(also Siwah), a group of oases in the northern Libyan Desert, in Egypt. Siwa is situated 20-30 m below sea level in a depression approximately 60 km long and approximately 16 km wide. It abounds in small lakes and salt marshes (solonchaks). Its population numbers approximately 5,000. Siwa is linked with the Mediterranean and the Nile Valley by highways and caravan routes. Date palms, barley, and legumes are cultivated, and salt is extracted from the lakes. [23–1015–]