Sebkha el Melah is a salt lake that has formed in a basin in Béni Abbès Province in southwestern Algeria, to the south of the Atlas Mountains.

The rocky ridge of the Ougarta Range lies to the west and the sand dunes of the Grand Erg Occidental to the east.

The basin has no outflow, and because the source of the water is continental rather than marine, the amount of salt deposited is limited.

Some water infiltrates the clayey ground forming an impervious layer under which is an aquifer, saturated as far as sodium chloride is concerned.

Evaporation of the water in the lake occurs, and after a few months, the sabkha dries up, and a new crust is formed.