List of drying lakes

A number of natural lakes throughout the world are drying or completely dry owing to irrigation or urban use diverting inflow.^[1][2]

Satellite imagery over Iran from 1984 to 2014 revealing Lake Urmia's diminishing surface area.

List

List of drying lakes

Lake name	Location	Coordinates	Original size	as of	Reduced size	as of	References
Aral Sea	Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan	45°N 60°E	68,000 km2 (26,000 sq mi)	1960	14,280 km2 (5,510 sq mi)	2010	[3]
Lake Chad	Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria	13.0°N 14.5°E / 13.0; 14.5 (Lake Chad)	25,000 km2 (9,700 sq mi)	1963	2,000 km2 (770 sq mi)	2015	[4]
Qinghai Lake	China	37.0°N 100.1°E / 37.0; 100.1 (Qinghai Lake)	6,000 km2 (2,300 sq mi)		4,543 km2 (1,754 sq mi)	2020	[5][6][7]
Lake Urmia	Iran	37.7°N 45.4°E / 37.7; 45.4 (Lake Urmia)	5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi)		2,820 km2 (1,090 sq mi)	2021	[8]
Great Salt Lake	Utah, U.S.	41.2°N 112.5°W / 41.2; -112.5 (Great Salt Lake)	4,400 km2 (1,700 sq mi)	1980s	2,500 km2 (950 sq mi)	2021	[9][10]
Poyang Lake	Jiangxi, China	29.1°N 116.3°E / 29.1; 116.3 (Poyang Lake)	3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi)		200 km2 (77 sq mi)	2012	[11]
Lake Poopó	Bolivia	18.6°S 67.1°W / -18.6; -67.1 (Lake Poopó)	3,000 km2 (1,200 sq mi)		0	2015	[12]
Lake Chany	Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia	54.8°N 77.5°E / 54.8; 77.5 (Lake Chany)	2,500 km2 (970 sq mi)	1970	1,700 km2 (660 sq mi)	2024	[13]
Hamun Lake	Irano-Afghan border	30.8°N 61.7°E / 30.8; 61.7 (Hamun Lake)	2,000 km2 (770 sq mi)		0	2002	[14]
Lop Nur	Xinjiang, China	40.5°N 90.5°E / 40.5; 90.5 (Lop Nur)	2,000 km2 (770 sq mi)	1950s	0	1970	[15]
Tulare Lake	California, U.S.	36.0°N 119.8°W / 36.0; -119.8 (Tulare Lake)	1,800 km2 (690 sq mi)	1880	5.2 km2 (2 sq mi)	2023	[16]
Lake Chapala	Mexico	20.2°N 103.0°W / 20.2; -103.0 (Lake Chapala)	1,048 km2 (405 sq mi)	1986	812 km2 (314 sq mi)	2001	[17]
Dead Sea	Israel, Jordan, and Palestine	31.5°N 35.5°E / 31.5; 35.5 (Dead Sea)	1,030 km2 (400 sq mi)	1960	605 km2 (234 sq mi)	2016	[18][19]
Lake Ebinur	Xinjiang, China	44.9°N 83°E / 44.9; 83 (Lake Ebi)	1,000 km2 (390 sq mi)	1955	500 km2 (190 sq mi)	2014	[20][21]
Salton Sea	California, U.S.	33.3°N 115.8°W / 33.3; -115.8 (Salton Sea)	940 km2 (363 sq mi)	2003	832 km2 (321 sq mi)	2022	[22][23]
Lake Faguibine	Mali	16.7°N 4.0°W / 16.7; -4.0 (Lake Faguibine)	590 km2 (230 sq mi)	1974	0	2000	[24]
Pyramid Lake	Nevada, U.S.	40.1°N 119.6°W / 40.1; -119.6 (Pyramid Lake)	510 km2 (195 sq mi)				[25][26]
Lake Amik	Turkey	36.3°N 36.3°E / 36.3; 36.3 (Lake Amik)	300–350 km2 (120–140 sq mi)	1950s	0	2012	[27]
Lake Cuitzeo	Michoacán, Mexico	19.93°N 101.08°W / 19.93; -101.08 (Lake Cuitzeo)	300 km2 (120 sq mi)	1941			[28]
Owens Lake	California, U.S.	36.43°N 117.95°W / 36.43; -117.95 (Owens Lake)	280 km2 (110 sq mi)	1913	0	1926	[29]
Walker Lake	Nevada, U.S.	38.69°N 118.74°W / 38.69; -118.74 (Walker Lake)	280 km2 (107 sq mi)	1882	130 km2 (50 sq mi)	2005	[30]
Alan Nur	Xinjiang, China	45.80°N 85.93°E / 45.80; 85.93 (Alan Nur)	238 km2 (92 sq mi)	1950	0	1970	[31][32]
Mono Lake	California, U.S.	38.02°N 119.01°W / 38.02; -119.01 (Mono Lake)	220 km2 (86 sq mi)	1941	170 km2 (66 sq mi)	2015	[33]
Lake Albert	South Australia	35.63°S 139.28°E / -35.63; 139.28 (Lake Albert)			168 km2 (65 sq mi)		[34][35]
Lake Hindmarsh	Australia	36.06°S 141.91°E / -36.06; 141.91 (Lake Hindmarsh)	135 km2 (52 sq mi)	1975	0	2000	[36]
Lake Shalkar	Kazakhstan	47°48′N 59°35′E	60 km2 (23 sq mi)	1900	7.9 km2 (3.1 sq mi)	2024	[37]
Lake Hula [he]	Israel	33.1°N 35.6°E / 33.1; 35.6	14 km2 (5.4 sq mi)	1940s	0	1950s	[38]

See also

• Lists of lakes
• Dry lake