Skip to main content
Home

Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center

Main Menu

  • EROS Home
  • Image Gallery
  • Video Library
  • Earthshots
  • Remote Sensing Classroom

Earthshots

  • Earthshots
    • Toshka Project, Egypt
      • The Lakes Form
      • The Lakes Shrink
      • Submerged Dunes
      • Pumping Station
      • Irrigated Fields
  • Download Cards
  • More Information
  • Contact Information
Earthshots Logo

Irrigated Fields A Toshka Project, Egypt story

Agriculture  / 
Deserts  / 
Water
  1. Toshka Project, Egypt
  2. Irrigated Fields
Description

The Landsat images show the appearance of center-pivot irrigation fields near one of the diminishing lakes. As of 2012, however, only about 21,000 hectares of farmland, less than 10% of what was planned, had been cultivated in the region.

The economic viability of this huge project has been unclear. It’s impossible to say exactly how much the Toshka Project has cost so far—estimates of the project’s final cost range up to $70 billion USD.

If more water were to be pumped from Lake Nasser to irrigate hundereds of thousands of hectares of farmland outside the Nile basin, the lake would likely never again spill into the Toshka lakes. However, with much less irrigated farmland than originally planned, excess water from the reservoir could indeed flow again into the Toshka lakes. And it did in late 2019. The animation below uses images from Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 to show the eastern lake filling to capacity—and more—starting in early October.

Will people find enough incentive to move to the area and develop it into a “New Nile Valley”? Landsat will continue to track the status of the Toshka region and its agricultural development.

Toshka Lakes 2019 animation

View Related Imagery & Stories

Location

Dec. 8 and 15, 1989, Landsat 4 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Dec. 8 and 15, 1989, Landsat 4 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Aug. 19 and 26, 2001, Landsat 7 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Aug. 19 and 26, 2001, Landsat 7 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Aug. 19 and 28, 2013, Landsat 8 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Aug. 19 and 28, 2013, Landsat 8 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Aug. 23 and 30, 2017, Landsat 8 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Aug. 23 and 30, 2017, Landsat 8 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

July 3 and 12, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

July 3 and 12, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Dec. 3, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 175/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Dec. 3, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 175/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Mar. 24 and 18, 2021, Landsat 8 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Mar. 24 and 18, 2021, Landsat 8 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Nov. 22 and 29, 2021, Landsat 8 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Nov. 22 and 29, 2021, Landsat 8 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Feb. 9, 10, 2022, Landsat 9, 8 (path/row 176,175/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Feb. 9, 10, 2022, Landsat 9, 8 (path/row 176,175/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Dec. 8 and 15, 1989, Landsat 4 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt
Aug. 19 and 26, 2001, Landsat 7 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt
Aug. 19 and 28, 2013, Landsat 8 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt
Aug. 23 and 30, 2017, Landsat 8 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt
July 3 and 12, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt
Dec. 3, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 175/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt
Mar. 24 and 18, 2021, Landsat 8 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt
Nov. 22 and 29, 2021, Landsat 8 (path/row 175,176/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt
Feb. 9, 10, 2022, Landsat 9, 8 (path/row 176,175/44) — close-up of irrigated fields near the Toshka Lakes, Egypt

Toshka Project, Egypt Additional Imagery & Stories

Pumping Station
Pumping Station

As part of the Toshka Project, a pumping station sends water from Lake Nasser to irrigated fields in the Toshka basin. The Mubarak Pumping Station has...

Read More
Submerged Dunes
Submerged Dunes

These close-ups of one of the larger lakes show how the formation and reduction of the lakes affected sand dunes. Sand dunes became inundated as the ...

Read More
The Lakes Form
The Lakes Form

The Aswan High Dam on the Nile River was completed in 1970 for flood protection and to store water during dry years. The dam formed Lake Nasser, the t...

Read More
The Lakes Shrink
The Lakes Shrink

The only two places for water in this arid region to go are into the air or into the ground. The underlying limestone prevents much ground infiltratio...

Read More
  • DOI Privacy Policy
  • Legal
  • Accessibility
  • Site Map
  • Contact USGS

  • U.S. Department of the Interior
  • DOI Inspector General
  • White House
  • E-gov
  • No Fear Act
  • FOIA