Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
A tectonic freshwater lake with a max. depth of 80 m. Small deltas supporting extensive reedbeds (
Phragmites) have formed where streams enter the lake; a levee has been constructed to prevent flooding. Arable land, olive groves and
Populus plantations surround the lake. Water is abstracted for industrial and irrigation purposes. The town of Ýznik attracts many tourists.
The site is important for breeding waterbirds.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
From the small amount of data available, it appears that the lake was more important from an ornithological perspective prior to its conversion to a reservoir in 1963 (it is assumed that large areas of reed and marsh have been lost). Work is under way to substantially increase the land area under irrigation. Untreated industrial and urban waste is discharged to the lake˜recent algal blooms and mass fish-kills indicate the scale of the problem.
National High
International None29,830 ha of IBA covered by SÝT (Iznik Gölü, 29,830 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: İznik Lake (Türkiye). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/iznik-lake-iba-türkiye on 23/11/2024.
