In geology, a chott or shott (; ) is a salt lake in Africa's Maghreb that stays dry for much of the year but receives some water in the winter.  They are formed—within variable shores—by the spring thaw from the Atlas mountain range, along with occasional rainwater or groundwater sources in the Sahara, such as the Bas Saharan Basin.
In geology, a chott or shott (; ) is a salt lake in Africa's Maghreb that stays dry for much of the year but receives some water in the winter. The elevation of a chott surface is controlled by the position of the water table and capillary fringe, with sediment deflation occurring when the water table falls and sediment accumulation occurring when the water table rises.Swezey, C.S., 2003, The role of climate in the creation and destruction of continental stratigraphic records: An example from the northern margin of the Sahara Desert, in Cecil, C.B., and Edgar, N.T., eds., Climate Controls on Stratigraphy: SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) Special Publication 77, p. 207-225. They are formed—within variable shores—by the spring thaw from the Atlas mountain range, along with occasional rainwater or groundwater sources in the Sahara, such as the Bas Saharan Basin.
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The elevation of a chott surface is controlled by the position of the water table and capillary fringe, with sediment deflation occurring when the water table falls and sediment accumulation occurring when the water table rises.Swezey, C.S., 2003, The role of climate in the creation and destruction of continental stratigraphic records: An example from the northern margin of the Sahara Desert, in Cecil, C.B., and Edgar, N.T., eds., Climate Controls on Stratigraphy: SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) Special Publication 77, p. 207-225.