The 20 largest natural lakes in Turkey
The top 3 according to 6 votes from people: Lake Van · Lake Tuz (Salt Lake) · Lake Beyşehir. (Updated Feb 7, 2025.)
Lake Van, at 3,713 km², is by far Turkey's largest lake, followed by Lake Tuz and Lake Beyşehir, the country's largest freshwater lake. Reservoirs are not included, only natural lakes: the 20 largest by surface area, with their provinces, type of lake and altitude. The area of some lakes in closed basins, especially Tuz and Akşehir, varies greatly with the season and with drought.
Automatically translated (original in Türkçe). See the original
Top 20
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1
Lake Van
3,713 km². Van, Bitlis. Volcanic dam lake, 1646 m above sea level. Turkey's largest lake and one of the largest soda lakes in the world.
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2
Lake Tuz (Salt Lake)
1,500 km². Ankara, Konya, Aksaray. Salt lake, 905 m above sea level. Supplies most of Turkey's salt; it largely dries out in summer.
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3
Lake Beyşehir
663 km². Konya, Isparta. Tectonic lake, 1123 m above sea level. Turkey's largest freshwater lake.
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4
Lake Eğirdir
468 km². Isparta. Freshwater lake, 917 m above sea level.
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5
Lake Manyas (Kuş Gölü)
166 km². Balıkesir. Freshwater lake. Home to Kuşcenneti (Bird Paradise) National Park.
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6
Lake Uluabat
136 km². Bursa. Freshwater lake. A Ramsar site.
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7
Lake Akşehir
353 km². Konya, Afyonkarahisar. Tectonic lake, 954 m above sea level.
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8
Lake İznik
310 km². Bursa. Freshwater lake, 85 m above sea level. The largest lake in the Marmara Region.
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9
Lake Burdur
153 km². Burdur, Isparta. Tectonic lake, 842 m above sea level. A Ramsar site.
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10
Akyatan Lagoon
147 km². Adana. Lagoon. A Ramsar site.
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11
Lake Eber
125 km². Afyonkarahisar. Freshwater marsh, 967 m above sea level.
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12
Lake Çıldır
123 km². Ardahan, Kars. Freshwater lake, 1959 m above sea level.
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13
Lake Erçek
114 km². Van. Volcanic dam lake, 1808 m above sea level.
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14
Lake Hazar
81 km². Elazığ. Tectonic lake, 1248 m above sea level.
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15
Lake Işıklı
64 km². Denizli. Freshwater lake, 816 m above sea level.
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16
Lake Tersakan
64 km². Konya. Tectonic lake, 910 m above sea level.
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17
Lake Mogan
63 km². Ankara. Barrier lake.
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18
Lake Bafa
60 km². Aydın, Muğla. Freshwater lake, 2 m above sea level.
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19
Lake Köyceğiz
52 km². Muğla. Alluvial barrier lake, 8 m above sea level.
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20
Lake Sapanca
46.9 km². Sakarya. Freshwater lake, 33 m above sea level.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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