Salda Gölü

Salda Gölü is located within the borders of Yeşilova district, approximately 64 km west of Burdur. It is among Turkey’s deepest, cleanest, and clearest lakes.

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Its elevation above sea level is 1140 meters. Its surface area is 44 square kilometers. The lake is located on the Antalya-Denizli-Pamukkale tour route, where tourism activity is intense in both summer and winter months. It is a tectonic lake surrounded by forested hills and plains. Its depth reaches 185 meters in some places. The Sultan Pınar water on its southern side has made this place a recreation area.

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Salda Gölü is one of the areas where nature is most generous, offering alternative holiday opportunities with its beach, beautiful scenery formed by its turquoise color, clean nature, forests, and camping areas. It is home to many bird species. Salda Gölü offers opportunities for sailing, canoeing, windsurfing, photo safari, lake tours, fishing, underwater diving, swimming, etc.

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Why Is the Sand of Salda Gölü White?

Salda Gölü, located among the Toros Mountains, has white sand because it is very rich in magnesium.

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Features of Salda Gölü

The most important feature that distinguishes Salda Gölü from other lakes is that it has a geobiochemical ecological process suitable for stromatolite formations (white bacterial-origin rocks that began to form in the archaic period and are thought to still be forming). As a result of this process, white hydromagnesite-containing stromatolites have formed on the bottom. Various sources state that these deposits, formed as a result of climate, geological structures, and the interaction of bacteria and cyanobacteria, first began to form on Earth 3,5 billion years ago. In a sense, these formations are accepted as having the nature of the oldest fossils. Today, modern stromatolite formations, which are current examples of these fossils, can be observed in Salda Gölü.

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Many researchers think that understanding the formation mechanisms of stromatolites, which are considered to contain important data on precursor life forms and primitive living conditions, and the geobiochemical factors controlling these processes will provide important information about the origin of life on Earth. On the other hand, many authorities also expect important results about extraterrestrial life from research to be carried out at Salda Gölü. It is reported in current publications that the similarities between the hydromagnesite-containing stromatolites currently forming in Salda Gölü and the carbonate-containing rocks on Mars have also attracted NASA’s attention.

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Salda Gölü and Biological Diversity

In and around Salda Gölü, there are habitats such as wetlands, streams, dunes, coniferous (needle-leaved) forest, woodland, mountain steppe, rocky areas, and agricultural land. The coniferous forest habitats around Salda Gölü surround the entire lake except for the eastern section and consist of red pine, black pine, tall junipers, pure and mixed forests, and in places sparse forests.

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It has been determined that there are 301 aquatic and terrestrial plant species belonging to 81 families in the Salda Gölü Basin. In addition, Salda Gölü, which serves as an important stopover and habitat for water birds in the autumn and winter periods, is home to 38 different water birds.

Sources

Burdur Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism

https://www.saldagolu.gov.tr/saldagolu/ Address: Salda Gölü is located within the borders of Yeşilova district, approximately 64 km west of Burdur