14 DAY TRIAL // Several weeks ago, on June 23, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station snapped a photo of an extinct volcano in present-day Iran and its neighboring lake.
The photo, available next to this article, was shared with the public by NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the US) this past August 4.
In a description on its website, the Administration details that the body of water pictured next to the extinct volcano is dubbed Lake Urmia.
This lake sits in western Iran. It is only a few tens of meters deep, and it packs quite a lot of salt. Hence the fact that its shoreline appears white, especially when observed from above.
Despite not being very deep, Lake Urmia has an impressive surface area. It measures 130 kilometers (roughly 80 miles) from its northern to its delta. This makes it one of the Middle East's largest lakes.
Interestingly enough, researchers say that this lake in Iran is now much smaller than it used to be. A decrease in local rainfall and extraction of water for farming are to blame for this drop in water levels.
“The lake has been experiencing a drastic loss of water and now holds only 5 percent of its known high-stage volume,” NASA writes on its website.
“The drying is vividly illustrated by the fact that the volcano used to be entirely surrounded by the lake,” the Administration goes on to explain.