Lake Urmia
West Azerbaijan, Iran · 37.70°, 45.30° · Drying lake
A giant salt lake that turned blood-red as it shrank; dams and wells cut off the water that fed it.
Lake Urmia was once the largest lake in the Middle East. Dams on its tributaries, tens of thousands of wells and drought reduced it to a fraction of its size, and salt-loving bacteria turned the remaining water red. A national restoration programme releases water from dams and curbs farming, with partial recoveries in wet years.
In the game
Lake Urmia flares up as Polluted water. The fix is a gesture: drag through the floating waste to sweep it up. Done right, it becomes Water cleaned ♻️. Finish all three steps of its chain in one round for a combo, or take your time in Explore mode: a place you fully restore stays green on your map for good.
🧭 Fly there and restore it▶ Play a 60-second round