Guide
Kartal Gölü stands at 1,903 metres and was declared a protected area by the national parks directorate. The provincial directorate describes the black pine forest here as the oldest in Türkiye. The lake and the area called the Monument Forest around it are rich in plant life and a draw for natural scientists.
The setting is glacial. From Ulugöl Tepe at 2,261 metres, one of the peaks of Sandras Dağı, a glacial valley runs north-east for 1.5 kilometres, 500 to 700 metres wide, descending from 2,200 metres. Known as the Kartal Gölü glacial valley, it carries clear forms of glacial erosion and deposition: at the upper end of the profile it begins in a crescent-shaped basin enclosed on three sides by steep slopes, then steps down along the gradient. The lake itself is a moraine-dammed lake formed in that valley.
What makes the forest ecosystem rare is that the black pine forms pure stands here, and that among them stand old, tall individuals of monument quality, averaging between 250 and 700 years.
Alpine vegetation dominates around the lake, and it is rich in meadow and pasture plants — dandelion, bird's-foot trefoil, clover and others. Small fish live in the lake. For these reasons 1,309 hectares were set aside as a nature conservation area, so that the character of the place could be kept and put to the service of science and education, and so that it would remain for people now and for those who come after.
