Soldoz Wetland

Soldoz Wetland is one of the internationally recognised wetlands of West Azerbaijan Province, located in Naqadeh County. The county has nineteen seasonal and permanent wetlands in total, and Soldoz is one of its permanent ones. The wetland lies next to the southern shore of Lake Urmia and within its ecological basin, and is considered one of the lake's satellite wetlands. It is located at the end of the outlet drain of the Hasanlu Dam, on the road from Urmia to Naqadeh, and it is an artificial wetland.

Soldoz Wetland was created by building an embankment across the path of the Godar Chay River, between Lake Urmia and the wetland's present site. Its water comes from the drainage of surrounding farmland and from the Godar Chay River. Soldoz lies close to the Siran, Dorna, Zinehvar and Yadegarlu wetlands, and is a freshwater wetland. It supports a variety of vegetation, including reeds, sedges and tamarisk shrubs, with more than 70 different plant species, which give the area a special beauty.

Because it lies on the migration route of birds arriving from colder lands, the wetland is an ideal place for birds to land, nest and raise their chicks. Flamingos, pochards, ferruginous ducks, avocets, great white pelicans, crested ducks, white-headed ducks, chestnut ducks, gulls, sociable lapwings, mallards, greylag geese and stilts are among the roughly 100 bird species that live in this wetland. If you enjoy birdwatching, the best time to see these beautiful birds is autumn and winter, especially from Esfand to Farvardin, when large numbers of birds gather in this 200-hectare wetland. In past years, more than three thousand greylag geese and several hundred flamingos have landed and stayed here.