The Anatolian Plateau, also known as the "Turkish Plateau", is located on the Asia Minor Peninsula in the West Asia region of Asia, mainly in Turkey. The Anatolian Plateau is bordered by the Black Sea to the north, the Turkish Strait (consisting of the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles) to the northwest, Europe to the west and southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west and southwest, and the Armenian Plateau to the east, with a total area of about 500,000 square kilometers.
Reason for the many lakes of the Anatolian plateau
Surrounded by mountains on three sides of the north and southeast, the Anatolian Plateau is open to the west, and the terrain is generally high in the east and low in the west, with an average altitude of between 800 meters and 1200 meters. The Anatolian Plateau is a plateau with many rivers and lakes, the main lakes are Van, Tuz, Khazar, Chelder, Beysehir, Eber, Eridir and Burdur. Among them, Van Lake, located in the eastern part of the Anatolian Plateau, is the largest lake in the region, with a total area of about 3713 square kilometers.
Location map of the Antolian Plateau
Why are there so many lakes on the Anatolian plateau? We know that lakes belong to the category of surface runoff, protecting the lake basin and the water it contains, and it is clear that an area with multiple lakes must have a large number of lake structures, as well as a large number of water bodies that form lakes. Therefore, we look at the situation of the Anatolian Plateau from the above two aspects, first of all, the "lake structure", that is, the depression that can store water on the surface, and the formation of the depression can be an internal force, an external force, and of course, an artificial formation.
Van Lake, Turkey
The Anatolian Plateau is a plateau with large undulating terrain, which is very conducive to the formation of lake basins, because the Anatolian Plateau is located near the demise boundary of the Eurasian Plate, the Indian Ocean Plate and the African Plate, the Eurasian Plate and the other two plates collide and squeeze in the north-south direction, which not only makes the Anatolian Plateau rise, but also makes the Plateau distributed with many folded mountains, of which the southern edge of the plateau is the Toros Mountains, and the northern edge is the Crolu Mountains and the East Cardeniz Mountains (the two mountains are collectively known as the Pantin Mountains).
The position of the Anatolian Plateau in the plate distribution map
Between these mountains, there are sink basins and plains, and these fault basins are surrounded by high and low levels, which are ideal lake structures. At the same time, because the Anatolian Plateau is surrounded by mountains on the north, southeast and north sides, the water on the plateau flows more to the middle of the plateau, which is very conducive to the formation of lakes. The second is the "lake water source", the water of the lakes on the Anatolian plateau mainly comes from atmospheric precipitation, from the perspective of the air pressure belt wind belt, the main precipitation here comes from the prevailing westerly wind belt.
Topographic map of the Anatolian Plateau
The Latitudes of the Anatolian Plateau range from approximately 36° N to 42° N and are influenced by prevailing westerly winds from the Atlantic Ocean during the winter season. At the same time, due to the high terrain of the plateau in the east and low in the west, it is conducive to the prevailing west wind belt to carry water vapor from west to east into the plateau, and the elevation of the terrain increases the precipitation. On the high-altitude mountains in the eastern part of the plateau, there are glaciers that do not change all year round, and the meltwater of glaciers is also one of the sources of water for lakes. Numerous fault basins on the Anatolian Plateau form the basis for the formation of lakes, while richer precipitation and glacial meltwater provide water for lakes.
Lake Tuz