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The Medjerda River (), the classical Bagradas, is a river in North Africa flowing from northeast Algeria through Tunisia before emptying into the Gulf of Tunis and Lake of Tunis. With a length of , it is the longest river of Tunisia. It is also known as the Wadi Majardah or Mejerda ().
The Gulf of Utica was formed during the postglacial transgression about 6,000 years ago. Over time, fluvial deposits from the Medjerda gradually filled up the northern part of the gulf. The succession of events during historical times has been inferred from ancient documents and archaeological evidence.
Besides morphological ground observations, aerial and satellite photographs have been used to analyze how the landscape has evolved over the past 3,000 years. The gulf's southern part was filled up in late ancient times. The sea gradually withdrew from the northern part during the Middle Ages and modern times. The Ghar el Melh lagoon is the last vestige of what used to be the Utica gulf.
Following the last big flood in 1973, the Medjerda shifted, once again, its course. It now flows through a canal originally dug to evacuate the overflow of flood waters.Ameur Oueslati, Faouzia Charfi & Fadhel Baccar, La basse vallée de Oued Majerda et la lagune de Ghar El Melh, projet WADI
A strategic resource, it was fought over and settled many times by the Carthaginians, Ancient Rome, Vandals, Byzantine Empire, Arabs, and the Ottoman Turks. Several major cities were founded on or near it, including Utica, Carthage, and eventually Tunis. The former ports of Utica and Ghar el-Melh (Rusucmona or Porto Farina) were eventually closed by the silting of their harbors.
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