Van (lake)

In the pre-Urartian period, the Lake Van was called by the Assyrians “the sea of ​​the country of Nairi” (tâmtu ša mât Nairi), and it is likely that the word “Nairi” in the Assyrian language meant “ Hurri ” ^[2] . The Urartian name of Lake Van is not exactly known, however, according to some references to ancient Greek geographers, it is assumed that the Urartians called it “Arseny” ( dr. Greek Αρσηνή , Strabo XI, chap. XIV, 3). In addition, many ancient authors used the name "Tospitis" or "Topitis" ( dr. Greek Θωπι̂τιν , lat. Thospites ), which goes back to the name of the Urartian capital, the city of Tushpa . The same root was preserved by Armenian medieval historians in the form of “Tosp” ( Armenian Տոսպ ) or “Tosb” ( Armenian Տոսբ , Movses Khorenatsi III, 35; Favst Buzand IV, 55, 58 and V, 37), who also used the names “Byznun Sea” ( Armenian Բզնունեաց ծով ) and “ Rshtun Sea” ( Armenian Ռշտունեաց ծով ), by the name of the ruling clans in the lake area - Bznuni and Rshtuni.

The modern name “Van” probably dates back to the Urartian word Biaini (li), which denoted either the state of Urartu itself or its central part ^[3] . The modern name of the lake by the name of the village of Van , and it is from Arm. “Van” - “village, place of residence, inhabited place”; the name of the Van tribe is also mentioned, but it appears to be secondary; “Living on Lake Van” or earlier “residents of Van”. In antiquity there were also the names Ardzhish, Tirrich, Hilat, etc. ^[4]

Lake Van has been mentioned in historical and geographical writings since ancient times. In the ancient period, the geographer Strabo described Lake Van as follows:

There are also large lakes in Armenia . ... there is Arsene, also called Tospitas ^[5] . It contains soda , cleans and restores clothing. However, due to this impurity of soda, the lake water is unsuitable for drinking.

In addition, Strabo, referring to the data of Eratosthenes , argued that the Tiger River flows through the middle of Lake Van (and in this part the lake is fresh), after which it goes underground and reappears in another place ^[6] .

The main geographical problem of this period was the search for water flow from Lake Van and its connection with the Tigris and Euphrates basins . The presence of such a connection was assumed on the basis of a map of the heights of the region and rumors circulating among the local Kurdish population at that time about the connection of these river basins through Lake Van. Some reference publications of that time, including the ninth edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica of 1875-1889, based on these data wrote that “the natives speak of underground channels through which the lake’s waters connect to the sources of the Tigris River”, and that “ Nazik Lake , lying on the watershed , due to a rare phenomenon, sends its waters both to Lake Van and to the Euphrates ” ^[7] . One of the researchers on the pages of an authoritative geographic journal of the time suggested that he had discovered another underground connection between the Euphrates and Lake Van through an opening on the chips of the volcano Nemrut ^[8] . These relationships have remained at the level of speculation and rumors, and from the next revised edition of the British 1910-1911. were excluded. Along with this, during this period, a subsequently confirmed assumption was made that the unusual structure of the watersheds in the region and the very formation of Lake Van is associated with a large eruption of Nemrut volcano ^{[8] [9]} .

A systematic analysis of the depths of the lake was never done during this period; the composition of the lake’s water was also not studied. In the XX century , until the eighties, research on the lake was not carried out, which was mainly due to political instability in the region. The current situation led to the fact that many geographical works and reference books of the 20th century (including the Great Soviet Encyclopedia of the latest edition) made serious errors in estimating the average and maximum depths of the lake, and, as a result, gross errors in estimating its volume. For example, the average depth of the lake was indicated in the range from 6 to 40 meters ^[10] , which is significantly lower than the later established correct figure of 161.2 meters ^[11] .

Lake Van is located in the western part of the basin of tectonic origin, which is surrounded by several mountain systems: the Eastern Taurus in the south, the Kurdish mountains in the east and the Aladaglar ridge in the northeast. Several extinct volcanoes are located in the west and north-west of the basin, including the stratovolcanoes Syuphan and Nemrut . In the Middle Pleistocene era, about 200 thousand years ago, the eruption of the volcano Nemrut formed a lava flow with a length of over 60 kilometers, which blocked the flow of water from the Vanskoy depression to the Mush depression , which belongs to the basin of the nearby Murat River, which led to the formation of the lake. Thus, Lake Van occupies the deepest part of a large basin surrounded by mountains. There is a possibility that after a certain time the erosion of the East Taurus by tributaries of the Botan-Chai River (tributary of the Tigris) forms a new runoff of the lake’s waters into the Tigris basin, and Lake Van will decrease or cease to exist ^[10] .

The area of ​​Lake Van is 3,574 km², which makes it the largest lake in Turkey and the second largest lake in the Middle East (after Lake Urmia ). Locals historically called Lake Van “the sea” ^[10] . Lake Van is located at an altitude of 1648 m above sea level ^[12] , has an irregular shape, remotely resembling a triangle . The width of the lake in its widest part is 119 kilometers. The lake is divided by a narrow strait into a small and very shallow northern part and into a large southern part, where the depths reach 451 meters. The average depth of Lake Van is 161.2 meters, the total volume of water is 576 km³. The shores of the lake are mostly steep. There are many small islands on Lake Van, especially near the coast, and four large islands: Gadir (Lim), Charpanak , Akhtamar and Atrek . Gadir (Lim), the largest island, is located in the northern part of the lake. Charpanak lies on the eastern shore, and the islands of Akhtamar and Atrek are not far from each other on the southern shore of the lake. Not far from Lake Van, there are Lake Nazik (in the northwest, 1870 m above sea level), Ercek (in the east, 1890 m above sea level) and Arin (in the north).

Lake nutrition and water level

Currently, the lake is fed by four small rivers: Bendimaha and Zeylan-Deresi from the north, Karashu and Michinger from the east, as well as spring snowmelt of nearby mountains. The largest of these four rivers, Zeylan-Deresi (Zeylan), originates in the Aladaglar mountains. A reservoir has been formed on the Karashu River.

In addition, Lake Van experiences little-studied large, possibly cyclical, fluctuations in water level, for example, in the nineties of the XX century, the water level in the lake suddenly rose by 2.6 meters, flooding large areas of agricultural land. By 2000, the waters of the lake receded a little. Even the first researchers of the lake drew attention to the terraces along the shores, which indicated that earlier the water level in the lake was 55 meters higher than at present ^[10] . Subsequent studies confirmed that in the middle of the last glaciation, about 18 thousand years ago, the level of Lake Van was 72 meters higher than at present ^[13] . In 1990, an international research expedition worked on Lake Van, which carried out deep-sea drilling and took samples of mineral deposits from the bottom of the lake. One of the unexpected results of drilling turned out to be the fact that Lake Van almost dried up, breaking up into salt puddles about 17 thousand years ago, and then filled again ^[14] . Most researchers associate this event with climate change, although the exact causes of this phenomenon, the possibility of repeated drying out of the lake, and the connection of climate change in the Lake Van region with neighboring regions are still the subject of discussion. Researchers also note the possible similarity of the phenomena that occurred with Lake Van 15-18 thousand years ago, and the phenomena that currently occur with the Dead Sea ^[11] .

Climate

Van Lake is located on the Armenian Highlands , which has a rather severe sharply continental climate . The average temperatures in the center of the Armenian Highlands in July range from +22 to +25 ° C, in January from −16 to −12 ° C. On particularly cold winter days, the temperature in the center of the highlands reaches −45 ° C. Lake Van softens the climate of the surrounding area, so in the city of Van , on the lake, the average temperatures in July are +22.5 ° C, in January −3.5 ° C. The average annual rainfall in the Van Lake Basin ranges from 400 to 700 mm. Due to the climate softened by the lake and artificial irrigation in the coastal areas, despite the altitude of 1700 m above sea level, plants growing in the Mediterranean climate grow and bear fruit in the vicinity of Lake Van: olive tree , apple trees , peaches , pomegranates and other garden crops ^[10] .

Water Composition

The average salinity of the water in Lake Van is 22 ‰, which is lower than the average salinity of sea water, which is 35 ‰, but in the southern part of the lake there are depressions with a depth of over 100 m, where the salinity of the water reaches 67 ‰ ^[15] .

The water of Lake Van also contains calcium carbonate (CaCO ₃ ). The calcium content is about 4 mg / l ^[16] .

Anionic sequence: HCO ₃ ^- · CO ₃ ²⁻ > Cl ^- > SO ₄ ²⁻ . The oxygen content in water is 8 mg / l at the surface, drops to 5 mg / l at a depth of 75 meters, then to 1.5 mg / l at depths of 400 meters ^[16] .

The first traces of a person’s stay in Lake Van area have been known since the Paleolithic . Since Neolithic times, tribes living in the area of ​​the lake have already been engaged in the smelting of metals ^{[18] [19]} . The first state in the area of ​​Lake Van, apparently, was Urartu , which existed here from the XI to VI centuries BC. e. On the shore of the lake, on the site of the modern city of Van during this period was the capital of Urartu, the city of Tushpa . The seventy-kilometer canal, built by the Urartian ruler Menua in the VIII century BC. e. to supply Tushpa with fresh water, it still exists. After the defeat of Urartu from the Assyrians in the VII century BC. e. Urartu gradually declines and ceases to exist in the VI century BC. e. The remains of the buildings with the inscriptions of the Urartian kings Sarduri I , Ishpuini , Menua, Argishti I were preserved in the lake area .

After some time, the ancient Armenian states come to replace Urartu, one of them is the state of Great Armenia , the “country of three seas” (Lake Van, Lake Urmia and Lake Sevan ). Monuments of Armenian temple and fortification architecture have been preserved on the shores of the lake and on its islands. The most famous and well-preserved monument is the Church of the Holy Cross ( arm. Սուրբ Խաչ ), built in the 10th century AD on Akhtamar island. Not far from the north-west coast of the lake is the village of Khatsik (Hatsekats), where in 361 the creator of the Armenian , Georgian and Albanian alphabets Mesrop Mashtots was born.

During the subsequent historical period, Armenia at times gained independence, and at times it became successively under the rule of Parthia and the Roman Empire , and by the 19th century it was part of the Ottoman Empire . As a result of World War I, the Ottoman Empire began to disintegrate, the Young Turkish government came to power, which in 1915-1918 partially evicted, partially destroyed the Armenian population of the region (see. Armenian Genocide ). Currently, the Kurds mainly live in the Van district, there are also Kyrgyz migrated from Afghanistan at the invitation of the Turkish government ^[20] .

In general, the history of the region is full of numerous relocations and conquests, so many historical aspects remain the subject of debate. In addition, according to recent genetic studies, Kurds , Turks and Armenians are very close genetically ^[21] .

Industry is not developed in the lake area; moreover, it is poorly connected with the rest of the country's transport network. Residents of nearby areas are mainly engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding , and in coastal areas - gardening , fishing and salt production .

A ferry line passes along the lake on the railway line connecting the Turkish railway network with the city of Van and further with Iran . The Van ferry runs regularly, on the southern shore of the lake there is a small shipyard .

At the beginning of the 21st century, the Turkish government is making efforts to attract tourists to Lake Van. In 2006, funds were allocated for the reconstruction of the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross , preserved in the area, and ancient Armenian legends about the presence of the Van Monster in the lake ( tour Van Gölü Canavarı ), like the Loch Ness Monster , were activated ^[22] .

• Matveev S.N. Turkey (Asian part - Anatolia). Physico-geographical description. - M. - L .: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR , 1946.
• Darkot, Besim. Geography of Turkey. Publishing House of Foreign Literature, Moscow, 1959
• Hammer UT Saline lake ecosystems of the world, Dr. W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht - Boston, 1986 ISBN 90-6193-535-0
• Warren JK Evaporites: Sediments, Resources and Hydrocarbons, Springer, 2006 ISBN 3-540-26011-0

• Churches and monasteries of Western Armenia - Van district (Neopr.) . WesternArmenia . Archived on August 18, 2011.
• Lake Van . Archived on August 18, 2011.
• Photo archive dedicated to the lake (neopr.) . Archived on August 18, 2011.