Iran - Lake Urmia
Third largest salt-water lake
in the world, and it is
shrinking.
• Lake Urmia is a salt lake in northwestern Iran, near
Turkey. The lake is between the provinces of East
Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan, west of the southern
portion of the similarly shaped Caspian Sea. It is the
largest lake in the Middle East, and the third largest salt
water lake on Earth, with a surface area of approximately
5,200 km² (2,000 mile²), 140 km (87 miles) length, 55 km
(34 miles) width, and 16 m (52 ft) depth.
• The lake is marked by more than a hundred small rocky
islands, which are stopover points in the migrations of
various kinds of wild bird life (including flamingos,
pelicans, spoonbills, ibises, storks, shelducks, avocets,
stilts, and gulls). The second largest island, Kaboudi, is
the burial place of Hulagu Khan, the grandson of
Genghis Khan and the sacker of Baghdad.
Black Sea
Caspian
Sea
Lake Urmia
Iran
• By virtue of its high levels of salinity, the lake does not
sustain any fish species. Nonetheless, Lake Urmia is
considered to be one of the largest natural habitats of
Artemia, which serve as food source for the migratory
birds such flamingos. Most of the area of the lake is
considered a national park.
• ake Urmia has been shrinking for a long time, with an
annual evaporation rate of 0.6m to 1m (24 to 39 inches).
The lake’s salts are considered to have medical effects,
especially as a cure for rheumatism. Lake Urmia is a
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
1989
2001
Dec. 13,
2009. It is
smaller than
the previous
photos.
Why is this happening here and at the Caspian
Sea, Aral Sea, Great Salt Lake, Lake Chad, etc.?
• Most of these are remnants of much larger inland seas
and lakes formed 10,000 or more years ago when the
continental glaciers were melting at the end of the last
ice age.
• The amount of water flowing in has decreased over the
years because the continental glaciers are gone. Factor
in the decreasing flow of water in and the constant
evaporation rate and the result is shrinkage and
elimination (like the Bonneville Salt Flats – a former
inland sea).
• In many cases, humans have diverted water from the
feeder rivers for irrigated agriculture which further
decreases the amount of water flowing in.
• Global warming may also increase the evaporation rate.