Lake Urmia (,
Daryache-ye Orumiye; ,
Urmiya gölü) is an
endorheic salt lake in
Iranian Azerbaijan,
Iran and near Iran's border with
Turkey. The lake is between the provinces of
East Azerbaijan and
West Azerbaijan in
Iran, and west of the southern portion of the
Caspian Sea. At its full size, it was the largest lake in the Middle East and the sixth largest
saltwater lake on earth with a surface area of approximately 5,200 km² (2,000 mile²), length, width, and 16 m (52 ft) depth. The lake has shrunk to 10% of its former size due to damming of the rivers that flow into it and pumping of groundwater from the area.