Lake Ağgöl
| Lake Ağgöl | |
|---|---|
| Location |
Aghjabadi Rayon Imishli Rayon |
| Coordinates | 40°0′0″N 47°40′1″E / 40.00000°N 47.66694°ECoordinates: 40°0′0″N 47°40′1″E / 40.00000°N 47.66694°E |
| Type | Floodplain, Eutrophic lake, wetland |
| Primary inflows | underground waters from river Araz, Ajinohur |
| Catchment area | Endorheic basin |
| Basin countries | Azerbaijan |
| Surface area | 56.2 km2 (21.7 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 0.8 m (2 ft 7 in) |
| Max. depth | 2.5 km (1.6 mi) |
| Water volume | 44.7 million cubic metres (1.58×109 cu ft) |
| Islands | two (2) islands of 10 ha (0.10 km2) covered with reed |
| Designated | 21 May 2001 |
Ağgöl (meaning "White Lake" in Azerbaijani) is a large salty lake in Kur-Araz Lowland, Agjabadi and Imishli raions of southeastern part of Azerbaijan. It is the second largest lake of Azerbaijan and one of about 450 lakes of the country. Ağgöl is considered one of the most important habitats in Azerbaijan as well as in Caucasus. Located in Ağgöl National Park, it is a part of the wetland system which is an important location for migrating birds, especially for globally endangered species stopping-over and breeding at Aggöl.
Ağgöl is believed to be one of the seven lakes which were created as a result of a major earthquake in Ganja on September 25, 1139, when huge block of Mount Kapaz collapsed blocking the path of rivers thus creating a beautiful lake Göygöl and seven other smaller lakes: Maral-gol, Jeyran-gol, Ordek-gol, Zalugolu, Aggöl, Garagol and Shamligol. The further formation of the lake was also due to landslides. Origins of the lake are connected to Araz and Kura rivers as well as rivers originating in Karabakh Plateau. The water flowing in from Araz enriches the lake with chlorides and has high mineralization. It is argued that throughout the ages, the rivers have flooded the area creating depressions and then refilled them with water. Before the 20th century, Ağgöl was already partially fed by drainage waters from irrigated fields. The volume of water in the lake had fluctuated in the past when it faced being dried out in single years and when it reached very high volumes of water in other years. When the Mingachevir dam was built in the mid 20th century, the water regime in the Mil steppe and Kura-Araz lowland changed. From 1960, the water to the lake inflowed only from saline water collectors built in the region to drain irrigation waters. In the present, the lake is fed by "K-2" and "K-3" collectors. Some areas around the lake have been used as pasture grounds. Other areas were transformed into irrigated agricultural lands used to grow cotton, wheat, lucerne, vegetables and wine.
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Wikipedia