Lake Van

Lake Van, is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the historic 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 of size greater than 3,000 square kilometres and has 38% of the country's surface water. A volcanic eruption blocked its original outlet in prehistoric times. It is situated at 1,640 m. Despite the high altitude and winter highs below 0 °C, high salinity mainly prevents it from freezing at such times. Specifically, the shallow northern section can freeze, but rarely.