The Yedigöller National Park (, "seven lakes") also known as Seven Lakes National Park is located in the northern part of

Bolu Province Bolu Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in north-western Turkey, between the capital, Ankara, and the largest city in the country, Istanbul. Its area is 8,313 km,2, and its population is 320,824 (2022). The capital city of the pr ...

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 ...

. The park is categorized under

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

II and was established in 1965. The park is best known for the seven lakes formed by

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

s and for its profusion of plant life.

Geography

The park is located at an elevation of in Mengen district in the north of Bolu Province and to the south of

Zonguldak Zonguldak () is a List of cities in Turkey, city of about 100 thousand people in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Zonguldak Province and Zonguldak District.Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

region. Established in 1965, it encompasses an area of . There are seven lakes in the park which were formed due to landslides. The seven lakes are Büyükgöl, Deringöl, Seringöl, Nazlıgöl, Sazlıgöl, Incegöl and Küçükgöl. Several streams flow through the park some of which have handcrafted bridges across them and a small water fall. The park is located between

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and

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 ( ...

. Access is from the Yenicaga road, from the Ankara – Istanbul highway. During the winter the alternate road is only from the Yenicaga – Mengen – Yazicik road. It is to the north of Bolu. Kapankaya mountain peak is within the park and provides a vantage location to view the scenic beauty of the park. It is accessible all through the year. The park also has trekking paths and camps to stay, in the form of tents, caravans, rest houses and bungalows. There are also hot springs in the park, and the ski centers here are well known in Turkey. The specific studies related to

Saprobic Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ...

values of decayed organic matter of the park indicate a range between oligosaprobic and beta-mesosaprobic status. The water quality of the streams in the park is classified as Class I and II.

Flora

The vegetation consists of

beech tree Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted species i ...

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

s, elms, hazel nuts,

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...

s, lime trees, black pines and Scotch pines.

Fauna

Wildlife within the park includes, but is not limited to,

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

, roe deer,

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

jungle cat The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat and swamp cat, is a medium-sized cat native from the Eastern Mediterranean region and the Caucasus to parts of Central, South and Southeast Asia. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, ...

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

s and squirrels. As result of better protection conditions in the park the population of animals has increased. The park has an exclusive protected area for deer. A

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

farm has also been established in the park. New insect species '' Ephemeroptera'' identified in the park are ''Ecdyonurus starmachi,'' ''Paraleptophlebia cincta,'' ''Caenis martae,'' and ''Baetis lapponicus.''

Gallery

File:Yedigöller Cnyt.jpg, Yedigöller File:Bolu Yedigöller tabiat parkı şelale.jpg, Yedigöller waterfall File:Bolu Yedigöller Milli Parkı'ndan bir görünüm. Sonbahar dönemi. Sarı yapraklar ve yansımalarla.jpg, A view from Bolu Yedigöller National Park in the Autumn. File:TR Yedigöller asv2021-10 img10.jpg, The Seven Lakes' valley of Yedigöller National Park, Turkey. Photo shows Nazlıgöl (Coy Lake). File:TR Yedigöller asv2021-10 img02.jpg, Yedigöller mountain range File:TR Yedigöller asv2021-10 img20.jpg, Landscape in the highland part of Yedigöller National Park, Turkey File:TR Bolu district asv2021-10 img1.jpg, View of Çukurören village between

Bolu Bolu is a city in northern Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province and of Bolu District,Bolu Province Bolu Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in north-western Turkey, between the capital, Ankara, and the largest city in the country, Istanbul. Its area is 8,313 km,2, and its population is 320,824 (2022). The capital city of the pr ...

. File:TR Yedigöller asv2021-10 img08.jpg, Scenic overlook terrace in the highland part of Yedigöller National Park

References

Bibliography

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yedigoller Bolu Lakes of Turkey National parks of Turkey Landforms of Bolu Province Tourist attractions in Bolu Province Protected areas established in 1965