[[!redirects qanat]] ## Idea ## A _**qanat**_ is an underground irrigation system fed by springs or groundwater. They are common throughout the Middle East, and they can be found all the way from the Gobi Desert to Spain. They have different names in different cultures: in Berber Arabic, they're called _foggara_; in Persian, _qarez_; in Spanish, _acequia_, and in Turkish, _qanat_. <div align = "center"> <img src = "http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/diary/irrigation/daoudi_falaj.jpg"> </div> Above is an image created by [Sue Hutton](http://www.suehutton.co.uk/) showing a cross-section of a _qanat_ in Oman. Structures of this type collect water in the rock, sand, and gravel aquifers at the edges of the mountainous region in northern Oman. They run underground for kilometers, and emerge at oases. In Oman they are also known as _dawoodi_ or _iddi falaj_. Besides its use in irrigation, a _qanat_ can also be used together with a [[windcatcher]] to cool a building without using any electrical power. Many _qanat_ in Iraq were destroyed during the American invasion. ## References ## You can read more about _qanat_ here: * [Qanat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qanat), Wikipedia * Richard Covington, <a href = "http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200603/the.art.and.science.of.water.htm">The art and science of water</a>, _Saudi Aramco World_, May/June 2006. * Sylvia Volk, <a href = "http://www.iras.ucalgary.ca/~volk/sylvia/qanat.htm">Building a better <i>qanat</i></a>, in her website <a href = "http://www.iras.ucalgary.ca/~volk/sylvia/Asia.htm">Pages of Asia</a>. * Nizwa.net, <a href = "http://www.nizwa.net/agr/falaj/">The traditional aflaj irrigation system</a>. * John Baez, [Diary](http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/diary/august_2008.html#august31.08), 31 August 2008. category: natural resources [[!redirects qanat]]