Lake Urmia (Persian: دریاچه ارومیه‎) is a salt lake in northwestern Iran near Iran's border with Turkey. It is the largest lake in the Middle East,[3] and the sixth largest saltwater lake on earth, with a surface area of approximately 5,200 km². Lake Urmia has been shrinking for a long time, with an annual evaporation rate of 0.6m to 1m. Although measures are now being taken to reverse the trend the lake has shrunk by 60% and could disappear entirely. Only 5% of the lake's water remains. (Wikipedia)