Lake Eymir is a small lake in

Ankara Province Ankara Province ( tr, , ) is a province of Turkey with the capital city Ankara. Demographics History The site of the modern city has been home to settlements by many historic Anatolian civilizations in antiquity and classical times, in ...

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 ...

. According to notes of ''Seyyah Kandemir'' published by the governorate of Ankara in 1932, the lake was named after a Turkmen tribe named ''Eymür''.

Geography

The lake is about south of the

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

city center within the secondary municipality of Gölbaşı at about . The southern shore lies along the ring road of Ankara. The altitude of the water surface with respect to sea level is about . The shape of the lake roughly resembles the letter S. The lake has a surface area of . The length of the lake is approximately , the average width is about . and the circumferential length is about . The deepest point is at (dry season) with an average depth of the lake at (dry season) and (wet season).

Geology

The lake is an alluvial set lake. The main water input is a channel from the nearby

Lake Mogan Lake Mogan ( tr, Mogan Gölü, also called ''Gölbaşı Gölü'') is a small lake in Ankara Province, Turkey. Geography The lake is south of the Ankara city center within the intracity district of Gölbaşı, Ankara, Gölbaşı at about . T ...

, some at the south west. When the level of Lake Eymir increases beyond a certain level, the extra water is discharged to the River İmrahor. During the flood in 1910, Lake Mogan and Lake Eymir temporarily merged.

Near history

According to 1930 travel notes of ''Nahit Sırrı Örik'' the area surrounding the lake was arid land devoid of any green plantation. In 1956, land including Lake Eymir was allocated to the Middle East Technical University ( tr, Ortadoğu Teknik Universitesi, ODTÜ) campus. Now ODTÜ is the only university in Turkey with a lake in the campus area. Immediately after 1956, the first rector of the university Kemal Kurdaş began a forestation project around the lake. Now most of the once-barren land is a pine forest. In 1995, Kemal Kurdas and Alattin Egemen, director of reforestation of the Middle East Technical University, share
the Aga Khan Award for Architecture
for the re-forestation work done on 45 km² area of Middle East Technical University including Lake Eymir and surroundings.

Access

The lake has two entrances to the east and west, and it is open to public. Only cars with a special permit are admitted inside the lake area in order to eliminate the pollution and risk of traffic accidents. However the parking lots located near both entrances are free for use. For public use, there is a transportation services at the door to recreational areas.

References

{{Lakes of Turkey Eymir Landforms of Ankara Province Central Anatolia Region Middle East Technical University