chott also shott or schott 
(shŏt)
(shŏt)n.
1. The depression surrounding a salt marsh or lake, especially in North Africa.
2. The bed of a dried salt marsh.
[French, from Arabic šaṭṭ, bank, coast, from šaṭṭa, to exceed, deviate; see śṭṭ in the Appendix of Semitic roots.]