Lake Urmia (Persian: دریاچه ارومیه, Daryache-ye Orumiye, Azerbaijani: اورمو گؤلو, Armenian: Ուրմիա Լիճ, "Urmia Lij"; ancient name: Lake Matiene) is a salt lake in northwestern Iran, near Iran's border with Turkey. The lake is between the Iranian 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 mi) length, 55 km (34 mi) width, and 16 m (52 ft) depth. Lake Urmia is protected as a "National Park" by the Iranian Department of Environment.
Read more about Lake Urmia: History, Chemistry, Ecology, Palaeoecology, Islands, Basin Rivers, Protests For Saving Lake Urmia
Famous quotes containing the word lake:
“A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature. The fluviatile trees next the shore are the slender eyelashes which fringe it, and the wooded hills and cliffs around are its overhanging brows.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)