Lake Urmia

Lake Urmia is a vast hypersaline lake in northwestern Iran, located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan, not far from the Turkish and Armenian borders. Historically it was the largest lake in the Middle East and one of the largest salt lakes on Earth.

Geography

At its historical maximum, Lake Urmia stretched about 140 km long and up to 70 km wide, covering roughly 5,000–6,000 km² depending on rainfall and evaporation.
The lake sits in a closed basin (an endorheic lake), meaning water flows into it from rivers but has no outlet—water leaves only through evaporation.

More than 100 islands once dotted the lake, many serving as breeding grounds for migratory birds such as flamingos and pelicans.
The water is extremely salty—far saltier than seawater—which allows only specialized organisms like brine shrimp (Artemia) to survive.

A Vanishing Lake

Over the past two decades, Lake Urmia has become one of the world’s most striking environmental disasters.

• Since the late 1990s, the lake has lost around 90% of its surface area.
• By 2017 it had shrunk to roughly 10% of its former size, largely due to drought and human water use.
• Satellite imagery suggests that by 2025 the lake had nearly dried out completely, leaving large salt flats behind.

The causes are a mix of factors:

• damming of rivers feeding the lake
• heavy agricultural irrigation in the basin
• groundwater extraction
• prolonged drought and climate change

The drying lake has also created salt storms that threaten agriculture and human health in nearby cities.

Restoration Efforts

Iran has launched several restoration programs, including releasing water from dams and diverting water from the Zab River basin. Some years have seen partial recovery after heavy rainfall, but the long-term future of the lake remains uncertain.

Why Lake Urmia Matters

Beyond its dramatic visual transformation—from a pink salt lake to expanding white salt flats—Lake Urmia is often compared to the Aral Sea as a warning about water mismanagement. It once shaped the regional climate, supported wildlife, and formed an important cultural landscape for the Azerbaijani-Iranian region.