TUZ, LAKE

Turkish Tuz Gl, saline lake occupying a depression in the dry central plateau of Turkey, 65 miles (105 km) northeast of Konya. It lies at an elevation of 2,970 feet (905 m). For most of the year this very shallow (36 feet ) and saline lake has an area of about 580 square miles (1,500 square km). Normally about 50 miles (80 km) long and 30 miles (50 km) wide, it recedes each summer to leave a desolate expanse of encrusted salt, which is worked. The lake has no outlet, and few surface streams feed into it; rainfall in the surrounding area is as low as 10 inches (250 mm) per year.