Lake Van

Lake Van
From space, 2000
Lake Van
Location	Armenian highlands Western Asia
Coordinates	38°38′N 42°49′E / 38.633°N 42.817°E / 38.633; 42.817
Type	Tectonic lake, saline lake
Primary inflows	Karasu, Hoşap, Bendimahi, Zilan and Yeniköprü streams[1]
Primary outflows	none
Catchment area	12,500 km2 (4,800 sq mi)[1]
Basin countries	Turkey
Max. length	119 km (74 mi)
Surface area	3,755 km2 (1,450 sq mi)
Average depth	171 m (561 ft)
Max. depth	451 m (1,480 ft)[2]
Water volume	642.1 km3 (154.0 cu mi)[2]
Shore length1	430 km (270 mi)
Surface elevation	1,640 m (5,380 ft)
Islands	Akdamar, Çarpanak (Ktuts), Adır (Lim), Kuş (Arter)
Settlements	Van, Tatvan, Ahlat, Adilcevaz, Erciş
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Van (Turkish: Van Gölü; Armenian: Վանա լիճ, romanized: Vana lič̣; Kurdish: Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey and Kurdistan.^[3][4] It lies in the far east of Turkey in the provinces of Van and Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake, receiving water from many small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. It is one of the world's few endorheic lakes (a lake having no outlet) of size greater than 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi) and has 38% of the country's surface water (including rivers). A volcanic eruption blocked its original outlet in prehistoric times. It is situated at 1,640 m (5,380 ft) above sea level. Despite the high altitude and winter averages below 0 °C (32 °F), high salinity usually prevents it from freezing; the shallow northern section can freeze, but rarely.^[5]