Lake Urmia, 2014. Astronaut photograph from the International Space Station (ISS) showing the water level of Lake Urmia (or Orumiyeh), Iran, on 23rd J

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Lake Urmia, 2014. Astronaut photograph from the International Space Station (ISS) showing the water level of Lake Urmia (or Orumiyeh), Iran, on 23rd June 2014. Lake Urmia is one of the world's largest landlocked salt lakes, but it has been shrinking since 1984. The extinct volcano (oval, upper centre) that is surrounded by dry land was once surrounded by water. The cause of Orumiyeh's depletion is disputed. The Iranian government blames climate change and drought, while many citizens blame damming of rivers by the government.

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Size: 2700px × 3367px
Photo credit: © NASA/Johnson Space Center/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, 2000s, 23, 2014, 21st, astronaut, century, climatological, climatology, drought, dry, earth, east, eastern, environmental, iran, iranian, iss, june, lake, level, middle, middle-east, observation, orumieh, orumiyeh, photography, saline, salt, science, shrinking, space, urmia, water