Lake Van On Map

Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van and Bitlis. It is a saline soda lake, receiving water from many small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. It is one of the world's few endorheic lakes of size greater than 3,000 square kilometres and has 38% of the country's s…
Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van and Bitlis. It is a saline soda lake, receiving water from many small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. It is one of the world's few endorheic lakes of size greater than 3,000 square kilometres and has 38% of the country's surface water. A volcanic eruption blocked its original outlet in prehistoric times. It is situated at 1,640 m above sea level. Despite the high altitude and winter averages below 0 °C, high salinity usually prevents it from freezing; the shallow northern section can freeze, but rarely.
  • Location: Armenian highlands · Western Asia
  • Primary inflows: Karasu, Hoşap, Bendimahi, Zilan and Yeniköprü streams
  • Primary outflows: none
  • Catchment area: 12,500 km² (4,800 sq mi)
  • Basin countries: Turkey
  • Max. length: 119 km (74 mi)
  • Surface area: 3,755 km² (1,450 sq mi)
Data from: en.wikipedia.org