Lake Van
Lake Van (Turkish: Van Gölü; Armenian: Վանա լիճ, romanized: Vana lič̣; Kurdish: Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the east of Turkey (Turkish Kurdistan) 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.
| Lake Van | |
|---|---|
From space, 2000 | |
Lake Van | |
| Location | Armenian highlands Western Asia |
| Coordinates | 38°38′N 42°49′E |
| Type | Tectonic lake, saline lake |
| Primary inflows | Karasu, Hoşap, Bendimahi, Zilan and Yeniköprü streams |
| Primary outflows | none |
| Catchment area | 12,500 km2 (4,800 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | Turkey |
| Max. length | 119 km (74 mi) |
| Surface area | 3,755 km2 (1,450 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 171 m (561 ft) |
| Max. depth | 451 m (1,480 ft) |
| Water volume | 642.1 km3 (154.0 cu mi) |
| Shore length1 | 430 km (270 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 1,640 m (5,380 ft) |
| Islands | Akdamar, Çarpanak (Ktuts), Adır (Lim), Kuş (Arter) |
| Settlements | Van, Tatvan, Ahlat, Adilcevaz, Erciş |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |