Yumurtalik Lagoon National Park, Nature reserve and national park in Adana Province, Turkey.
Yumurtalik Lagoon is a nature reserve and national park along the Mediterranean coast covering roughly 20000 hectares of interlinked freshwater and coastal areas. The landscape includes sand dunes, salt marshes, and stream banks that form diverse habitats for wildlife.
The area gained its first protection status in 1993 and was later designated as a Ramsar wetland site in 2005, which marked its international importance. These steps reflected growing recognition of the site's role in conservation.
The lagoon plays a role in the lives of local people through traditional fishing practices that continue around its waters. The area demonstrates how communities and nature can coexist, with visitors learning how locals depend on and care for this landscape.
Bird watching is possible throughout the year, with dedicated viewing areas located throughout the park for comfortable observation. The site is most active during migration seasons when many species pass through or arrive for winter.
This lagoon is the only Mediterranean location where green sea turtles spend their winters, and it also shelters loggerhead turtles in its protected waters. Few places offer such important refuge for these rare reptiles during cold months.
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