According to Mehr News Agency, lake Maharlou, located in Shiraz, Iran’s Fars province, has turned red. This poses a threat to the wildlife and the migrating flamingos.

A severe drought in the past few years had caused significant drop in the lake’s water level. However, a better rainfall in the past few months had brought the lake back to life. Now with Maharlou turning red, the worries have come back once again.
The saltwater lake Maharlou has an area of 600 km^2, and it is located about 15 km from provincial city of Shiraz in the Fars province. The lake which is the habitat for wild animals and birds is another casualty of the severe drought in recent years. These photos by Mohsen Tizhoosh show a dried up lake with no sign of life to be found.

Maharlou lake located in southwest of Iran (Fars Province) is an intra-continental sedimentary basin. Its area is about 280 km2 extended with an average water depth of 1.5 m during wet seasons. The water level in the lake is controlled by several factors such as runoff volume from Maharlou catchment, underground water seepage, and direct rainfall over the lake and also evaporation. Generally, hydrochemical analysis of water resources showed that the water types are mainly bicarbonates and sulfates due to geology of the surrounding areas. (Source: The Geological Survey of Iran).

Photos by Mohsen Tavaro, Mehr News Agency

Source : Payvand Iran News …