The main pride of Turkey and its main resort is the greatest and world-famous Lake Van. This unique reservoir, very beautiful and with extraordinary nature around it, arose many years ago and is distinguished by the fact that it is the only soda lake of this size in the world. And in the top "Non-drying s alt lakes of the world" it takes an honorable 4th place.
Besides the fact that the water in the reservoir is very s alty, it also contains a lot of sodium s alts, in particular, soda, because of this, the water in the lake resembles a soap solution in its composition and, by the way, washes things perfectly. Of course, people are happy to use the benefits 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 resulting avalanche flow, which had a length of more than 60 km, blocked the outflow of water from the Van basin to the 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.long-extinct volcanoes. Scientists believe that after some time Lake Van will begin to decrease and, probably, will 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 Tigris River basin.
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 itself is 3574 km². It has a rather unusual shape, somewhat similar to 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.
It has an incredibly huge number of small and very beautiful islands, and the largest and most famous island of Lim lies in the northern part of the reservoir. No soda lakes in the world can compare with 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-Deresi on the north side of the reservoir, and Karashu and Michinger on the east. They feed Lake Van. It is quite remarkable that at the mouths of these rivers the water in the lake is fresh, despite the fact that the total salinity of the water (taken from the very bottom) is 67%, which 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 melting snow nearlying mountains and prolonged spring rains. By July, the water level reaches its maximum.
Experts say that the water of Lake Van is much he althier than the Dead Sea precisely because of its unsurpassed chemical composition. Tourists and people living near the reservoir even treat diseases such as arthritis and rheumatism with it.
Climate
Due to its high location on the lake, fairly mild weather conditions have been established. In winter, it is not as cold here as in other regions of Turkey, and in summer there is no intense heat. Surrounded by a ring of mountain peaks, it is completely protected from strong winds, so Lake Van is always calm, there are no unrest here, it is always quiet here.
For its part, lake water of such a large volume also significantly softens the climate around it. This makes it possible to grow a huge number of heat-loving fruit trees in this area. Therefore, stunning apple, peach and olive orchards bloom along the shores of the lake, creating a complete sense of magic and some kind of unreality of what is happening.
Due to the high concentration of s alt, the water in the lake practically does not freeze, except perhaps in the area of small areas on the northern side of the reservoir. In summer, the temperature near the surface rises to +20 ° C, in winter it cools down. But at a depth of more than 50 meters throughout the year, the water temperature does not change, keeping at +3 °C.
Miracles
The water here is extremely saturated with carbonate, sulfate and sodium chloride, which makes it absolutely unsuitable fordrinking and uninhabitable fish. But, surprisingly, Lake Van boasts the most unique fish, the only one that can live in its halls, and you will not find it anywhere except on this lake. This fish is called the pearl mullet, and it belongs to the cyprinid species, however, its appearance resembles more of a herring. The fish thrive in both fresh and s alt water with a s alt concentration of up to 23%, but spawns only in the mouths of rivers and streams flowing into the lake, where there is fresh water.
And the area of Lake Van is famous all over the world for the rarest breed of cat that lives here. Her main difference is that she simply loves to swim and is absolutely not afraid of water. And her eyes are most often of different colors - blue and green. Here is such an unusual cat.
Turkish Lake Van is truly one of the most unusual places in the world and definitely worth a visit. It is distinguished by its incredible beauty and unique beneficial properties.
