Lake Urmia

Lake Urmia fills a broad inland basin in Azerbaijan, surrounded by mountains and watered by rivers with no outlet to the sea. Its water is intensely saline, yet brine shrimp and algae support flocks of flamingos, pelicans and other waterbirds. Islands rise above the lake, and wetlands fringe its shores. Persian tradition identified it with the legendary Lake Chechast, where Kay Khosrow sacrificed to Anahita.