The Gediz Delta is the

river delta A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more ra ...

at the confluence of the

Gediz River The Gediz River ( tr, Gediz Nehri, ) is the second-longest river in Anatolia flowing into the Aegean Sea. From its source of Mount Murat in Kütahya Province, it flows generally west for to the Gediz River Delta in the Gulf of İzmir. Name T ...

with the

Gulf of İzmir The Gulf of İzmir ( tr, İzmir Körfezi), formerly known as the Gulf of Smyrna, is a gulf on the Aegean Sea, with its inlet between the Karaburun Peninsula and the mainland area of Foça. It is in length by in breadth, with an excellent ancho ...

, in

İzmir Province İzmir Province ( tr, İzmir ili) is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey in western Anatolia, situated along the Aegean coast. Its capital is the city of İzmir, which is in itself composed of the province's central 11 distri ...

in western

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. It is a 14,900 ha area of land that occupies coastal parts of

Foça Foça is a town and district in Turkey's İzmir Province, on the Aegean coast. The town of Foça is situated at about northwest of İzmir's city center. The district also has a township with its own municipality named Yenifoça (literally ''"Ne ...

Menemen Menemen is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey and its central town. The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River. Adjacent districts are, from east to west; Aliağa and Foça to the north and ...

, and

Çiğli Çiğli (''Silleon'' in Greek) is a metropolitan district of İzmir in western Turkey. It covers the northern end of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality around the mouth of the River Gediz, across the Gulf of İzmir from the main city. The Gediz de ...

districts. It is one of the largest areas of coastal

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s in Turkey and has a biodiversity of plants and birds. It is a Ramsar site since 1998 and an Important Bird Area since 2000. It is 26 km from

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...

city center.

Flora and fauna

The delta is home to more than 250 bird species and hosts approximately 80,000 birds in winter. It provides shelter for 10% of the world's

flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbea ...

population.

History

Remains of the former Ionian town of Leucae is located on the delta.

Economy

Çamaltı Salt Pan, which is located on the delta, provides one third of Turkey's salt production.

References

{{Ramsar sites in Turkey Ramsar sites in Turkey Important Bird Areas of Turkey Landforms of İzmir Province Landforms of the Mediterranean Sea River deltas of Asia Gulf of İzmir Çiğli District Foça District Menemen District