Lake Van

largest lake in Turkey

AI overview

Lake Van is Turkey's largest lake, located in the eastern part of the country. It is an important freshwater resource for the region and holds significance for local communities and ecosystems.

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Wikidata facts

Area: 3755
Elevation: 1640
Image: Lakevanlandsat.jpeg
Width: 80
Length: 120
Perimeter: 5764

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watershed area: 12500
Commons category: Lake Van
salinity: 23
residence time of water: 145
vertical depth: 171
volume as quantity: 607000

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Article

Lake Van (Turkish: Van Gölü; Armenian: Վանա լիճ, romanized: Vana lič; Kurdish: Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey in the provinces of Van and Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake, receiving water from many small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. It is one of the world's few endorheic lakes (a lake having no outlet) of size greater than 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi) and has 38% of the country's surface water (including rivers). A volcanic eruption blocked its original outlet in prehistoric times. It is situated at 1,640 m (5,380 ft) above sea level. Despite the high altitude and winter averages below 0 °C (32 °F), high salinity usually prevents it from freezing; the shallow northern section can freeze, but rarely.

Hydrology and chemistry