Information AboutLake Van |
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photo]] Lake Van ( in Turkey , located in the far east of the country. It is a saline lake of volcanic origin with no outlet, receiving water from numerous small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. The lake is 120 km long, 80 km wide, has an area of 3,755 Km&2 and is located 1 719 metres above sea level. The outlet of Lake Van was blocked at some time during the Pleistocene , when Lava Flows from Nemrut volcano blocked westward outlet towards the Mus Plain. Now dormant Nemrut Dagi is close to the western shore of the lake and another dormant Stratovolcano Suphan Dagi dominates the northern side of the lake. Lake Van's waters are rich in Sodium Carbonate and other Salt s which are extracted by evaporation and used as Detergent s. Darekh , a species of Herring caught during the spring floods, spawns near the mouths of streams feeding the lake and is the only Fish that can survive in the Brackish Water s. The lake is surrounded by Fruit and Grain -growing Agricultural areas. CULTURAL HISTORY The lake was in the centre of Urartian Kingdom from about 1000 BC and capital of Urartu, Tushpa , was on the shore of Van (approximately on the site of Van City ). Later the land around lake was ruled by Armenians. Along with lake Sevan (in today's Armenia ) and Lake Urmia (in today's Iran ), Van was one of the three great lakes of the Armenian Kingdom, referred to as ''the seas of Armenia ''. On several islands in the lake, remains of Armenian churches and monasteries can be found, many of which were destroyed under Turkish and Kurdish rule. The best preserved are of a church of the Holy Cross from the tenth century located on Akdamar Island and of an eleventh century monastery on Arter . Other important sights were created by Kurd ish rulers of the area, such as Van Kalesi (castle) on the eastern shore. The city of Van is located on the eastern shore of the lake. Lake Van is also the origin of the popular Turkish Van breed of Cat , noted for among other things its unusual fascination with water (a very rare trait among cats, who generally dislike being immersed in water). Since about 1995 there have been reported sightings of a 'Lake Van monster' about 15 metres in length. Unal Kozak, a teaching assistant at Van University, has interviewed about a thousand people who claim to have seen the monster, and has written a book on the subject. Sceptics point out that the region would benefit from tourist revenue and a hoax might attract visitors.1 RAILWAYS The railway connecting Turkey and Iran built in the 1970s uses a Train Ferry on Lake Van rather than tracks built around the rugged shore line. Transfer from train to ship and back again limits total carrying capacity. REFERENCES SEE ALSO |
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