Lake Apolyont

(Local Name: Uluabat Gölü) Southern Marmara region

Province: Bursa

Altitude: 5m/16ft

Size: 134sq.km/52sq.mi

Length: 23km/14mi

Width: 12km/7.5mi

Depth: maximum 4m/13ft, average 2m/6.5ft

Situation and Importance

Lake Apolyont (or Uluabat Gölü as it is officially known, Uluabat being a village on the northwest shore) is located in one of the large depressions which run parallel to the Pontic Mountains westward as far as the Sea of Marmara. These basins, reaching deep inland, are occupied by shallow lakes separated only by low-lying sills. With the Kara Dag (833m/2,734ft) forming a barrier against the Sea of Marmara to the north, and bounded by the Orhaneli upland in the south, the well-watered plains of the Marmara region are excellent for fruit and vegetable growing - olives and figs and mulberries for silk-worm breeding. Apolyont Gölü, shallower than Kus/Manyas Gölü to the west, is rich in nutrients, the lake bottom being constantly churned up by wind and waves. Colonies of reeds, tamarisk swamps and carpets of waterlilies add to the picturesqueness of the scenery around the lake. A lock on the Koca Çay (the ancient Ryndakos) at Uluabat allows the water level to be regulated, a process which at one time was essential to the survival of the swamp crabs inhabiting the lake which were a valuable source of income for local fishermen. Today however disease has all but wiped out the crab population.

Though not a designated nature reserve Apolyont Gölü boasts a wide range of interesting flora and fauna. In addition to swamp crabs the latter include squacco and purple herons, little egrets and pelicans.