Lake · Iran
Lake Urmia
Lake Urmia is a large salt lake in Iran and the biggest lake that lies entirely inside the country. In recent years it has shrunk a lot, and in dry years only a small part of it holds water.
Picture credit: Alexandros.Papadopoulos (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Solmaz Daryani (CC BY-SA 4.0) · M karzarj (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Lake Urmia?
Countries on its shores: Iran.
Middle of the lake: 37.70° N, 45.37° E
The story behind it
When it is full, Lake Urmia is about 140 km long and covers up to about 6 000 km². It lies between the cities of Urmia and Tabriz, at about 1 275 metres above sea level. Many rivers flow into it, but none flows out, so its water is very salty. Brine shrimp live in it, and flamingos and pelicans come to eat them. The lake once had about 102 islands; as the water sank, many of them became joined to the land. Since 2008 a bridge and a long causeway have crossed the lake. The lake has also been a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 1976. Because of drought, dams and pumping of groundwater, the lake had shrunk to a tenth of its old size by 2017, and in 2025 it had almost completely dried up. After rain in early 2026, the water rose to its highest level in five years.
Find it on the globe
Lake Urmia is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
How big is Lake Urmia?
When it is full, Lake Urmia covers between about 5 200 and 6 000 km² and is about 140 km long. In dry years it becomes much smaller, and in 2025 it had almost dried up.
Why did Lake Urmia shrink?
Years of drought, dams on the rivers and the pumping of groundwater meant that less water reached the lake. By 2017 it was only a tenth of its former size.
What lives in the salty water of Lake Urmia?
Tiny brine shrimp live in the lake. They are food for flamingos, pelicans and many other birds that rest or breed there.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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