Lake Eber () is a

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

in Afyon Province,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The lake used to be connected with nearby

Lake Akşehir Lake Akşehir () is a tectonic freshwater endorheic lake in Afyonkarahisar and Konya provinces, in the southwestern part of Turkey. It carries the same name as the town of Akşehir south of the lake.Çay Çay () is a town of Afyonkarahisar Province in the Aegean region of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast E ...

Bolvadin Bolvadin (Ancient Greek: Πολύβοτον/Πολύβοτος and Latin: ''Polybotum''/''Polybotus'') is a city of Afyonkarahisar Province in Turkey. It is the seat of Bolvadin District.Sultandağı Sultandağı is a town of Afyonkarahisar Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is the seat of Sultandağı District.Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

) a vast lake was formed in the basin. But after the water level dropped, the lake was fragmentized into two lakes. Lake Eber is at the north west and

Lake Akşehir Lake Akşehir () is a tectonic freshwater endorheic lake in Afyonkarahisar and Konya provinces, in the southwestern part of Turkey. It carries the same name as the town of Akşehir south of the lake.Sultan Mountains The Sultan Mountains (), also known as Sultan Dagh range or Sultan Dag, is a short mountain range on the western edge of the Anatolian Plateau, Turkey with highest elevation of . The town of Sultandağı is their namesake. They are made up of m ...

at the south. When the level increases beyond a certain level the water is fed to the nearby lower level Akşehir lake by a channel (Eber channel).

Ecology

The main plants of the lake are

Typha latifolia ''Typha latifolia'' is a perennial herbaceous wetland plant in the genus ''Typha''. It is known in English as bulrushStreeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. ''Collins Flower Guide''. Harper Collins (sometimes as common b ...

Phragmites australis ''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. It is a wetland grass that can grow up to tall and has a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide. Description ''Phragmites australis' ...

Lycopus europaeus ''Lycopus europaeus'', common names gypsywort, gipsywort, bugleweed, European bugleweed and water horehound, is a perennial plant in the genus ''Lycopus'', native to Europe and Asia, and naturalized elsewhere. Another species, '' Lycopus america ...

and

Mentha aquatica ''Mentha aquatica'' (water mint; syn. ''Mentha hirsuta'' Huds.Euro+Med Plantbase Project''Mentha aquatica'') is a perennial flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It grows in moist places and is native to much of Europe, northwest Africa ...

. The lake is known for the reed beds. Sometimes the remains of reed beds which detach from the land, constitute floating islands on the lake and may be used by the fishermen. The fish species are

Cyprinus carpio The common carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), also known as European carp, Eurasian carp, or simply carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Ark ...

Esox lucius The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

and

Gobio gobio ''Gobio gobio'', or the gudgeon or common gudgeon, is a species of fish in the family Gobionidae. This small fish is widely distributed in fresh-water streams and lakes across central and temperate Eurasia. The gudgeon inhabits various fresh-wa ...

. The lake is also known for various

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

Important Bird Area status

The lake was declared by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

in 1989 for its

species of international character and species, which are threatened by hunting, pollution and reed cutting.

Environmental issues

Due to

climate change in Turkey Droughts and heatwaves are the main hazards due to the climate of Turkey getting hotter. The temperature has risen by more than , with the hottest year so far being 2024, and there is more extreme weather. Current greenhouse gas emissions ar ...

and misuse of water sources, the surface area of the lake is shrinking. The neighbouring

Lake Akşehir Lake Akşehir () is a tectonic freshwater endorheic lake in Afyonkarahisar and Konya provinces, in the southwestern part of Turkey. It carries the same name as the town of Akşehir south of the lake.Eber Eber (; ; ) is an ancestor of the Ishmaelites and the Israelites according to the Generations of Noah in the Book of Genesis () and the Books of Chronicles (). Lineage Eber (Hebrew: Ever) was a great-grandson of Noah's son Shem and the father ...

Landforms of Afyonkarahisar Province Important Bird Areas of Turkey