Editing Sudd (section)

==Location==
The Sudd stretches from [[Mongalla, South Sudan|Mongalla]] to just outside the [[Sobat River]] [[confluence]] with the White Nile just upstream of [[Malakal]] as well as westwards along the [[Bahr el Ghazal River|Bahr el Ghazal]]. The shallow and flat [[River delta|inland delta]] lies between 5.5 and 9.5 degrees latitude north and covers an area of {{convert|500|km|mi}} south to north and {{convert|200|km|mi}} east to west between Mongalla in the south and Malakal in the north.

Its size is highly variable, averaging over {{convert|30000|km2|sqmi}}. During the [[wet season]] it may extend to over {{convert|130000|km2|sqmi}} comprising 21% of the country, depending on the inflowing waters, with the discharge from [[Lake Victoria]] being the main control factor of flood levels and area inundation. Since the Sudd area consists of various [[meander]]ing channels, [[lagoon]]s, reed and [[papyrus]] fields and loses half of its inflowing water through [[evapotranspiration]] in the permanent and seasonal floodplains, the complex hydrology has many primary and secondary effects.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sutcliffe |first=J.V. |author2=Parks, Y.P. |year=1999 |location=Wallingford, UK |title=IAHS Special Publication No. 5}}</ref> A major feature of the area is the incomplete [[Jonglei Canal]], which was planned to bypass waters from the Sudd to avoid evaporation losses and increase the amount of water discharged at the outlet of the Sudd.

From 1961 to 1963, a great increase in the flooded area occurred when the level of [[Lake Victoria]] rose, and the outflow increased. The total area of the Sudd is related to the amount of water reaching [[Bor, South Sudan|Bor]] from the [[White Nile#Albert Nile|Albert Nile]] and from torrents or seasonal watercourses that can add substantial amounts to the flow in the upstream end of the Sudd. During the 1960s increase in Lake Victoria discharge, where flows at Mongalla roughly doubled, the flows at Malakal at the northern end of the swamps increased by 1.5 times the previous average flow. As a consequence of these high flows, the areas of permanent swamp and seasonal floodplains have, taken together, increased to 2.5 times their former size. The swamps have increased the most, and the seasonal floodplain is 1.5 times its previous size.<ref name="mefit">{{cite book | last=Mefit-Babtie Srl |title=Development Studies of the Jonglei Canal Area, Range Ecology Survey, Final Report, Volume 2, Background |year=1983 | publisher=USAID PCE-I-00-96-00002-00 |location=Khartoum, Sudan}}</ref>

[[File:Судд.jpg|thumb|Settlement on Sudd flooded grassland]]

From the southern inflow of the [[White Nile#In South Sudan|Bahr al Jabal]] ("Sea of the Mountain") at Mongalla, the defined riverbed successively widens into a floodplain, where the waters flow in meandering river stretches and various channels and lagoons throughout the dry season. With rising water levels it expands over the semi-flooded grasslands during the flood season.

Slightly downstream of Bor, the [[Bahr el Zeraf]] ("Sea of the [[Giraffe]]s") river branches off the Bahr al Jabal to the east, diverting part of the flow, and again joins the Bahr al Jabal just before reaching Malakal. During the course of its flow, the Bahr al Jabal passes [[Lake No]], where the [[Bahr el Ghazal River|Bahr el Ghazal]] ("Sea of the [[Gazelle]]s") connects to the Bahr al Jabal, contributing an inflow with seasonal variation. At Malakal, the Sobat River joins into the system. The combined flows then stream to the north as the White Nile in a defined bed, joining with the Blue Nile waters at Khartoum to form the main Nile.

Sudd was designated as a [[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar Wetland of International Importance]] in 2006. An area of {{convert|57000|km2|sqmi}} was designated.