Turkey - Lake Tuz Special Environmental Protection Area (SEPA)

The Lake Tuz SEPA was declared by the Decision of Cabinet of Ministers numbered 2000/1381 dated 14.09.2000. The Lake Tuz protected area is within the borders of three provinces namely, Ankara, Konya, and Aksaray. The Lake Tuz is the second largest lake in Turkey after Lake Van which is mainly fed by undergroundwater. Being a tectonic originated site, the area is located in a closed large basin called Konya basin. On the average, the depth of Lake Tuz is below 0.5 m., surrounded by Kızılırmak (East), Obruk (South), Cihanbeyli (West), Haymana (North) plateaus. The area is poor in inflowing rivers due to its location in the least rain fall receiving part of the country. The surface area of the lake reaches to 164 200 Ha in spring. The altitude of the lake is 905 m. In summer, dry period dominates which results in the formation of a salt layer about 30 cm by means of excessive evaporation in the lake. It is one of the most salty lakes of the world as the density of water equals to 1-22.5 cm /g, i.e. salt ratio of 32.4%.This feature brings an economic value as well, of which 70% of salt used in Turkey is produced from Lake Salt. The surface of the edges of the lake looks like an empty planet in which many visitors can perceive some oasis on the horizon. Over there a white layer covering the steppe plants mimics some sculpture shapes of the fine arts in nature.