JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE (2010) 25(7) 1124–1137

Copyright ß 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Published online in Wiley Online Library
(wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/jqs.1431

Formation of the Upper Pleistocene terraces

of Lake Van (Turkey)
CATHERINE KUZUCUOĞLU,1* AURÉLIEN CHRISTOL,1,2 DAMASE MOURALIS,1,3 ALI-FUAT DOĞU,4 EBRU AKKÖPRÜ,1,4,5
MONIQUE FORT,2 DANIEL BRUNSTEIN,1 HALIL ZORER,4 MICHEL FONTUGNE,6 MUSTAFA KARABIYIKOĞLU,7
STÉPHANE SCAILLET,6 JEAN-LOUIS REYSS6 and HERVÉ GUILLOU6
1
Paris 1 University and CNRS, Laboratory of Physical Geography (UMR 8591), Paris, France
2
Paris 7 University and CNRS, PRODIG (UMR 8586), Paris, France
3
Rouen University and CNRS, IDEES (UMR 6266), Rouen, France
4
Geography Department, University of Van, Van, Turkey
5
Geography Department, University of Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
6
CEA and CNRS, LSCE (UMR 1572), Gif-sur-Yvette, France
7
Anthropology Department, University of Van, Van, Turkey

Kuzucuoglu C., Christol A., Mouralis D., Dogu A.-F., Akköprü E., Fort M., Brunstein D., Zorer H., Fontugne M., Karabiyikoglu M., Scaillet S., Reyss J.-L.,
Guillou H. 2010. Formation of the Upper Pleistocene terraces of Lake Van (Turkey). J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 25 pp. 1124–1137. ISSN 0267-8179.

ABSTRACT: Sedimentological and geomorphological studies of terraces around Lake Van (1647 m)
provided a preliminary framework for lake-level variations. The elevations of terraces and past lake
level were measured with a differential global positioning system. A chronology is developed using
234
U/230Th dating of travertines, 39Ar/40Ar dating of pyroclastites and 14C dating of organic matter.
Facies and stratigraphic correlations identify four transgressions (C10 , C100 , C20 and C200 ), each followed
by a regression which ended with low lake levels that caused river incision and terrace formation.
Evidence of the oldest transgression (C10 ) is found in the uppermost reaches of valleys up to 1755 m, an
altitude higher than the present lake threshold (1736 m). This C10 transgression may be related to
pyroclastic flows which dammed an outlet located in the western part of the lake basin and which is
dated to before 105 ka. After 100 ka, a second transgression (C100 ) reached 1730/1735 m, possibly
related to a younger ignimbrite flow, in association with high water inflow (warm and/or wetter
conditions). The two younger transgressions reached 1700–1705 m. The first one (C20 ) is dated to 26–
24.5 cal. ka BP and the second one (C200 ) to 21–20 cal. ka BP. Available data suggest that the long-term
lake-level changes responded mainly to climate oscillations. Additional events such as river captures
caused by volcanic falls filling valleys, tectonism, erosion and karstic diversion may have impacted
these long-term lake-level changes. Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
KEYWORDS: Lake Van; Upper Pleistocene; climate change; terraces; volcanic activity.

Introduction
Lake Van in eastern Anatolia stands as an important site for the
reconstruction of past climate in the Eastern Mediterranean,
owing to its annually laminated (varved) sediments. Lake
sediment cores extracted in 1974 (e.g. Kempe and Degens,
1978; van Zeist and Woldring, 1978), 1990 (e.g. Landmann
et al., 1996; Lemcke and Sturm, 1997; Wick et al., 2003) and in
2004 (e.g. Litt et al., 2009) record evidence for 20 ka evolution of
vegetation, lake level, evaporation, temperature and humidity
changes. In addition, widely exposed terraces around Lake Van
are formed by lake sediments which testify to one (Valeton,
1978) or more (Schweizer, 1975) lake-level rises above today’s
* Correspondence to: C. Kuzucuoğlu, Paris 1 University and CNRS, Laboratory of
Physical Geography (UMR 8591), Paris, France.
E-mail: catherine.kuzucuoglu@cnrs-bellevue.fr
level. These terraces vary in volume and altitude, in facies and
morphology, and in locations and settings. Filling the down-
stream valleys of the lake tributaries, they stand as archives for
defining the age of different lake-level phases and identifying
possible driving mechanisms for changes in lake level.
Since the publication of the main geological study of Lake
Van (Degens and Kurtmann, 1978), the age of the lake remains
hypothetical. Kempe et al. (1978) estimated, on the basis of the
sodium and chlorine content of the lake water, that the age of
the lake dated back to the ‘end of Eemian, beginning of
Wechselian’, i.e. 100 ka at the most. This age has been
accepted by further authors except Yilmaz et al. (1998), who
proposed an age of about 500 ka. Recently, Litt et al. (2009)
suggested that the >400 m thick sediments deposited at the
bottom of the lake could correspond to several glacial stages.
Analysis of the Lake Van terraces has the potential to provide
complementary data on the chronology of past lake-level and
lake-volume changes, and their link to past climate change (e.g.
Currey, 1990; Roberts and Wright, 1993; Naruse et al., 1997;
 FORMATION OF UPPER PLEISTOCENE TERRACES OF LAKE VAN (TURKEY)
Fontugne et al., 1999; Karabıyıkoğlu et al., 1999; Klinger et al.,
2003). Such potential can be realised by determining the
precise altitudes of past shore lines, and by establishing, within
a relative or absolute chronology, the correspondence between
lake water volume changes and climate-related proxies
contained in the lacustrine sediments. Therefore, this paper
aims to reconstruct past lake-level changes in Lake Van, by
measuring and dating past lake-level indicators, and to discuss
the processes responsible for these changes.
Presentation of the geographic and climate
characteristics of Lake Van basin
Lake Van (428 450 E, 388 80 N) is a terminal lake bordered at the
north and west by the Euphrates basin, south by the Tigris basin
and east by the Arax basin (Fig. 1). The surface area of the lake is
3602 km2 and its drainage area covers 12 520 km2 (Christol
et al., 2008). It is the largest soda lake in the world, with a salinity
of 21.7% and a pH of 9.7 (Degens and Kurtman, 1978). With a
mean annual lake level of 1647 m above sea level (a.s.l.), the
present-day lake volume is 614 km3. The southern border of the
lake is formed by the Bitlis Range highlands, which frequently
rise above 3000 m. This border corresponds to a regional-wide
thrust fault caused by the collision between the Arabian and
Eurasian plates (Şengör et al., 2008). In this context, earthquakes
are frequent in the basin (Horasan and Boztepe-Güney, 2007).
Four composite volcanoes are aligned at the north of the lake,
from WSW to ENE (Fig. 1): the Nemrut volcano (2948 m), still
degassing; the Süphan volcano (4158 m), inactive for several
millennia; the older Meydan volcano (3290 m); the Tendürek
shield volcano (3584 m) at the NE limit of the drainage area,
recently active (Aydar et al., 2003; www.volcano.si.edu). All
Holocene tephra layers recovered in lake cores (18 tephras in
Jung et al., 1978; 11 tephras in Landmann et al., 1996) are
attributed to the Nemrut volcano.
Climate, water budget and lake-level changes
The climate in the Van region is continental. Monthly
temperature averages are below 08C from December to February,
Figure 1 Presentation of Lake Van and surrounding areas. Contour
lines for bathymetry are 50 m below
50 m depth. Sources: SRTM data
for topography and Degens and Kurtman (1978) for bathymetry
Copyright ß 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
1125
and around 208C during the summer months. The annual
precipitation exhibits a strong spatial gradient, rapidly declining
from 907 mm a
1 in Tatvan (southwest of the lake) to 396 mm a
1
in Van (central part) and 487 mm a
1 in Ercis (NE shore). This
strong contrast explains pronounced differences in the vegetation
cover. In the southwest area, relatively dense forests belong to the
oro-Mediterranean type, with Quercus dominant and Betula
occurring at high altitudes. Open xeric forest forms the central
transition zone where Pinus and Quercus accompanied by
Pistacia and Juniperus are dominant (Zohary, 1973). Further to
the north and northeast, the land is covered by steppe.
The lake has four main tributaries: the rivers Engil, Karasu,
Bendimahi and Zilan. A smaller tributary, the Kotum–Küçüksu,
drains a narrow area along the southeastern end of the lake
(Fig. 1). The annual average of the total river inputs for the
1962–1995 period amounts to 2.2 km3, almost 80% of which
occurs during spring (Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources,
1998). The mean annual precipitation over the lake is estimated
at about 1.4 km3, whereas the mean annual evaporation of the
lake surface water is 3.6 km3 (Christol et al., 2008).
The lake level varies both seasonally and inter-annually
(Fig. 2). The seasonal lake level rises, from winter to end of
spring by about 50 cm and in two steps. A first rise begins gently
in January and February, corresponding to runoff from the
southwest. This shows that precipitation and snow thaw on the
Bitlis highlands play a significant role in the lake budget
variations. From March to June, a more pronounced lake-level
rise corresponds to the addition of snow thaw and overall spring
precipitation in the whole basin.
The lake level evidences a high inter-annual variability
(Fig. 2). While, from 1944 until 1967, the annual mean level
fluctuated around 1646.5 m, the, lake level rose in 1988 to
1648.5 m, reaching 1650.5 m in 1996, falling again to 1647 m
between 1997 and 2006. The causes of these variations are not
yet clearly understood, mainly because of the lack of
continuous climate and hydrological data, and of the absence
of monitoring in the highlands. These short-term lake-level
variations may parallel the 11-year sunspot cycles (Kempe
et al., 1978, 2002). However, Kadioğlu et al. (1997) argued
that, after 1972, recent lake-level rises are explained by
changes in precipitation–evaporation ratios. In any case, the
high variability of Lake Van level, and hence the lake water
volume, observed today indicates that the lake level is most
probably highly sensitive to changes in the climatic com-
ponents of the hydrological budget of the lake (mainly
precipitation and evaporation).
The origin and age of Lake Van (Fig. 1)
According to its bathymetry (Degens and Kurtmann, 1978;
Demirel-Schlueter et al., 2006), Lake Van is composed of two
basins. In the northeast, the Ercis basin corresponds to the
flooded Bendimahi valley, opening onto a 100–150 m deep
basin where both the Bendimahi and Zilan flooded valleys
meet. This northeast basin ends above a steep sill where fans
prograding from the Erciş and Van basins converge. All these
structures head toward a 40 km diameter, circle-shaped basin
(the so-called ‘Tatvan basin’) which has a flat bottom at water
depths between 400 and 460 m (Litt et al., 2009). The origin of
the Tatvan basin has been explained by Wong and Finckh
(1978) and Kipfer et al. (1994) by tectonic extension influenced
by magmatic activity.
Several authors have argued that the drowned topography
below Lake Van is a remnant of a palaeovalley of the river
Euphrates damned by the construction of the Nemrut
J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 25(7) 1124–1137 (2010)
1126 JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE
Van Lake
level (m a.s.l.)
1651
Mean annual level
1650.5
Maximum annual level
1650
Minimum annual level
1649.5
1649
1648.5
1648
1647.5
1647
1646.5
Figure 2 Mean annual level Lake Van between 1944 and 2002. Raw monitored data published by DSI (National Water Office)
composite volcano ca. 500 ka ago (see reference in Yilmaz
et al., 1998). This age proposal is supported by recently
collected seismic data, with Demirel-Schlueter et al. (2006)
arguing that the deep sediments in the Tatvan basin record
several Pleistocene glacial cycles, a record which would be
unique in the Eastern Mediterranean. From the upper part of this
basal cover, Litt et al. (2009) published the first evidence of a
Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) record in Lake Van sediments.
However, research published before 1980 about the lake
sediments preserved in terraces that are widely exposed around
the lake interpret them as recording climate changes dated
Upper Pleistocene only. Schweizer (1975) documented four sets
of abrasion and depositional terraces: at þ12 m (1658), þ30 m
(1676 m), þ55 m (1701 m) and þ80 m (1725 m) above the mean
lake level at the time of survey (1646 m). Considering climate as
the main forcing of the lake-level changes, the author suggested
that the highest terrace (þ80 m) belonged to the Marine Isotope
Stage (MIS) 5e interglacial, that the þ55 and þ30 m terraces
corresponded to cold transgression phases during the Last
Glacial, and that the þ12 m was Lateglacial in age.
In 1978, Valeton interpreted the whole terrace system as
having formed during one glacial event, starting with a þ80 m
transgression marked by sediment accumulation to a level of
1720 m a.s.l., and followed by regressive steps leading to the
abrasion terracing of the transgression deposits down to a level
below that of today. Valeton (1978) published the first 14C age
of organic matter collected in old Lake Van sediments in
terraces (at 1670 m: 24 14C ka BP, i.e. 29–28 cal. ka BP); no
detailed information is available about the geomorphological
or stratigraphical context of the sample dated.
Material and methods
Our fieldwork focused on sections in the five tributary valleys of
Lake Van, explored from their mouths to 15 km inland: the
Karasu and the Engil (Christol et al., 2010), the Kotum–Küçüksu
(Mouralis et al., 2010) and the Zilan and the Bendimahi, with the
addition of a large coastal area north of Van (Mollakasım) (Fig. 3).
A digital elevation model (DEM) using Shuttle Radar Topography
Mission (SRTM) data coupled with the bathymetric map allowed
us to calculate the water volumes associated with different lake
levels (Christol et al., 2008). A differential global positioning
system (DGPS) was used to measure altitudes expressed here in
metres above sea level (a.s.l.) and in height relative to today’s lake
level (a.l.l.) positioned at 1647 m. In each valley, altitudes of
Copyright ß 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
terrace surfaces, flood plains, river beds and of former lake-level
positions (e.g. base of cliffs, shoreline sediments, topsets of
subaqueous fan deltas) were measured. Other points relate to
stratigraphic unconformities and faulted layers. In parallel, we
completed detailed facies analyses of the sediments underlying
the terraces, coupled with the morphostratigraphic correlations
between units recording the succession of lake level changes.
In the text below and according to the detailed study of
terraces, the ‘depositional terraces’ correspond to continuous
sedimentation of lake deposits, the top layers of which record
the end of a transgression and form the terrace surface. In the
case of ‘abrasion terraces’, the surface of the terrace
corresponds to the truncated (eroded) substratum (which can
be older lake sediments or the bedrock). The third type, named
‘composite terrace’, is formed by flats that correspond down-
slope to the end-layers of a transgression and upslope to
truncated bedrock.
Our dating strategy varied depending on the material under
consideration: travertine (234U/230Th), feldspars in in situ tephras
(39Ar/40Ar), organic matter and shells (14C dating) and feldspars in
lake sediments (OSL). Radiocarbon analysis was performed by b-
counting at the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de
l’Environnement (Gif-sur-Yvette) and by accelerator mass
spectrometry (Artemis, Saclay). Samples were prepared follow-
ing standard procedure (Délibrias, 1985). Shells were mechani-
cally cleaned of adhering contaminants. Leaching with dilute
HCl was used to remove the portions of the shell matrix suspected
to have been affected by exchange reactions. Organic-rich layers
were sampled with special care in order to avoid possible
contamination by roots, and decarbonated with dilute HCl (1N).
Radiocarbon dates (Table 1) are presented as conventional 14C
ages and as calibrated dates with a 2s age range. Calibration of the
radiocarbon dates was carried out with the Calib 3.0 program
(Stuiver and Reimer, 1993) and with the online program CalPal
(http://www.calpal-online.de/) for dates older than 25 ka BP. A
possible hard-water effect on organic samples has not been
considered since samples were taken near past mouths of rivers
where we expect that shallow water depth allowed rapid
equilibration with the atmosphere.
Samples for 39Ar/40Ar dating were hand-picked under a
binocular microscope and ultrasonically etched for 1–3 min in
5% HF. They were then rinsed in deionised water, acetone,
alcohol and deionised water again. The mineral grains were
loaded into two 4 mm i.d. holes on an aluminium tray (with the
mineral ACR-2 as a flux monitor in two adjacent holes), and
were irradiated for 20 min in the central position of the Osiris
reactor (CEA-Saclay, France). Preliminary calibration of the
neutron flux received by the samples yielded a J factor of 1.364
J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 25(7) 1124–1137 (2010)
 FORMATION OF UPPER PLEISTOCENE TERRACES OF LAKE VAN (TURKEY)
Figure 3 Areas selected for detailed section studies
(0.027) 10
4. Upon reception and cooling after irradiation,
the sanidine grains were transferred on a copper planchet
machined with 4 mm i.d. holes, each loaded with about 10–
15 mg (or 10–20 crystals) of material from each sample (eight
holes for VAN 05021, five holes for VAN 05030). The grains
were degassed in two consecutive steps with a 20 W CO2 laser
beam (first a low-temperature step, then a fusion step at about
20% of the full laser power). The gases were purified by
exposure to a GP50 non-evaporable getter pump equipped
with a St101 cartridge operated at 2258C and a titanium
sublimation pump operated at room temperature, before
admission into a GV 5400 mass spectrometer. Data reduction
and analysis followed standard procedures (Scaillet, 2000).
Three distinctive samples of the same travertine (VAN 06-33,
site no. 44) were analysed for 234U/230Th dating. After total
sample dissolution, a 232U/228Th tracer solution was added,
using a similar method to that described by Ku (1976). Alpha
counting was carried out with solid-state detectors. Errors are
expressed as one standard deviation based on counting
statistics. The analysed samples were dated on three different
bulk parts and on leached (HNO3, IN) aliquots, and the ages
were corrected for a detrital contribution using a 230Th/232Th
ratio of 1 (Table 2).
Results
DGPS measurements reveal four terrace sets (T1–T4) separated
by 10–20 m high scarps. The flat surface of the elements
Copyright ß 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
1127
composing each terrace set slightly decreases by about 2 m
between the apex and the scarp. In detail (Fig. 4):
 the highest terrace (T1) occurs only locally in the uppermost
reaches of the rivers;
 the altitudes of the other terraces (T2–T4) vary slightly
according to the valley studied;
 one terrace set is usually composed of two or more flat
surfaces at slightly different altitudes, reflecting their different
origins: either original or eroded summits of shallow-depth
lake sediment during lake-level falls, or river-fed lake-fan
delta top levels and front slopes.
T1 (1755–1745 m, i.e. þ108–98 m), first identified in this
present study, occurs in the upper Karasu valley around Yum-
rutepe hill, in the upper Zilan valley north of Gözütok village,
and in the upper Engil valley (Köprülerköy). At Yumrutepe
(Figs 5 and 7), Toki and Beyüzümü sites (Fig. 3), T1 remains
are associated with coastal lake sediments composed of shore-
face sands and gravels containing unbroken Dreissena shells,
deposited at the foot of 3–4 m high cliffs cut by waves in the
substratum. In the Zilan, Engil and Karasu uppermost reaches,
T1 deposits comprise finely laminated clay and silts deposited
between 1747 and 1751 m.
These observations suggest a lake transgression that reached
1755 m a.s.l. Such an altitude encompassed the 1736 m
altitude of today’s lake threshold (which corresponds to the roof
of a volcanic flow, filling in a previously incised tributary valley
of the lake). This morphological relationship can be possibly
explained by: (a) post-depositional deformations such as a
tectonic uplift, locally evident at Beyüzümü where the
J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 25(7) 1124–1137 (2010)
1128 JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE

Table 1 Radiocarbon dates from sediments related to Van and Patnos palaeolakes

14
Lab. ref. no. Sample no. Site Description Dated C BP d13C Org. C Calibrated
of sample material conventional (%) (%) age BP
age

Highest terrace (Van area)

12139 Van 05-49 Yumrutepe Shells at CaCO3 34 000 – 0.79
(YUM 4) beach level
12137 Van 05-51 Buyuzumu Shells on top CaCO3 31 000 – 1.2
layer (above peat)
12285 Van 06-BT Buyuzumu Top of 2.5 m Organic 34 000
25.37
10-15 peat sequence
12288 Van 06-01 Buyuzumu Peat layer 7b within Organic 30 000
25.02 0.92
(top) sequence
Palaeosol in C1/C2 terraces
12278 VAN 06-61 Yumrutepe Palaeosol buried Organic n.d. Insuffic.
(YUM 1) below flood silts
12279 VAN 06-67 Beyuzumu Palaeosol in Organic n.d. Insuffic.
channel fill
12333 VAN 07-1 Zeve 1 Palaeosol in buried Organic n.d. Insuffic.
(Lower Karasu) T400 alluvial terrace
12334 VAN 07-13 Orene Palaeosol in buried Organic n.d. Insuffic.
(Lower Zilan) T400 alluvial terrace
T3 transgression terrace ( þ 50 m) (NE coast, above Bendimahi valley)
12320 Van 05-36b Kirklar Black layer below Organic 20 780  650 24 900  800
tephra (sup.)
12138 Van 05-36a Kirklar Black layer below Organic 21 375  425
26.78 25 700  600
tephra (inf.)
Adilcevaz: Neolithic–Chalcolithic site in cave
12284/SacA8368 Van 06-76a Adilcevaz Charcoal associated Charcoal 5 290  40
28.6 5 940–6 185
with ceramics
12283/SacA8367 Van 06-76b Adilcevaz Charcoal in aceramic Charcoal 8 530  45
24.7 9 470–9 550
layers (base)
Lakes out of Lake Van basin (northern volcanic area)
12093 Van 04-18 Patnos Entire Dreissena CaCO3 34 000 – 2.27
shells below avalanche
12092 Van 04-19 Patnos Broken Dreissena CaCO3 32 000 – 2.16
shells below avalanche
12140 Van 05 Patnos (Keradere) Broken Dreissena CaCO3 31 200  900 – 3.46 35 600  1 000
shells (lower level)
Dates from Kempe et al. (2002)
Güzeldere Organic matter Organic 17 250  115 20 700  300
(‘Apricots’) (upper level)
Güzeldere Organic matter Organic 17 480  220 20 900  400
(‘Apricots’) (lower level)

Confidence level of 14C BP dates is 0.95 (2s). Radiocarbon dates > 24.6 ka BP are calculated using intercept. Calibration of dates > 20 ka 14C BP is from
www.calpal-online.de

cumulative uplift of faulted blocks reaches 65 m high; (b) an old
and 1755 m high lake threshold which was destroyed by a
later erosion down to an altitude lower than 1736 m before the
emission of the ignimbrite forming today’s lake threshold. This
latter hypothesis is suggested by our field data (see below),
meaning that the Pleistocene history of the relief distribution
within the lake basin has been very complex and instable
(Mouralis et al., 2010).
T2 terrace (1726–1724 m, i.e. þ79–77 m) corresponds to the
þ80 m terrace described by Schweizer (1975). It occurs in the
parts of the valleys which are the most distant from today’s
rivers mouths (Figs 5 and 6). Its surface is formed by proximal
fan deltas that rest conformably above sandy bottomsets. The
terraces corresponding to the emerged fan deltas are limited by
the scarp formed by the fan slope prograding over deeper lake
sediments outcropping as a lower terrace at 1721–1720 m.
These landforms relate to a lake level at 1735 m (þ79 m), which
can be correlated with a fossilised cliff at Mollakasım. When
the lake fell from this level, the lake-bottom surface was
exhumed, forming T2.
Also confined in the upper parts of the valleys, several flats
record the stepped lake-level decrease which followed the
transgression maximum lake level: T20 at 1715–1711 m a.s.l.
(i.e. þ68–64 m) in the Engil and Kotum valleys, T200 at 1708–

234
Table 2 U/230Th dating of Kotum low travertine by alpha spectrometry

238 234
Sample U (p.p.m.) U/238U 230
Th/234U Age (ka) 234
Th/238Ui 230
Th/234Th

06-33 sup. 1.23  0.03 1.180  0.020 0.622  0.011 102.2 þ3.8/
3.7 1.24  0.03 160  60
06-33 inf. 1.165  0.063 1.178  0.056 0.622  0.024 102.1 þ8.1/
7.5 1.24  0.07 80  27

Copyright ß 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 25(7) 1124–1137 (2010)
 FORMATION OF UPPER PLEISTOCENE TERRACES OF LAKE VAN (TURKEY) 1129

Figure 4 Topographic profile of lake-related terraces around Lake Van

1706 m a.s.l. (i.e. þ61–59 m) in the Zilan and Kotum valleys,
and T2000 at 1702–1700 m a.s.l. (i.e. þ55–53 m) in the Karasu
and Engil valleys. Close to site no. 16, the T20 surface truncates
sediments associated with a 1725 m lake level, whereas at site
no. 17 the same T20 terrace corresponds to slightly reworked
shore-face facies that is associated with a prograding fan delta
(Fig. 8).
The þ50 m terrace described by Schweizer (1975) corre-
sponds to the T3 terrace set, which comprises three levels. The
highest one (T3: 1696–1693 m, i.e. þ49–46 m) is restricted to
the intermediate parts of the Karasu and Zilan valleys. In
contrast, T30 (1689–1686 m, i.e. þ42–39 m) is extensive in the
lower reaches of the northeastern coast of Lake Van, and in
the Bendimahi, Karasu and Engil valleys (Figs 5 and 6). On the
longitudinal profile of the rivers, T3 and T30 terraces merge as a
single terrace that gently slopes downstream from 1696 to
1686–1683 m. A lower T300 level (1678–1676 m, i.e. þ31–
29 m) occurs in the northeastern part of the lake.
The lowest terraces comprise the T4 set. Located near today’s
river mouths, they occur at two levels (T40 and T400 ), each
reflecting episodes of river incision. The T40 terrace (1670–
1667 m, i.e. þ23–20 m) is only located on the northeastern
coast (Deliçay), where it is formed by lagoon deposits, and in
the Karasu valley, where it comprises an alluvial deposit

Figure 5 The lower Karasu valley: (A) location of sites studied; (B) extension of past lake deposits. 10 m contours are from 1:25 000 topographic maps.
Black circle is the location of sample VAN-05030, 39Ar/40Ar dated (see Fig. 10 A)

Copyright ß 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 25(7) 1124–1137 (2010)
1130 JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE

Figure 6 The lower Engil valley: (A) location of the sites studied; (B) extension of past lake deposits. 10 m contours are from 1:25 000 topographic maps

overlying bedrock. The T400 terrace is recorded at a common alluvial material exhumed from younger lake sediments at the
level over the basin at 1661–1659 m (i.e. þ14–12 m), merging Engil, Karasu and Zilan lower valleys, and (b) shallow-water
with a lower alluvial terrace (þ 9–7 m) near the Engil river lake sediments overlapping old river terraces (Engil river
mouth. This T400 terrace is a composite surface that erodes (a) mouth).

Figure 7 Synthetic section of the C1- and C2-related deposits and terraces in the Yumrutepe area (upstream from the river Karasu). Legend: 1,
substratum; 2, oldest (C10 ) lake bottomsets; 3, coastal deposits, i.e. maximum lake level reached by C100 transgression; 4, base of C100 transgression
(clay–silt bottomsets); 5, fan delta (C100 ); 6, alluvial deposits corresponding to a low lake level after the deposition of T2-forming sediments (C100 )
between cycle 1 and cycle 2; 7, base of C20 transgression (river deposits); 8, sandy, followed by silty bottomsets (C20 ); 9, regressive channel in C20
deposits; 10, Holocene terrace

Copyright ß 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 25(7) 1124–1137 (2010)
 FORMATION OF UPPER PLEISTOCENE TERRACES OF LAKE VAN (TURKEY)
Figure 8 Synthetic section of the C1- and C200 - related deposits and terraces in the lower Engil valley. Legend: 1, substratum; 2, oldest (C10 ) lake
bottomsets; 3, Sandy bottomsets recording the start of C100 regression; 4, conglomerate deposited during C100 /C2 alluvial phase; 5, clay bottomsets (C200
transgression); 6, sandy bottomsets (C20 transgression), ending with shallow-depth layers (exhibiting seismites); 7, channel fill; 8, Holocene fill of
today’s flood plain; 9: fault
Lake-level changes recorded by the Van Lake
terrace sets
We reconstruct a lake-level curve (Fig. 9) from the sedimento-
logical and stratigraphic analyses of the terrace sediments,
which differs from the step-organised terrace scheme apparent
in the topography and described above (Fig. 4). Two early high-
magnitude transgression phases reached altitudes > þ110 m
(C10 ) and þ85 m (C100 ). Two minor transgressions followed (C20
and C200 : þ55–50 m).
The lake-level curve recorded in T1 and T2 corresponds to
both older transgressions (Fig. 9). The altitudes reached and
the relative timing of these transgressions are best recorded in
the Karasu (Yumrutepe area; Figs 5 and 7) and in the Zilan
(Gözütok area) valleys. In both valleys, T1 corresponds at
places to lake varves deposited over the bedrock, indicating a
very high lake level (C10 ) in the tributary valleys. At other
places and in the Engil upper reaches, shallow deposits
indicate a lake level corresponding to the C10 transgression
that reached at least 1755 m a.s.l. Subsequently, the lake
level fell to <1690 m (site no. 21; Fig. 9). When the lake level
rose again, the C100 transgression deposited sediments that
unconformably rest over C10 varves. The lake then reached a
maximum level at 1735 m, an altitude consistent with that of
today’s threshold. The C100 transgression ended with the T2-
related sequences.
The lake-level decrease following C100 maximum gener-
ated the regression terraces T20 and T200 .These terraces are
of the abrasion type when truncating older lake sediments,
and of the depositional type when shallow-water deposits
occur. Near the mouth of the Kotum river (site no. 15),
the topsets of a T20 -related fan delta suggest a lake level
situated at 1715 m a.s.l. This lake level is also recorded
by beach sediments at 1714 m a.s.l. at Mollakasim (no. 14).
According to deposits around this site, the T20 terrace
records a falling lake level that remained stable first at
1715 m and later at 1712–1711 m. The T200 abrasion
Copyright ß 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
1131
terrace (1708–1706 m), present in the Kotum (no. 18)
and Zilan (no. 19) valleys, truncated clayey bottomsets
pertaining to the previous transgression C100 . This 1705 m
lake level was followed by a rapid and high-magnitude lake-
level fall.
The transition between the C100 and the younger C2
transgressions is associated with a very low lake level,
evidenced by 25 m thick alluvial deposits embedded in C10
and C100 transgression series (site nos 25, 26 and 27; YUM
1 in Fig. 7). At this site, we positioned the base of the
incision preceding the alluvial deposition at 1672 m a.s.l.,
a level at which it eroded the varves deposited during
previous C1 transgressions. This 1672 m altitude is similar
to that of today’s valley floor, suggesting that the lake
level might, at one point in time, have fallen to an
altitude similar to today’s. At locality no. 27 (YUM 1), the
flood plain ends with a palaeosol (1698 m a.s.l.) buried
below 2 m of flood deposits, also covering 1–3 m deep
channels that erode sandy bottomsets corresponding to
the C100 transgression. This stratigraphic position proves that
the YUM 1 alluvial units are younger than both the C10
and C100 lake series.
The T3 terrace (1702–1695 m) is a depositional terrace
corresponding to a transgression (C20 : Figs 5 and 6) that
overlaps and erodes C1 formations. At site no. 23 (Karasu), T3 is
formed of shallow-depth sediments which overlap the clayey
C10 bottomsets. The C20 maximum lake-level associated with
these deposits may be estimated at 1705–1702 m. During the
following fall, the lake level remained stable at 1698–1696 m.
This stabilisation caused the incision of the C20 top layers by
channels 3–4 m deep (site nos 21, 30, 2). Downstream at site
nos 28 and 29, a prograding fan delta also recorded this 1696 m
lake level.
The T30 terraces group (1689 and 1685–1683 m a.s.l.) is
located in areas closer to today’s river mouths. It is composed
both of regressive levels below T3 and of a slightly eroded
depositional terrace recording a younger transgression (C200 ).
J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 25(7) 1124–1137 (2010)
1132 JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE
Figure 9 Synthetic curve of Lake Van level changes, reconstructed from facies and stratigraphy records in terraces around the lake
Consequently, the T30 terrace group corresponds to two
different periods in the lake-level curve:
1. Abrasion terraces and fan delta surfaces recording a falling
lake level after C20 maximum. At Zeve (site no. 3b), the lake
level is estimated at 1690 m. Site no. 37 records a lake level
which had fallen down to 1681 m. At Kirklar (site no. 33), a
fan delta previously associated with a 1693 m lake level, a
decreasing lake level at 1685 m is recorded.
2. At other locations, the highest layers of the 1685–1683 m T30
terraces record shallow facies corresponding to the trans-
gression C200 . The maximum level reached by this C200
transgression was 1702–1700 m (Fig. 9). The deposits
recording this C200 maximum level were eroded after a
lake-level fall, by 3–5 m deep channels at site nos 34 in
the Engil valley (also see Kempe et al., 2002), 31 and 32 in
the Karasu valley and 35 in the Bendimahi valley. During the
C200 maximum lake level, almost all sites around the lake
were shaken by intense earthquakes that deformed terminal
fine sand/silt layers. These seismites relate to a phase of
paroxysmic volcano–tectonic activity which affected the
whole lake basin at the time of C200 maximum level.
The regression steps after C200 maximum lake level are
represented by the T300 and T4 terraces (Fig. 9). Terrace T300
(1678–1676 m) is extensive near the river mouths and along
the northeastern coast of the lake (Figs 5 and 6). It corresponds
to prograding fan deltas associated with a lake level that varied
between 1681 and 1676 m. The lake level during the T300
deposition was stable enough to form a coastal cliff on the
Mollakasım slope at 1677 m. This lake level is also recorded
on the right bank of the lower Zilan valley, where the fan delta
(summit at 1678 m) buried two different sets of waterlogged
bottomsets featuring the C200 lake transgression. In the Zilan
(site no. 41) and the Kotum valley (site no. 44), similar
altitudes of the T300 terrace confirm the stability of the
1677 m lake level during the regression. In the Kotum valley,
the lake deposits forming the terrace were covered by volcanic
ash.
The T4 group is composed of the T40 (1670–1667 m) and T400
terrace levels (1661–1659 m and 1656–1654 m). All of them
Copyright ß 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
occur close to today’s river mouths. Few of them are formed by
lacustrine sediments, while others correspond to old alluvial
material exhumed from below C2 transgressive series. T4
terraces thus date back to low lake-level phases previous to the
C2 transgressions. They record the existence of at least two
fossilised alluvial (low lake-level) phases.
At site nos 43 (T40 ) in the Zilan valley, 46 (T400 ) in the Karasu
valley and 44 (T400 ) in the Kotum valley, the upper levels of these
old exhumed alluvial terraces are deeply weathered by a
reddish palaeosol. At site no. 44 the palaeosol is truncated and
covered by a thick travertine buried below the C100 lake series
(no. 15). A younger, unweathered terrace (T40 ) that is
embedded in the travertine is partly composed of reworked
travertine blocks. This observation shows the existence of two
different alluvial records that date from before and after
travertine deposition. The younger unweathered alluvial
terraces were exhumed from below C2 transgression series
at various locations: T40 and T400 near the Karasu mouth (no. 32)
and in the Engil valley (no. 49). The direct fossilisation of these
terraces by both C20 and C200 lake series, as well as the material
reworked at the base of the transgressive series (e.g. pumices at
site no. 48; gravels at site nos 49 and 32) point to an emersion
and a river network that were associated with the regression
separating C100 and C20 lake-level rises. This floodplain was
most probably related to the low lake level between C100 and
C20 evidenced in Yumrutepe sections at 1650 m. However, in
the course of the regression which followed C200 maximum,
rivers also incised the substratum below the alluvium deposits.
The fact that this post-C200 lake fall generated cliffs in the
bedrock, the lowest part of which have since then been buried
by younger alluvial fills, demonstrates that the post-C200 lake
regression reached an altitude much lower than today’s lake
level.
Finally, the level rose up to today’s, generating the filling of
the present flood plains. During this later period, Bronze Age
populations settled near the shores of a lake whose level was
3 m below today’s during the third millennium BC (EBA site in
the Zilan delta), and  þ 5 m during the second millennium BC
(LBA site north of Van). Field evidence of these latest changes is
scarce, however, and not confirmed by any section or
excavation.
J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 25(7) 1124–1137 (2010)
 FORMATION OF UPPER PLEISTOCENE TERRACES OF LAKE VAN (TURKEY)
Chronology
C1-related sediments were not suitable for radiocarbon dating
since the samples yielded finite ages. Unbroken Dreissena
shells (Yumrutepe no. 2; Beyüzümü) and bulk organic material
(Beyüzümü) related to the C100 highest highstand yielded 14C
ages older than 31 and 34 14C ka BP, respectively (Table 1).
However, two uranium series and one 39Ar/40Ar age post-date
C10 and pre-date C100 rises. A 5 m thick travertine from the
Kotum valley (site no. 44) which is overlapped by a C100 fan
delta was dated 102.2  3.8 ka (top) and 102.2 þ8.1/
7.5 ka
(base) (Table 2). In a nearby section (no. 15), this C100 fan delta
covers a >4 m thick pumice fall (Mouralis et al., 2010), the
feldspars from which (VAN 05021) yielded a 39Ar/40Ar age of
117  5.2 ka (Fig. 10(B)). The C100 transgression (1735 m) is thus
younger than ca. 100 ka.
The first C2 level rise (C20 ) is dated by one 39Ar/40Ar
(Fig. 10(A)) and two 14C samples (Table 1). Near Topaktas
village (Karasu valley), feldspars from a 5 m thick pumice fall
that is covered by the C20 transgressive deposits yielded an age
of 31.4  6.6 ka (Fig. 10(A)). In addition, 14C ages obtained from
shallow-depth sediments recording the end of C20 transgression
at 1684 m (site no. 30) indicated ages that range between 25.7
cal. ka BP (base) and 24.9 cal. ka BP (top) (Table 1). These
results allowed us to determine the age of this C20 maximum at
ca. 26 cal. ka BP. Moreover, in the maximum level reached by
the youngest C200 transgression, organic samples found near the
top of the T30 terrace transgressive series were 14C dated in the
Engil valley at site no. 34 by Kempe et al. (2002) at 21 cal. ka
39
Figure 10 Ar/40Ar dating of feldspars from two tephras related to Lake Van level changes
Copyright ß 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
1133
BP. These authors date the related highest water stand at ca.
20.5 cal. ka BP.
In conclusion, the C20 transgression started after 35–30 ka BP
and reached its maximum level (1705 m) ca. 25 cal. ka BP. After
falling to 1666 m, the lake level rose again (C200 ; 1702 m) at
20.5 cal. ka BP. The subsequent regression occurred in three
level stands (T300 , T40 and T400 ). This regression triggered the
erosion of the transgressive layers, the truncation of shallow-
depth sediments, the exhumation of buried terraces and the
incision of the bedrock. This post-C200 very low lake level
occurred after the LGM.
Discussion
Relationships between climate and Lake Van
lake-level changes
According to site no. 44, the age of the C10 transgression is older
than that of the travertine dated 110 ka. The altitude reached by
this C10 transgression (1755 m) is recorded at 1747 m
(Karasu), 1751 m (Zilan) and 1745 m (Engil). These altitudes
are higher than today’s threshold (1736 m), which means that
the threshold during C10 lake maximum was higher than the
present one, suggesting that the lake basin has undergone
significant morphological changes. Such changes can only be
related either to volcanism (e.g. a volcanic flow damming water
up to an altitude of 1755 m, followed by an erosion of this dam)
J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 25(7) 1124–1137 (2010)
1134 JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE

or, less probably, to tectonics (e.g. downfaulting of a block
possibly forming an old threshold), or both. The volcanism-
related hypothesis is sustained by evidence of a very large
pumice flow having filled in all the river valleys in the Kotum
area (the Küçüksu, Güzeldere and Kotum valleys; Fig. 11). This
thick pyroclastite, emitted by the Nemrut volcano, is the oldest
one identified in the Kotum area (Mouralis et al., 2010). Its
highest outcrops reach an altitude of 1870 m. During the same
event, a welded ignimbrite flow filled in, up to 1785m, a valley
at the foot of the volcano, which might have been drained by a
former outlet of the lake. These data suggest that the factor
triggering C10 lake-level rise was possibly volcanic.
The C10 regression triggered the river erosion of C10
bottomsets in the upper Karasu and Zilan valleys, forming
the T4 reddish river terraces which were later fossilised below
C2-related sediments.
In the Eastern Mediterranean, the climate during Last Glacial
was mostly dry until ca. 40 or 30 ka (Bar-Matthews et al., 1997;
Kuzucuoğlu et al., 1999; Machlus et al., 2000; Gvirtzman and
Wieder, 2001). According to the Soreq cave speleothem record
in Israel, this was interrupted by minor wetter episodes dated at
ca. 80–75 ka, 48–46 ka and 36–33 ka (Bar-Matthews et al.,
1997). During the same period, Lake Lisan (the precursor of the
Dead Sea) also recorded a dry period starting at ca. 56 ka which
ended in the desiccation of the lake between 47 and 44 ka
(Machlus et al., 2000). The dry characteristics of the Last
Glacial ended ca. 35 ka ago, when the Lake Lisan lake level
rose. The end of the Last Glacial low precipitation period on the
coastal zone of Israel occurred earlier, at ca. 40 ka BP
(Gvirtzman and Wieder, 2001). In the Konya plain (central
Anatolia), dryness increased through the Last Glacial with three
extreme drought episodes 234U/230Th dated at about 110–100,
68–66 and 33–30 ka (Kuzucuoğlu et al., 1999). In spite of this
dry Last Glacial context, the C100 Lake Van water level rose to an
altitude of 1730/1735 m after 100 ka and before 35 ka.
This lake highstand is most likely associated with a moist and/or
warm phase. This phase may have been short in time, possibly
paralleling the humid period previous to 56 ka in the Lake
Lisan or the wetter episode dated 48–46 ka in the Soreq
cave. However, because of the altitude similarity of its
maximum (þ88 m a.l.l. at Mollakasım) and today’s lake
threshold (þ89 m), C100 rise may be related to a volcanic
damming. Regardless of the impact the volcanic activity had on
the lake topography, the volumes of water needed for the lake
to rise to 1730–1735 m must be associated with moister
conditions than today, and/or to high temperatures that caused
the melting of ice and snow in the surrounding highlands.
During the regression which followed the C100 maximum
level, wide and stepped abrasion terraces truncated the C1
cycle sediments. Later, rivers incised all C1 series down to a
depth indicating a lake level at 1645 m. The starting date of
this C100 /C20 low lake-level phase is still unknown, but it ended
at ca. 30 ka BP. The C100 /C20 lake-level drop might then
correspond to arid phases also prevailing during MIS 3 in the
Levant (Bartov et al., 2003) and central Anatolia (Kuzucuoğlu
et al., 1999).
The chronology of the C2-related transgressions is better
defined. The C20 maximum level was reached at ca. 26–25 cal.
ka BP. This age fits palaeoclimatic records that indicate a sharp
rise of humidity in the Eastern Mediterranean, often explained
by a low evaporation precipitation ratio (e.g. Roberts and
Wright, 1993; Bar-Matthews et al., 1997). The timing of both

Figure 11 The Kotum–Küçüksu–Güzeldere valleys (south of Tatvan). 100 m contours are from SRTM data. Dotted line indicates the approximate limit
of today’s drainage of Lake Van. Legend: , thresholds related to ‘Bitlis’ and ‘Kotum’ ignimbrites; *, location of site 05021, 39Ar/40Ar dated (see
Fig. 10(B)): , location of site 06-33, 234U/230Th dated (see Table 2); &, town

Copyright ß 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 25(7) 1124–1137 (2010)
 FORMATION OF UPPER PLEISTOCENE TERRACES OF LAKE VAN (TURKEY)
C2 highstands (C20 : 26–25 cal. ka BP; C200 : 22–20 cal. ka BP) of
Lake Van is comparable to other records in the Levant (Machlus
et al., 2000; Bartov et al., 2002; Landmann et al., 2002) and in
central Anatolia (Kuzucuoğlu and Roberts, 1997; Fontugne
et al., 1999; Kuzucuoğlu et al., 1999; Jones et al., 2007), where
the highest lake levels were attained between 26 and 19 cal. ka
BP. In this general ca. 30–17 cal. ka BP moist context, the ca.
24–22 cal. ka BP regression that separates the C20 and C200 rises
is comparable to a similar one evidenced in Lake Lisan at ca.
24–23 cal. ka BP (Bartov et al., 2002; Landmann et al., 2002).
The lake-level regression that started shortly after the C200
maximum at 20 cal. ka BP parallels an important lake-level
drop in Lake Lisan from 19 to 15 cal. ka BP (Bartov et al., 2002;
Landmann et al. 2002). In Cappadocia, a moisture decrease
started at 19 cal. ka BP, the drought lasting until 15 cal. ka BP
(Jones et al., 2007). In central Anatolia, the Konya LGM mega-
lake disappeared at ca. 20.5 cal. ka BP (Fontugne et al., 1999),
and a dry climatic context lasted until ca. 14.5 cal. ka BP
(Kuzucuoğlu et al., 1998). In Lake Van, the post-20 cal. ka BP
river incision eroded the older lake- and river-related deposits,
as well as the bedrock below, indicating that the lake-level drop
reached an altitude lower than 1646 m. This recession is
probably recorded by a sand layer at
430 m below lake level
and pre-dated at 14 570  234 varve years (Landmann et al.,
1996). During this very low level phase, the western basin of
Lake Van did not dry (Litt et al., 2009).
After ca. 14570 ka varve years (Landmann et al., 1996), the
Lake Van water level rose in relation to the Late Glacial warming
(15–12 cal. ka BP), as did also the other Eastern Mediterranean
records. During the Late Glacial, mountain glaciers and snow
melted in the Lake Van basin, causing the lake-water rise. This
rise might appear modest as it did not reach, apparently, an
altitude higher than today’s. However, it relates to a large
increase in lake-water volume because, when the lake started to
rise, its level was much lower than the present one. In Lake Lisan,
a similar lake-level increase started ca. 15 cal. ka BP, and lasted
until 11 cal. ka BP. Although the Younger Dryas (YD) was
characterised as a dry and cold period paralleled by a lake-level
decrease (Landmann et al., 1996; Wick et al., 2003), our
investigation did not identify a lake-level drop which could be
attributed to the YD. However, part of the incision prior to
today’s floodplains may correspond to this YD-triggered lake-
level decrease, which might be preserved below today’s lake.
The floodplain fills would consequently be of Holocene age.
Impacts of volcanic activity on lake-level
changes
The maximum levels reached by both C10 and C100 transgres-
sions showed that the water budget of the lake (precipita-
tion þ runoff vs. evaporation) ensured a volume of water much
higher than the present one (960 km3, corresponding to a
1730 m high lake level, compared to the present 640 km3 at
1647 m). The amount of water volume needed to reach 1755
and 1732 m lake levels was most likely sourced from the
meltwater provided by the snow and ice mountain caps when
the air temperatures were milder. However, large quantities of
pyroclastite flows and falls from the Nemrut volcano deeply
affected the hydrographic drainage of Lake Van. Thus it is
probable that volcanism also played an important role in the
occurrence of these lake-level rises.
In the Kotum–Küçüksu valleys (Fig. 11), major pyroclastic
flows are related to the C1 cycle (Mouralis et al., 2010). Near
the Küçüksu river spring, a welded facies of an ignimbrite flow
is today observed at 1860 m below a black pumice (BPF)
Copyright ß 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
1135
accumulation. The geochemical composition of the BPF is
similar to that of the ‘Bitlis’ flow (Çubukçu, 2008) which filled a
palaeovalley at the foot of the Nemrut volcano. This valley may
have been that of a palaeo-outlet of Lake Van. Mouralis et al.
(2010) interpret both flows as belonging to the same magmatic
event, i.e. the caldera formation of the Nemrut, which is dated
between 90 and 30 ka by Çubukçu (2008).
These ignimbrite flows generated two thresholds: (a) a
northern one at 1785 m north of Tatvan (the ‘Bitlis’ flow); and
(b) a southern one in the Tokaçli–Küçüksu valleys, formed by
the soft ‘BPF’, which at places reached an altitude of 1870 m,
flowing westwards in the Küçüksu valley down to an altitude of
1793 m. This BPF flow fill was 50 m thick. In the Tokaçli and
Küçüksu valleys, the BPF soft facies was subsequently eroded
by rivers. Subsequently, the BPF remains were overlain by a
coarse alluvial deposit, indicating that the time elapsed
between the emission of the BPF and younger volcanic fills
(e.g. the ‘Kotum’ ignimbrite) was long enough to allow the
erosion of the BPF. Finally, a reopening of the drainage system
possibly occurred through a palaeovalley (composed of both
the Küçüksu and Güzeldere valleys?) below the Bitlis flow
surface at 1785 m.
During a second activity phase, another Nemrut eruption
emitted the ‘Kotum’ ignimbrite which invaded a short palaeo-
tributary to the lake, today reincised by the Kotum stream. The
basal morphology of this ignimbrite shows that the Kotum
palaeovalley had not yet captured the Küçüksu river (Fig. 11).
The ‘Kotum’ ignimbrite flooded the pass, invaded the
Güzeldere palaeovalley south towards the Tigris headwaters,
not penetrating east to the Küçüksu valley but isolating it from
the Tigris watershed. This younger ignimbrite generated today’s
lake threshold at 1736 m and forced the Küçüksu to divert into
the Kotum valley. After 100 ka and before 30 ka ago, according
to the age of the travertine, the C200 lake transgression invaded
the Kotum valley up to an altitude of 1731–1735 m, as shown
by alluvial fans and lake bottomsets resting over the ‘Kotum’
ignimbrite.
Therefore, we propose five stages:
1. Before the formation of the Nemrut caldera, a palaeolake
Van was confined in the Tatvan basin, with an outlet north of
Tatvan, which was flowing to the Tigris or Euphrates.
2. In the course of the Nemrut caldera formation, the welded
Bitlis ignimbrite dammed this outlet up to 1785 m, while the
BPF invaded the Tokaçli and Küçüksu valleys, possibly
damming the route for another outlet. These morphological
changes may have forced the C10 lake-level rise.
3. The rapid erosion of the soft BPF could have contributed to
the (climatically triggered?) regression separating C10 from
C100 by providing a temporary outlet through the Küçüksu–
Güzeldere valley (or another route?).
4. After an unknown time span, and during the low-lake period
preceding C100 rise, the ‘Kotum’ ignimbrite generated a new
dam, keeping the C100 lake transgression from rising above
1736 m.
5. During the lake fall which followed the C100 transgression,
the Küçüksu river, captured by the Kotum stream, made its
way along the side of the ‘Kotum’ ignimbrite, heading to
Lake Van.
Conclusions
Fieldwork on the terrace deposits and associated features
around Lake Van provided a lake-level curve reconstructed
from morphology, stratigraphy and facies analyses (deposi-
tional environments) coupled with DGPS altitude measure-
J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 25(7) 1124–1137 (2010)
1136 JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE
ments. The relative chronology of these lake-level changes can
be summarised as follows:
 Before 115 ka ago, Lake Van level rose to 1755 m. This
altitude is evidenced by C10 -related sediments identified
between 1745 and 1755 m in three different river basins.
With regard to the present threshold of the lake (1736 m), a
1755 m high lake level means either a regional uplift of the
whole area after the C10 maximum level date, or most
probably a high mobility of the drainage network since
C10 transgression time. This mobility could be explained
by successive river network changes (enclosures/openings)
related to the Nemrut volcano activity. Before these events, a
palaeolake Van was most probably confined to the western
part of today’s lake.
 After ca. 100 ka and before 35 ka ago, Lake Van rose again
(C100 ) to ca. 1735–1731 m, an altitude similar to today’s
topographic threshold (1736 m) formed by the ‘Kotum’
ignimbrite flow. This similarity suggests a possible role of
volcanic activity in the C100 transgression. In spite of the
scarcity of comparable records older than 35 cal. ka in the
Eastern Mediterranean region, the water volume necessary
for ensuring a lake level at ca. 1735–1731 m yet points to the
important role of climate through snowmelt and/or humidity.
 Between 28 and 20 cal. ka BP, two high lake-level phases
(C20 and C200 ) occurred, both reaching 1700–1705 m. The
parallel between C2 rises and falls with palaeoclimatic
records from other sequences in the eastern Mediterranean
which are characterised by high humidity and high lake
levels between 26 and 19 cal. ka BP suggests that climate
was the controlling factor of Lake Van level changes during
this time.
 The regression phases occurred in steps down to similar (end
of C100 regression) or lower (end of C200 regression) levels than
today’s. Except for the lake-level fall between C20 and C200
(too short in time and in magnitude), major regressions (post-
C10 and post-C200 transgressions) generated (a) the deep
incision of the river network within the previous lake sedi-
ments and (b) the formation of old alluvial terraces, partly
exhumed today from below younger lake series.
These results partly support previous data published by
Degens and Kurtmann (1978), who suggested that the Lake
Van terraces were Upper Pleistocene in age, on both the basis
of one 14C date (Valeton, 1978) and of calculations from salt
content suggesting a 100–60 ka age to the lake (Kempe et al.,
1978). Indeed, we argue here that three phases of high lake
levels occurred during the Upper Pleistocene, the latest two
corresponding to the LGM. In detail, these hydrological
changes can be interpreted in the light of palaeoclimate
changes reconstructed from other Eastern Mediterranean cli-
matic records.
However, a newly documented uppermost terrace and
associated deposits give insights into a more complex history of
the Lake Van basin before the Upper Pleistocene. At some time
prior to 110 ka ago, a palaeolake in the western part of today’s
lake had, most probably, an outlet to the Tigris headwaters. If
true, the chemical characteristics of the lake were then different
from the present ones. When, before 110 ka, high quantities of
volcanic material (flows and falls) were emitted by the Nemrut
volcano, these products dammed the outlet and caused the C10
lake-level rise. Since this period, the drainage area of the lake
was subject to further volcanism-related changes such as
damming (lake-level rises) and erosion of dams (lake-level
falls). Moreover, various other palaeogeographic changes have
also impacted the lake level, including surface and under-
ground tributary changes caused either by the accumulation of
Copyright ß 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
volcanic products in valleys (Küçüksu and Güzeldere valleys)
or by tectonic movements (the isolation of Erçek Lake, in the
eastern part of the basin).
Acknowledgements The authors are thankful to the institutions which
supported the ‘ANOVAN’ Project (2006–2008): TÜBITAK (ÇAYDAG
105Y125; SOBAG 105Y127), the CNRS (ECLIPSE II and PICS), Van
University (FED-B-10), the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (PHC) and
the French Embassy in Ankara. They also thank the UMR 8591, 6266,
1572 and 8586, which participated in the financial support of the
programme. The authors are very grateful to the reviewers of this article,
A. Long, S. Giralt and A. Bigonneau, for their contribution to the final
version.
References
Aydar E, Gourgaud A, Ulusoy I, Digonnet F, Labazuy P, Sen E, Bayhan
H, Kerttas T, Tolluogl U. 2003. Morphological analysis of active
Mount Nemrut strato-volcano, eastern Turkey: evidences and
possible impact of future eruption. Journal of Volcanology and
Geothermal Research 123: 301–312.
Bar-Matthews M, Ayalon A, Kaufman A. 1997. Late Quaternary paleo-
climate in the Eastern Mediterranean region from stable isotope
analysis of spelethems at Soreq Cave, Israel. Quaternary Research
47: 155–168.
Bartov Y, Stein M, Enzel Y, Agnon A, Reches Z. 2002. Lake levels and
sequence stratigraphy of Lake Lisan, the Late Pleistocene Precursor of
the Dead Sea. Quaternary Research 57: 9–21.
Bartov Y, Goldstein SL, Steint M, Enzel Y. 2003. Catastrophic arid
episodes in the eastern Mediterranean linked with the North Atlantic
Heinrich events. Geology 31: 439–442.
Christol A, Kuzucuoğlu C, Fort M, Karabiyikoğlu M, Mouralis D,
Brunstein D, Doğu A-F, Akköprü E, Fontugne M, Zorer H. 2008.
Apports de l’étude géomorphologique des terrasses fluvio-lacustres
du lac de Van (Turquie) à la connaissance des paléoenvironnements
en Anatolie orientale. In Paysages et Environnements: De la Recon-
stitution du Passé aux Modèles Prospectifs,. Galop D editor. Annales
littéraires, Série ‘Environnement, sociétés et archéologie’. PU de
Franche-Comt: Besançon.
Christol A, Kuzucuoğlu C, Fort M, Mouralis D, Doğu A-F, Akköprü E,
Fontugne M, Brunstein D, Karabiyikoğlu M, Scaillet S, Zorer H. 2010.
Indicateurs morphosédimentaires des variations de niveau lacustre
dans les terrasses du lac de Van. Quaternaire (in press).
Çubukçu E. 2008. Evolution pétrologique du strato-volcan Nemrut Dagi
(Turquie): magmatisme hyperalcalin en domaine de collision. Doc-
toral thesis, Blaise Pascal University, Clermont-Ferrand II.
Currey DR. 1990. Quaternary paleolakes in the evolution of semidesert
basins, with special emphasis on Lake Bonneville and the Great
Basin. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeocology 76: 189–
204.
Degens ET, Kurtmann F. 1978. Geology of Lake Van. MTA Press:
Ankara.
Délibrias G. 1985. Le carbone 14. In Méthodes de Datation par les
Phénomènes Nucléaires Naturels: Applications, Roth E, Poty B
editors. Masson: Paris; 421–458.
Demirel-Schlueter F, Krastel S, Demirbağ E, Imren C, Toker M, Niessen
F, Litt T, Sturm M. 2006. Determination of potential ICDP sites and
reconstruction of lake level changes at Lake Van, Turkey, based on
high resolution seismic surveying. Geophysical Research Abstracts 8:
EGU-03847.
Fontugne M, Kuzucuoğlu C, Karabiyikoğlu M, Hatté C, Pastre J-F. 1999.
From Pleniglacial to Holocene. A 14C chronostratigraphy of environ-
mental changes in the Konya Plain, Turkey. Quaternary Science
Reviews 18: 573–592.
Gvirtzman G, Wieder M. 2001. Climate of the last 53,000 years in the
eastern Mediterranean, based on soil-sequence stratigraphy in the
coastal plain of Israel. Quaternary Science Reviews 20: 1827–1849.
J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 25(7) 1124–1137 (2010)
 FORMATION OF UPPER PLEISTOCENE TERRACES OF LAKE VAN (TURKEY)
Horasan G, Boztepe-Güney A. 2007. Observation and analysis of low-
frequency crustal earthquakes in Lake Van and its vicinity, eastern
Turkey. Journal of Seismology 11: 1–13.
Jones MD, Roberts CN, Leng MJ. 2007. Quantifying change through the
last glacial–interglacial transition based on lake isotope palaeohy-
drology from central Turkey. Quaternary Research 67: 463–473.
Jung D, Keller J, Eckhardt F-J. 1978. Heavy mineral contents and
geochemistry of pumice glass from tephra layers in sediments of
Lake Van (East Anatolia). In Geology of Lake Van, Degens ET,
Kurtmann F editors. MTA Press: Ankara; 102–110.
Kadioğlu M, Şen Z, Batur E. 1997. The greatest soda-water lake in the
world and how it is influenced by climatic change. Annales Geo-
physicae 15: 1489–1497.
Karabıyıkoğlu M, Kuzucuoğlu C, Fontugne M, Kaiser B, Mouralis D,
Babyığıt S. 1999. Facies and depositional sequences of the Late
Pleistocene Göçü shoreline system, Konya basin, Central Anatolia:
implications for reconstructing lake-level changes. Quaternary
Science Reviews 18: 593–609.
Kempe S, Degens ET. 1978. Lake Van record: the past 10,420 years. In
Geology of Lake Van, Degens E, Kurtmann F editors. MTA Press:
Ankara; 56–63.
Kempe S, Khoo F, Gürleyik Y. 1978. Hydrography of Lake Van and its
drainage area. In Geology of Lake Van, Degens E, Kurtmann F
editors. MTA Press: Ankara; 30–44.
Kempe S, Landmann G, Müller G. 2002. A floating varve chronology
from the last glacial maximum terrace of Lake Van/Turkey. Zeiths-
chrift Geomorphologie (NF Suppl.) 126: 97–114.
Kipfer R, Aeschbach-Hertig W, Baur H, Hofer M, Imboden DM, Signer
P. 1994. Injection of mantle type helium into Lakve Van (Turkey): the
clue for quantifying deep water renewal. Earth and Planetary Science
Letters 125: 357–370.
Klinger Y, Avouac JP, Bourles D, Tisnerat N. 2003. Alluvial deposition
and lake-level fluctuations forced by Late Quaternary climate
change: the Dead Sea case example. Sedimentary Geology 162:
119–139.
Ku TL. 1976. The uranium series method of age determination. Annual
Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 4: 347–379.
Kuzucuoğlu C, Roberts N. 1997. Evolution de l’environnement en
Anatolie de 20000 à 6000 BP. Paléorient 23: 7–24.
Kuzucuoğlu C, Parish R, Karabıyıkoğlu M. 1998. The dune systems of
the Konya Plain (Turkey): their relation to the environmental changes
in Central Anatolia during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Geo-
morphology 23: 257–271.
Kuzucuoğlu C, Bertaux J, Black S, Denèfle M, Fontugne M, Karabıyı-
koğlu M, Kashima K, Limondin-Lozouet N, Mouralis D, Orth P. 1999.
Reconstruction of climatic changes during the Late Pleistocene,
based on sediment records from the Konya Basin (Central Anatolia,
Turkey). Geology Journal (Special Issue on Turkish Geology) 34:
175–198.
Landmann G, Reimer A, Lemcke G, Kempe S. 1996. Dating late glacial
abrupt climate changes in the 14570 years long continuous varve
record of lake Van, Turkey. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology,
Palaeoecology 122: 105–118.
Landmann G, Abu Qudaira GM, Shawabkeh K, Wrede V, Kempe S.
2002. Geochemistry of the Lisan and Damya Formations in Jordan,
and implications for palaeoclimate. Quaternary International 89:
45–57.
Lemcke G, Sturm M. 1997. Delta 18O and trace element measurements
as proxy for the reconstruction of climate changes at Lake Van
(Turkey): preliminary results. In Third Millennium BC Climate
Copyright ß 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
1137
Change and Old World Collapse, Dalfes HN, Kukla G, Weiss H
editors. Springer: Berlin; 653–678.
Litt T, Krastel S, Sturm M, Kipfer R, Örçen S, Heumann G, Franz SO,
Ülgen BU, Niessen F. 2009. ‘Palaeovan’, International Continental
Scientific Drilling Programme (ICDP): site survey results and
perspectives. Quaternary Science Reviews 28: 1555–1567.
Machlus M, Enzel Y, Goldstein S, Marco S, Stein M. 2000. Reconstruct-
ing low levels of Lake Lisan by correlating fan delta and lacustrine
deposits. Quaternary International 73-74: 137–144.
Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. 1998. Van gölü ve
çevreşindeki suların izotopik ve kimyasal içeriklerinin belirlenmesi
ve su değensinin incelenmesi. [Research on isotopic and chemical
characteristics, and water vulnerability of Lake Van and its drainage
area]. TC Enerji ve Tabii Kaynaklar Bakanlığı, Ankara.
Mouralis D, Kuzucuoğlu C, Scaillet S, Doğu A-F, Christol A, Akköprü E,
Fontugne M, Zorer H, Guillou H. 2010. Les pyroclastites du sud-
ouest du lac de Van (Anatolie orientale, Turquie): implications sur la
paléo-hydrographie régionale. Quaternaire (in press).
Naruse T, Kitagawa H, Hishashi M. 1997. Lake level changes and
development of alluvial fans in Lake Tuz and the Konya basin during
the last 24,000 years on the Anatolian plateau, Turkey. Japan Review
8: 65–84.
Roberts N, Wright HE Jr. 1993. Vegetational, lake-level and climatic
history of the Near East and Southwest Asia. In Global Climates since
the Last Glacial Maximum, Wright HE Jr, Kutzbach JE, Webb T III,
Ruddiman WF, Street-Perrott FA, Bartlein PJ editors. University of
Minnesota Press: Minneapolis, MN; 194–220.
Scaillet S. 2000. Numerical error analysis in 40Ar/39Ar dating. Chemical
Geology 162: 269–298.
Schweizer G. 1975. Untersuchungen zur Physiogeographie von Osta-
natolien und Nordwestiran, geomorphologische, kilma- und hydro-
geographische Studien im Vansee- und Rezaiyehsee-Gebiet.
Tübinger Geographische Studien, Institute of Geography, University
of Tübingen.
Şengör C, Özeren M, Keskin M, Sakinç M, Özbakir A, Kayan I. 2008.
Eastern Turkish high-plateau as a small Turkic-type orogen: implica-
tions for post-collisional crust-forming processes in Turkic-type oro-
gens. Earth-Science Reviews 90: 1–48.
Stuiver M, Reimer P. 1993. Extended 14C data base and revised
Calib 3.0 14C age calibration programme. Radiocarbon 35: 215–
230.
Valeton I. 1978. A morphological and petrological study of the terraces
around Lake Van, Turkey. In Geology of Lake Van, Degens E,
Kurtmann F editors. MTA Press: Ankara; 64–80.
van Zeist W, Woldring H. 1978. A postglacial pollen diagram from Lake
Van in the East Anatolia. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 26:
249–276.
Wick L, Lemcke G, Sturm M. 2003. Evidence of Late-glacial and
Holocene climate change and human impact in eastern Anatolia:
high resolution pollen, charcoal, isotopic and geochemical records
from the laminates sediments of Lake Van. The Holocene 13: 665–
675.
Wong HK, Finckh P. 1978. Shallow structures in Lake Van. In Geology
of Lake Van, Degens E, Kurtmann F editors. MTA Press: Ankara; 20–
27.
Yılmaz Y, Güner Y, Şaroğlu F. 1998. Geology of the quaternary
volcanic centres of the east Anatolia. Journal of Volcanology and
Geothermal Research 85: 173–210.
Zohary M. 1973. Geobotanical Foundations of the Middle East. Gustav
Fischer: Stuttgart.
J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 25(7) 1124–1137 (2010)