Talk:Chott el Djerid

Any reference sources re the mirage-like illusions experienced in the Chott El Djerid?

I think this article would be improved if it could mention of the extraordinary visual illusions which regularly occur in the Chott El Djerid but I don’t know any Wiki-approved reference sources. When we crossed the Chott El Djerid many years ago, I certainly saw vivid illusions. Our Tuareg guide told us that these Chott El Djerid illusions are substantially different from classic heat-produced desert mirages. This was in December, quite cold there, and there were multiple bands of glistening wet land across the salt-lake which made the horizon insubstantial. It may be the latter which disrupts your distance perception so that what are probably really modest-size stones fairly close to you appear as large flying objects at a distance. As we drove across, I saw airships, boats and hordes of horsemen moving towards us at speed, then suddenly disappearing. Several of us simultaneously said we saw a seaside village in the distance – then it vanished too. I see there are some mentions of seeing ‘mirages’ in TripAdvisor postings about the Chott El Djerid. But I remember the Tuareg guide saying that we were witnessing a different, cold weather phenomenon, one which was familiar to travellers across this salt lake. If anyone can find an authoritative reference source re this phenomenon, this would surely be a helpful addition to the article. Carlwark (talk) 21:03, 17 October 2024 (UTC)