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Lake Parishan (Persian: دریاچه پریشان) is a lake in Iran. The Parishan Lake is in Jereh and Baladeh District in Fars province and is the largest freshwater lake in the country.[2] It receives very small amount of water from feeder rivers and the whole lake or wetland is a protected area, as it is considered a globally significant wetland ecosystem.[3] Another lake in this area is that of Arzan.[4] The whole protected area is called "Arzhan National Park."[5][6] This area is an important sanctuary for birds.[2][3]
Lake Parishan
An old photograph of a lion in Iran by Antoin Sevruguin, c. 1880
| Designations | |
|---|---|
| Official name | Lake Parishan and Dasht-e-Arjan |
| Designated | 23 June 1975 |
| Reference no. | 37[1] |
In the past, the Asiatic lion used to occur in this place, besides other parts of Iran. Nowadays, in the wilderness of Eurasia, the only members of this race of lions occur in and around Gir Forest, in Kathiawar Peninsula, India.[7][8] A plan in 1977 to introduce Gir lions to the area around the lake did not eventually materialize. This area includes the village of Arzhan, and is of agricultural importance, and bringing in lions would mean setting aside farmland, and settling farmers elsewhere.[5][6] This happens to be a reason why it is difficult to reintroduce lions from Gir Forest to another place within India.[9] Nevertheless, Iran's intention to restore its population of lions would continue into the 21st century,[10][11] and in February 2019, Iran obtained a male named 'Kamran' from Bristol Zoo in the United Kingdom,[12] followed in June by the acquisition of a female named 'Eilda' from Dublin Zoo in Ireland, and lodged them at Tehran Zoological Garden in a bid to reproduce and reintroduce lions in the wild.[13]
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This lake is located between 51 degrees and 44 minutes and 51 degrees and 51 minutes of east longitude and 29 degrees and 32 minutes and 30 seconds of north latitude. Its area is 4300 hectares and its height is 820 meters above the open water level. Its catchment area is 266.5 square kilometers and its largest area is in April.[14]
Flora
- In this lake, different types of coarse or fine algae and submerged algae containing green algae live, including the following: Phytoplankton, Spirogyra, Nitzschia, Lemanea, Gomphosphaeria, Gymnodinium.[15]
- Submerged plants in Parishan Lake, which are completely submerged in water, include the following types: Najadaceae and Ceratophyllaceae families are plants that are completely submerged in water and only their flowers may appear on the surface or outside of the water surface.[15]
- Different types of plants like the following live in this ecosystem: Phragmites ,Typhaceae, Cyperaceae ,Liliaceae.[15]
Fauna
10 species of fish live in Parishan Lake, which are in the order of average abundance: Capoeta barroisi ,Shishamo ,Mesopotamian himri ,Eurasian carp ,Hypostomus plecostomus ,Crucian carp ,Anguillidae ,Liza abu and Shabout.[16]
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This lake has been registered as an international wetland in the Ramsar Convention and is considered a protected area in the division of regions.[17]
The existence of 1,300 wells for unsustainable agriculture has been the main reason for the drying up of Parishan Lake.[18]
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