Wonderful Lake Van. Turkey

The main pride of Turkey and its main resort is the world's largest and most famous lake Van. This unique pond is very beautiful and with an extraordinary nature around itself arose many years ago and differs in that it is the only soda lake of this magnitude in the world. And in the top "Never-Salting Salty Lakes of the World" takes an honorable 4th place.

In addition to the fact that the water in the pond is very salty, it also contains a lot of sodium salts, in particular - soda, because of this, the water in the lake resembles in its composition a soapy solution and, by the way, it perfectly wipes things out. Of course, people enjoy using the blessings given to them by nature itself, and quite often come to the lake to rinse, and at the same time to improve the body.

Origin

About two hundred thousand years ago the Nemrut volcano woke up, as a result of which the avalanche current, which had a length of more than 60 km, blocked the outflow of water from the Van Basin to Mushskaya, thereby leading to the appearance of a reservoir. Now the lake is located in the deepest part of the basin and is surrounded by high mountain ranges of long-extinct volcanoes. Scientists believe that after a while Lake Van will begin to decrease and, probably, subsequently disappear altogether from the face of the earth. This will happen due to the fact that the expanding erosion of the Eastern Taurus is gradually establishing a new flow of water into the basin of the Tigris River.

Location:

The lake is located in the Armenian highlands - this is the eastern part of modern Turkey. The place where Lake Van is located, is raised to a height of 1648 meters. The area of the lake is 3574 km ². It has a rather unusual shape, something resembling a triangle, and its depth in some places can reach 451 m. This is the most impressive lake in Turkey, with a total water volume of 576 km³.

On it is an incredibly huge number of small and very beautiful islets, and the largest and most famous island of Lim lies in the northern part of the reservoir. No soda lakes of the world can equal it in size. That is why the foundation pit is rightly called the lake-sea.

Features

Four small rivers flow into the lake: Bendimakhi and Zeylan-Derysi on the northern side of the reservoir, and Karashu and Michinger on the eastern side. They feed Lake Van. It is quite remarkable that in the estuaries of these rivers the water in the lake is fresh, while the total salinity of water (taken from the bottom) is 67%, and this is 2 times higher than in the sea. The level of salinity in different parts of the lake varies greatly in concentration.

Also, somewhere from April to June, the reservoir receives an even larger portion of fresh water, replenished by thawing snow near the lying mountains and prolonged spring rains. By July, the water level reaches its maximum level.

Experts argue that the water of Lake Van is much more useful than the Dead Sea because of its unrivaled chemical composition. Tourists and people living near the pond, even treat it with diseases such as arthritis and rheumatism.

Climate

Due to its high location, quite mild weather conditions were established on the lake. In winter it is not as cold as in other regions of Turkey, and in summer there is no strong heat. Surrounded by a ring of mountain peaks, it is under full protection from strong winds, because Lake Van is always calm, there is no excitement here, it's always quiet.

For its part, the lake water of such a large volume also significantly softens the climate around itself. This makes it possible to grow a huge amount of heat-loving fruit trees in this area. Therefore, along the shores of the lake blossom stunning apple, peach and olive gardens, creating a full sense of magic and some kind of unreality of what is happening.

Due to the high salt concentration, the water in the lake practically does not freeze, except in the area of small areas on the northern side of the reservoir. In summer, the temperature at the surface rises to +20 ° C, in winter it cools. But at a depth of more than 50 meters throughout the year the water temperature does not change, keeping at around +3 ° C.

Miracles

The local water is extremely saturated with carbonate, sulphate and sodium chloride, which makes it absolutely unsuitable for drinking and unfit for fish. But, surprisingly enough, Lake Van can boast of a unique fish, the only one that can live in its palaces, and you will not find it anywhere except on this lake. This fish is called a pearl mullet, and it refers to the species of carp, though, it looks more like herring with its appearance. Fish feels great both in fresh and salt water with a salt concentration of up to 23%, but spawns only in the mouths of rivers and streams flowing into the lake, where fresh water is.

And the area of Lake Van is famous all over the world for the rare breed of cat that lives here. Its main difference is that she simply loves to swim and is absolutely not afraid of water. And her eyes are often of different colors - blue and green. This is such an unusual cat.

The Turkish Lake Van is indeed one of the most unusual places in the world, which is definitely worth a visit. It is distinguished by its incredible beauty and unique useful properties.