Lake Urmia
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Lake Urmia from space, October 1984 |
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Satellite image of Lake Urmia, taken in November 2003 |
Lake Urmia (
Persian: دریاچه ارومیه) is a
salt lake in northwestern
Iran, in
Iranian Azarbaijan (between the provinces of
East Azarbaijan and
West Azarbaijan), west of the southern portion of the similarly shaped
Caspian Sea. It is the largest lake inside Iran, with a surface area of approximately 5,200 km² (2,000 mile²). At its maximum extent, it is about 140 km (87 miles) long, and 55 km (34 miles) wide. Its deepest point is approximately 16 m (52 ft) deep.
The lake is named after the provincial capital city of
Urmia, originally a
Syriac name meaning
city of water. It was called
Lake Rezaiyeh (Persian: دریاچه رضائیه) in the early
1930s after
Reza Shah Pahlavi, but the lake was renamed 'Urmia' in the mid-
1970s. Its ancient
Persian name was
Chichast. Along with
lake Van and
lake Sevan, it was one of the three great lakes of the
Armenian Kingdom, referred to as the seas of
Armenia.
Lake Matianus () is an old name for
Lake Urmia in
Iranian Azerbaijan. It was known as the Lower Nairi Sea (Lake Van was the Upper Nairi Sea) during the Nairi-Urartu period and as the Lower Armenian Sea after the Armenians displaced the
Nairi. It was the center of the
Mannaean Kingdom, the capital
Hasanlu was on the west side of Lake Matianus. Mannae was overrun by a people who were called
Matiani or Matieni, an Iranic people variously identified as Scythian, Saka, Sarmatian or Cimmerian. It is not clear whether the lake took its name from the people or the people from the lake, but the country came to be called
Matiene or Matiane.
The lake is marked by more than a hundred small rocky islands, which are stopover points in the migrations of various kinds of wild bird life (including
flamingos,
pelicans,
spoonbills,
ibises,
storks,
shelducks,
avocets,
stilts, and
gulls). The second largest island,
Kaboudi, is the burial place of
Hulagu Khan, the grandson of
Genghis Khan and the sacker of
Baghdad, where he had his
treasury.
By virtue of its high levels of
salinity, the lake does not sustain any
fish species. Nonetheless, Lake Urmia is considered to be one of the largest natural habitats of
Artemia, which serve as food source for the migratory birs such
flamingos. Most of the area of the lake is considered a
national park.
The lake is a major barrier between two of the most important cities in Iranian
West Azerbaijan and
East Azerbaijan provinces,
Urmia and
Tabriz. A project to build a
bridge across the lake was initiated in the
1970s but was abandoned after the
Iranian Revolution of
1979. The project was revived in the early
2000s, and is due to finish by the end of
2006.
Lake Urmia has been shrinking for a long time, with an annual evaporation rate of 0.6m to 1m (24 to 39 inches). The lake's salts are considered to have medical effects, especially as a cure for
rheumatism.
Lake Urmia has 102
islands. Their names are as follows:(For a Persian transcription of this list see
this link).
Arezu, Ashk, Espir,
Kabudan, Shahi (Eslami), Espiro, Espirak, Azin, Mehr, Mehran, Mehrdad, Borzu, Borz, Siyavash, Siyah-Tappeh, Tanjeh, Tanjak, Bon-Ashk, Ashksar, Ashku, Chak-Tappeh, Day, Magh, Meydan, Cheshmeh-kenar, Miyaneh, Samani, Azar, Sangan, Sangu, Tak, Jowzar, Jovin, Jodarreh, Sepid, Bastvar, Zirabeh, Bahram, Gorz, Ardeshir, Nahid, Penhan, Shahin, Kenarak, Zartappeh, Khersak, Naviyan, Omid, Garivak, Gordeh, Giv, Kalsang, Golgun, Aram, Panah, Kariveh, Zagh, Meshkin, Sahran,
Pishva, Kam, Kameh, Sorush, Sorkh, Shabdiz, Nakhoda, Kuchek-Tappeh, Tus, Borzin, Arash, Atash, Siyah-sang, Karkas, Shurtappeh, Navi, Nahoft, Shush-Tappeh, Iran-Nezhad, Shamshiran, Mahdis, Kakayi-e Bala, Kakayi-ye Miyaneh, Kakayi-e Pain, Takht, Takhtan, Markid, Kaveh, Mahvar, Nadid, Kaman, Zarkaman, Zarkanak, Nahan, Bard, Bardin, Bardak, Tir, Tashbal, Sarijeh, Bon, Kafchehnok.
(List from: ''Farahang-e Joghrafiyayi-e shahrestânhâ-ye Keshvar (Shahrestân-e Orumiyeh), Tehran 1379 Hs).
Lake Urmia is a
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.[
1]
