Lake Urmia National Park Photo Gallery

Lake Urmia National Park is situated in northwestern Iran between the two provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan. It is the largest lake inside Iran and the second largest salt lake in the world after the Dead Sea. Major basin rivers of this hyper saline lake are Cheqtoy Chay (Zarrineh Rood),Tatao River(Simineh Rood), Gadar, Barandouz, Shahr Chay, Nazlou and Zola.
The basin area of Lake Urmia National Park is 51876 km², 3% of the total area of the country. With fertile plains like those of Khana (Piranshahr) (Salmas), Urmia (Urmiye), Tabriz, Azarshahr, Maragheh, qoshachay(Miandoab), Savoojbulagh(Mahabad), Sulduz (Naghadeh) and Oshno (Oshnavieh), it is one of the important and active regions of the country for agriculture and animal husbandry.
Lake Urmia National Park is the largest permanent water basin in Western Asia, situated west of the Iranian Plateau. The Lake Urmia National Park is one of the richest, most attractive natural fauna habitats in Iran, second only to the Anzali lagoon. At present, the Lake Urmia wildlife consists of 27 species of mammals, 212 species of birds, 41 species of reptiles, 7 species of amphibians and 26 species of fish.
The Lake Urmia National Park is marked by 102 islands, all of which have been registered as World Biosphere Reserves by the UNESCO. Ashik (Ashk) Island is the natural habitat for an array of magnificent migratory birds including flamingos and shelducks, as well as some animal species such as the famous Iranian yellow deer. The lakeside mud has been known to have curative properties effective on joint aches and women’s ailments.