Lake Tuz ( meaning 'Salt Lake) is the second largest

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

with its surface area and one of the largest

hypersaline lake A hypersaline lake is a landlocked body of water that contains significant concentrations of sodium chloride, brines, and other salts, with saline levels surpassing those of ocean water (3.5%, i.e. ). Specific microbial species can thrive i ...

s in the world. It is located in the Central Anatolia Region, northeast of

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

, south-southeast of

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

and northwest of

Aksaray Aksaray () is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Aksaray Province and Aksaray District.

. In recent years, Lake Tuz has become a hotspot for tourists. In October 2021, Lake Tuz temporarily dried up completely due to climate change.

Geography

The lake, occupying a tectonic depression in the central plateau of

, is fed by two major streams, groundwater, and surface water, but has no outlet.

Brackish marsh Brackish marshes develop from salt marshes where a significant freshwater influx dilutes the seawater to brackish levels of salinity. This commonly happens upstream from salt marshes by estuaries of coastal rivers or near the mouths of coastal riv ...

es have formed where channels and streams enter the lake. Arable fields surround the lake, except in the south and southwest, where there is an extensive seasonally flooded salt-steppe. For most of the year, it is very shallow (approx.). During winter part of the salt is dissolved in the fresh water that is introduced to the lake by precipitation and

surface runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow or terrestrial runoff) is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to ''channel runoff'' (or ''stream flow''). It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other ...

(to 324‰

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...

). During the summer the lake dries up exposing an average of 30 cm thick salt layer in August. This mechanism is used as a basis for the process of the salt mines in the lake. The three mines operating in the lake produce 63% of the salt consumed in

. The salt mining generates industrial activity in the region, mainly related to salt processing and refining.

Geology

Formation

Subsidence in the Tuz Gölü Lower Basin occurred during the Upper Senonian-Lower Middle

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

and was followed by a regression that started in the upper

and continued until the end of the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

. During the Upper Senonian-Lower Middle Eocene, the Tuz Gölü Lower Basin formed a single and continuous depression towards the north with the

Haymana Haymana is a municipality and district of Ankara Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,164 km2, and its population is 26,016 (2022). It is 72 km south of the capital, Ankara. Its elevation is 1200 m. Etymology According to the 1074-dated dicti ...

region. The Haymana Basin, which rose after the deposition of the Middle Eocene Nummulitic limestones, separated the Tuz Gölü Basin with a fault zone along the eastern edge of the Karacadağ uplift. The connection of Tuz Gölü with the north-northeast Çankırı basin occurred during the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58graben In geology, a graben () is a depression (geology), depressed block of the Crust (geology), crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults. Etymology ''Graben'' is a loan word from German language, German, meaning 'ditch' or 't ...

bounded by the north-west and north-east fault zones. After the main deformation in the late

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

period, local depositional basins were formed during the Neogene period, and volcanics of varying thickness and terrestrial sediments including lake limestones were deposited in these basins. The Tuz Gölü Basin has been little affected by the recent Alpine compressional movements in the Pliocene. Tension movements that took place in the Neogene and continued until the Pliocene caused volcanic activities dating back to historical times.

Geological structure

In the geological structure of the lake, there is a salt layer of different densities that continues continuously for 1,000 meters. This layer ensures the continuity of salt production around the lake, in other words, it extends the commercial life of the salt industry in the region. In the Tuz Gölü Basin, there is a 10 km-thick stacking with age varying from the Upper Cretaceous to the present. While units such as shale, sandstone, pebble stone and limestone, which generally have flysch character and interact with each other in vertical and lateral directions, were deposited in the deep parts of the basin, it was revealed by the researchers that terrestrial and shallow marine units in the marginal parts were also deposited. Conglomerate and sandstones, which are high energy products, were deposited in shallow marine and terrestrial environments, and shale, limestone, gypsum and anhydrites were formed in calm periods. The basement rock units, Temirözü, Mollaresul formations,

complex and

Kırşehir Kırşehir, historically known as Mocissus or Mokissos () and Justinianopolis () in ancient times, is a city in Turkey. It is the seat of Kırşehir Province and Kırşehir District.

Climate

The basin of Lake Tuz is influenced by cold semi-arid (''BSk'') and

humid continental Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

(''Dsa'' and ''Dsb'') climates. Northern areas of the basin such as Kulu are wetter and show humid continental characteristics, meanwhile more southern areas like

Çumra Çumra is a municipality and district of Konya Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,089 km2, and its population is 67,690 (2022). Geography The town of Çumra is at an altitude of 1,020 m. It is an important stop on the Istanbul to Baghdad railway ...

Aksaray Aksaray () is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Aksaray Province and Aksaray District.

and

Karapınar Karapınar, formerly known as Barta is a municipality and district of Konya Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,623 km2, and its population is 50,323 (2022). Volcanic Karapınar Field is located nearby. Composition There are 42 neighbourhoods i ...

have a steppe climate. The area is generally sheltered from moisture-bearing air masses behind the

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

. The average yearly precipitation in the basin is 324 mm, thus making the region one of the driest in Turkey.

History

In antiquity, Lake Tuz was known as Tatta and was situated on the frontier between

ancient Lycaonia Lycaonia (; , ''Lykaonia''; ) was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), north of the Taurus Mountains. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west by Phrygia and Pisidia, while to th ...

and

Galatia Galatia (; , ''Galatía'') was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (cf. Tylis), who settled here ...

. Initially part of

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...

, the region was later annexed into Lycaonia. Ancient sources described the lake as highly saline, with water so rich in brine that that any substance dipped into it, was immediately encrusted with a thick coat of salt; even birds flying near the surface had their wings moistened with the saline particles, so as to become incapable of rising into the air, and to be easily caught.

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephen of Byzantium (; , ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD) was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethnica'' (). Only meagre fragments of the dictionary survive, but the epit ...

speaks of a salt lake in Phrygia, which he calls Attaea (Ἄτταια), near which there was a town called Botieum, tentatively linked to the modern settlements of

Şereflikoçhisar Şereflikoçhisar (), formerly known as Koçhisar, is a municipality and district of Ankara Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,155 km2, and its population is 33,140 (2022). It is 148 km south of the city of Ankara. Its average elevation ran ...

Eskil Eskil is a town in Aksaray Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, situated on the southern shore of Lake Tuz. It is the seat of Eskil District Eskil District is a district of Aksaray Province of Turkey. Its seat is the town Eskil.< ...

Pre-history

In prehistoric times, Lake Tatta was a vast

freshwater lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

significantly larger than its modern remnant. Numerous rivers fed into and drained from the lake, sustaining a rich ecosystem that dominated the Central Anatolian interior. The surrounding landscape was covered in dense vegetation, creating a fertile environment that supported some of the earliest known civilizations, including the

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...

and other Anatolian people. Archaeological evidence suggests that these early societies thrived along the lake's shores, relying on its abundant water resources for agriculture, fishing, and trade. Following the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

, between 11,000 and 5,000 years ago, the Central Anatolian steppe underwent significant changes. As global temperatures rose, precipitation patterns shifted, and many of the rivers that once sustained Lake Tatta either dried up or changed course. Over time, the lake gradually shrunk, its freshwater supply diminished, and its salinity increased. The once-lush landscape gave way to arid

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

, marking the transformation of the region into its modern semi-arid form. This gradual

desiccation Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic (attracts and holds water) substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container. The ...

not only reshaped the lake but also impacted the civilizations that had once thrived in its proximity. As water sources dwindled, early Anatolian populations adapted by migrating, developing new water management techniques, or integrating into emerging urban centers elsewhere in the region as a part of the

Holocene climatic optimum The Holocene Climate Optimum (HCO) was a warm period in the first half of the Holocene epoch, that occurred in the interval roughly 9,500 to 5,500 years BP, with a thermal maximum around 8000 years BP. It has also been known by many other names ...

demographic shift.

Flora and fauna

In 2001, Lake Tuz was declared a specially protected area, including all of the lake surface and surrounding waterbeds and some of the important neighboring steppe areas. The main Turkish breeding colony of

greater flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. Common in the Old World, they are found in Northern (coastal) and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Subcontinent (south of the Him ...

(''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is present on a group of islands in the southern part of the lake.

Greater white-fronted goose The greater white-fronted goose (''Anser albifrons'') is a species of goose, closely related to the smaller lesser white-fronted goose (''A. erythropus''). The greater white-fronted goose is Bird migration, migratory, breeding in northern Cana ...

(''Anser albifrons'') is the second largest breeder here.

Lesser kestrel The lesser kestrel (''Falco naumanni'') is a small falcon. This species breeds from the Mediterranean across Afghanistan and Central Asia, to China and Mongolia. It is a summer bird migration, migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and someti ...

(''Falco naumanni'') is a common breeder in surrounding villages.

Gallery

File:Lac Tuz (9).jpg, A gift shop near Lake Tuz File:Single Chair 1 - panoramio.jpg, Empty chair at Lake Tuz File:Ankara Tuz Gölü - panoramio.jpg, Lake Tuz at Sunset File:Lake_Tuz_2.jpg, Lake Tuz seen from the road File:Tuz Gölü1.JPG, Tourists visiting Lake Tuz Image:Salt Lake Tuz,Turkey.jpg, In the summer, the salt lake is transformed into a salt flat or playa.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Tuz Tuz, Lake Central Anatolia region World Heritage Tentative List for Turkey Landforms of Aksaray Province Important Bird Areas of Turkey