the extreme conditions of the continent and, for the most part, they consist of subglacial lakes or lakes in dry valleys that do not drain into the ocean:

• Lake Vostok basin: EE finds under the ice layer of Eastern Antarctica, near Vostok station.
• Dry McMurdo valleys: It is in the dry valleys region of McMurdo, near the Costa del Mar de Ross.

Endorheic basins in Africa

Africa has several endorheic basins, many of which are in arid and semi -arid regions:

• Chad Cuenca: in the Sahel region, northeast of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
• Chott the Djerid Salar Basin: In southern Tunisia.

Endorheic basins in Europe

Europe, although it is a better known continent for its rivers and seas, also has some interesting endorheic basins:

• Lake Neusiedl basin: It is located on the border between Austria and Hungary.
• Trasimeno Lake Basin: It is in the Umbría region, Italy.

The main difference between an endorheic basin and an exorreic basin lies in the way in which surface waters drain and their final destination:

• Endorheic Basin: The water of an endorheic basin is retained inside the basin and generally ends up evaporating or infiltrating. This often results in bodies of water with high salinity, such as saline or salt lakes. Endorheic basins are usually found in arid or semi -arid regions, where evaporation exceeds precipitation, which contributes to the accumulation of salts and minerals in water bodies.
• EXORREICA BASIN: It is an open drain system where the waters flow to an ocean, sea or large lake that has a way out of the sea. Most rivers and basins in the world are exorreic. The water of an exorreic basin flows to the sea or the ocean through rivers, streams or lakes that drain in larger bodies of water with exit to the ocean. Some best -known examples are: the Amazon basin (it flows into the Atlantic Ocean), the Nile Basin (flows into the Mediterranean Sea), and the Rin basin (it flows into the North Sea).

Now that you know what an endorheic basin is, we recommend you read this article about the hydrographic basins: what are, types and importance.

If you want to read more articles similar to Endorreic Basin: What is, how their evolution and examples are formed,we recommend that you enter our category of other environment.