Limassol Salt Lake (; also known as Akrotiri Salt Lake, ) is the largest inland body of water on the island of

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. It is located in

Akrotiri and Dhekelia Akrotiri and Dhekelia (), officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA), is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory made of two non-contiguous areas on the island of Geography of Cyprus, Cyprus. The area ...

, administered as a

Sovereign Base Area Akrotiri and Dhekelia (), officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA), is a British Overseas Territory made of two non-contiguous areas on the island of Cyprus. The areas, which include British military bases and instal ...

; specifically in the Western Sovereign Base Area. It lies due south-west of the sprawling city of

Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...

and measures . According to a BirdLife (Cyprus) booklet, its lowest point is below sea level, and at its deepest point the water depth measures about one meter. A study mentions that the maximum depth of the salt lake reaches 2.8 m below mean sea level in the winter. A BirdLife International entry for an area including the lake gives the minimum elevation of that area as 0 m. Geologists hypothesize the lake was formed over the gradual joining of an offshore islet off the southern coast of

. The lake dries out in the summer.

Ecology

The lake itself is considered to be one of the eastern Mediterranean region’s most important wetlands. The shallowness of the lake (more than half of the lake is less than deep) attracts thousands of wading birds to use it as a stopover during the migration seasons between Africa and Europe. BirdLife International estimates that between 2,000 and 20,000

greater flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. Common in the Old World, they are found in Northern (coastal) and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Subcontinent (south of the Him ...

s (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') spend the winter months on the lake.

British antennas

In 2003 the British Ministry of Defence caused some controversy by constructing two gigantic antennas as part of its radio listening post network in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. Local and European environmentalists are concerned that the proximity of the listening posts to this ecosystem could have a significant impact on the wildlife.''Ramsar mission report, Akrotiri Wetland Complex, Cyprus, 17–21 June 2002 ''

Gallery

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References

{{commons category, Limassol Salt Lake Geography of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Lakes of Cyprus Ramsar sites in Cyprus Endorheic lakes of Europe