Lake Van

Lake Van (Turkish Van Gölü) is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the far east of the country. It is a saline lake with no outlet, receiving water from numerous small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. The lake is 120 km long, 80 km wide, has an area of 3,755 km² and is located 1719 metres above sea level. Its waters are rich in sodium carbonate and other salts which are extracted by evaporation and used as detergents. Darekh[?], a species of herring caught during the spring floods, spawns near the mouths of streams feeding the lake and is the only fish that can survive in the brackish waters. The lake is surrounded by fruit and grain-growing agricultural areas.

Beside the lake is the city of Van, which was the ancient capital of Urartu.

Sources and external links

• Initial text from NASA Space Shuttle Earth Observations Photography database -- http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/