Abstract:
Ancient Konya Lake is situated in the Great Konya Basin. It consists of Konya, Çumra, Karaman, Ereğü and Karapınar plains and is between 37°-38° North latitude and 32°-34° East longitudes. The basin is surrounded by Erenler mountains from west, the northern parts of the Central Taurus mountains from south. Niğde and Bor basins from east, Karacadağ volkanic cone from northeast, and Bozdağlar and Obruk plateau from north, respectively. The average depth of the Ancient Konya Lake, which was formed by the pluvial conditions of the Pleistocene, is about 15-20 meters. The lake started to dry gradually in the Pleistocene and especially Holoce because of the draught climatic conditions. This also continues even today in some marsh lands like Hotamış as the latest sign of the Ancient Konya Lake. Some other remainder of the lake like shore banks, lake cliff, sand deposits shorelines and marshes can also be seen in different parts of the basin. But all of these signs of the Ancient Konya Lake have been being reduced by the erosional activities and human interfering. While the base of Ancient Konya Lake has rather uniformly plain or gently ondulated geomorphological features, its surroundings show a prominent hills and mountainous topography. The average altitude of the basin varies from 1000 to 1100 meters. The basin contains almost all aged formations geologically. Soils of the basin show generally arid salty and over-limed conditions as an influance of the Ancient Konya Lake. The cimimate of the basin is continental, with a dry and hot summer, and a cold and snowy winter. Vegetation characteristics of the area show an accordance with these climatic conditions as a weak steppe communities. The basin is rather poor respecting rivers and lakes except some little streams, comrning from hillsides and several small lakes and marshes.
