Lake Eber ( tr, Eber Gölü) is a freshwater

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Afyon Province Afyonkarahisar Province ( tr, ), also called more simply Afyon Province, is a Provinces of Turkey, province in western Turkey. Adjacent provinces are Kütahya Province, Kütahya to the northwest, Uşak Province, Uşak to the west, Denizli Provi ...

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 ...

Geography

The lake is between the district centers of

Çay Çay is a town and district of Afyonkarahisar Province in the Aegean region of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on th ...

Bolvadin Bolvadin (Ancient Greek: Πολύβοτον/Πολύβοτος and Latin: ''Polybotum''/''Polybotus'') is a city of Afyonkarahisar Province in Turkey. It is the seat of Bolvadin District.Sultandağı of Afyon Province. The midpoint is at about . The altitude of the water surface with respect to sea level is . The surface area fluctuates and at times it may be exceed . In past the maximum recorded depth was .

Geology

Lake Eber is a part of Akarçay closed basin, a tectonic basin about . At the conclusion of the last glacier age (

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

) a vast lake was formed in the basin. But after the water level dropped, the lake was fragmentized into two lakes. Lake Eber is at the north west and Lake Akşehir which shares the same history lies at the south east. Presently the distance between the two lakes (nearest points) is about .

Tributaries

The tributaries are rivulets from the

Sultan Mountains The Sultan Mountains ( tr, Sultandağ), also known as Sultan Dagh range or Sultan Dag, is a short mountain range on the western edge of the Anatolian Plateau, Turkey with highest elevation of . The town of Sultandağı is their namesake. They are ...

at the south. When the level increases beyond a certain level the water is fed to the nearby lower level Akşehir lake by a channel (Eber channel).

Ecology

The main plants of the lake are

Typha latifolia ''Typha latifolia'' (broadleaf cattail, bulrush, common bulrush, common cattail, cat-o'-nine-tails, great reedmace, cooper's reed, cumbungi) is a perennial herbaceous plant in the genus '' Typha''. It is found as a native plant species in North a ...

Phragmites australis ''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of plant. It is a broadly distributed wetland grass that can grow up to tall. Description ''Phragmites australis'' commonly forms extensive stands (known as reed beds), which may ...

Lycopus europaeus ''Lycopus europaeus'', common names gypsywort, gipsywort, bugleweed, European bugleweed and water horehound, is a perennial plant in the genus ''Lycopus'', native to Europe and Asia, and naturalized elsewhere. Another species, '' Lycopus america ...

and

Mentha aquatica ''Mentha aquatica'' (water mint; syn. ''Mentha hirsuta'' Huds.Euro+Med Plantbase Project''Mentha aquatica'') is a perennial flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It grows in moist places and is native to much of Europe, northwest Africa ...

. The lake is known for the reed beds. Sometimes the remains of reed beds which detach from the land, constitute floating islands on the lake and may be used by the fishermen. The fish species are

Cyprinus carpio The Eurasian carp or European carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Arkive The ...

Esox lucius The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a p ...

and

Gobio gobio ''Gobio gobio'', or the gudgeon, is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae. This small fish is widely distributed in fresh-water streams and lakes across central and temperate Eurasia. The gudgeon inhabits various fresh-water habitats with ...

. The lake is also known for various

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

Important Bird Area status

The lake was declared by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area in 1989 for its

species of international character and species, which are threatened by hunting, pollution and reed cutting.

Environmental issues

Due to global warming and misuse of water sources, the surface area of the lake is shrinking. The neighbouring Lake Akşehir has been mostly dried up. Up to 1992, the most important problem was water pollution. Although, the lake was declared as Natural Protected Area in 1992, ( tr, SİT) it was reported that the lake had dried out completely in 2018. As of 2020, the water has been reported to be back in the lake.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20101121070845/http://www.guleta.com/turkey/lake/lake_eber.php {{Lakes of Turkey

Eber Eber ( he, , ʿĒḇer; grc-x-biblical, Ἔβερ, Éber; ar, عٰابِر, ʿĀbir) is an ancestor of the Ishmaelites and the Israelites according to the "Table of Nations" in the Book of Genesis () and the Books of Chronicles (). Lineage ...

Landforms of Afyonkarahisar Province Important Bird Areas of Turkey