Lake Urmia
The Lake Urmia (Persian دریاچه ارومیه, Daryātscheh -ye Orumieh, Old Persian: Čičast ( dt: Glittering ); Azerbaijani: Urmiye Gölü; Kurdish: Gola Urmiyê ) at the time of the Pahlavi dynasty Rezaieh Lake to Reza Shah, is the largest lake of Iran. On the lake is the town of Urmia. Their name derives from the Syriac -Aramaic words for for " city " and mia for " water ", meaning " city on the water ."
Description
The lake is 140 km long, 55 km wide and has an area of 5470 km ² ( ten times larger than Lake Constance ) with an average depth of only about 7 m. The lowest point is 16 m deep. Its water level is at 1,280 meters above sea level. The salinity of the lake is up to 30 percent, which is about the salt content of the Dead Sea. However, recent measurements from 1999 indicate a salinity 21 to 23 percent. It thus offers virtually no animal and plant species habitat. However, the high salinity defy brine shrimp. The lake has no outlet and forms - like the Van Lake located in Turkey - a huge steppe. Often find salt deposits on its banks. There are 102 islands in it. The lake drains an area of 51,000 km ². The largest tributary is the Zarrine - Rūd, which flows into the lake in the south, followed by Aji Chay, which flows into the eastern part. There are also 13 other major tributaries and other streams. Average takes the lake per year to 6.9 km ³ of water. The lake is one of the endorheischen waters ( does not lead to a sea ). By changing the mini climate and impoundment of the tributaries of the water level drops steadily in recent decades. Currently (as of 2014) has shrunk by more than 80 percent of their original area, the extent of the water surface.
History
In antiquity, the climatic conditions were more moderate than today. The lake, which was then full of fish in the Assyrian sources, as well as the Lake Van " sea of Nairi " is; around him grew oak and juniper trees. These were mostly deforested in the era of Sassanid, to 95 percent. The colonization associated with a low werdendem precipitation led to a deterioration of the microclimate what the lake dry out and let spoil. Some sources are of the opinion that the ancient Persian prophet Zoroaster was born in the vicinity of Lake Urmia. Others write that he came from Bactria.
Special
On the lake situated in Kaboudi Island was in 1265 Hulagu, the Mongol ruler of Iran, buried. The Iranian ruler of the Pahlavi dynasty had there their holiday home.
In the 1970s there were so, a bridge ( Bozorgrah -e Shahid Kalantari 37 ° 47 ' 33 "N, 45 ° 22' 31" O37.79244444444445.375219444444 ) began to build over the lake to the capitals of the provinces of West and East Azerbaijan, Urmia and Tabriz faster to connect. After the revolution in 1979, the building was set (see aerial view 1984), but in 2000 resumed ( see satellite image 2003). The first of the three central steel bridge was opened on 17 November 2008, the opening of the other two bridges was carried out in the next few years.
An area of 463 600 hectares around the lake is classified since 1976 as a UNESCO biosphere reserve, the flamingos and pelicans among others, provides a home, which feed among other things, the crabs from the lake. On some islands grow pistachio forests. On the Kaboudi Island Armenian wild sheep were settled, which then proliferated. When the stock reached about 3000 animals and enormous damage to the vegetation were recorded, two leopards poached you from, in the hope that the big cats would regulate the populations of wild sheep. The Panthers even got at least one cub, but remained unsuccessful and the settlement total since 1984, lost their trail. Meanwhile, every year about 200-500 wild sheep are removed by the park administration. The island also has a population of rare Mesopotamian Damhirschs was reintroduced.
The Lake Urmia in November 2003
Shrinkage of Lake Urmia from 1984 to 2011