The Lake Tuz (meaning the Lake Salt) surrounded by the cities of Aksaray, Ankara and Konya is the second largest lake after the Lake Van in Turkey. The Lake is located in Konya basin which is a closed basin and fed by the underground water. Its average depth is less than 50 cm. The Lake has following plateaus as Kızılırmak on the east, Obruk on the south, Cihanbeyli on the west and Haymana on the north. The lake is located in the area with the least precipitation rate in Turkey. Its width reaches 164.200 hectares in the spring while in summer it has a salt layer of app. 30 cm on the surface proving the extreme evaporation in the area. 70% of the salt need of Turkey is provided by the Lake Tuz.

The Lake Tuz basin having numerous varieties of bird species has around 6000 bird nests. And, 279 plant and bacteria species are identified in the area. The Lake Tuz Special Environmental Protection Area as an important natural area of the world is registered on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.