Located in Southwest Turkey in Burdur province, Lake Salda invites travelers worldwide. This mid-sized Crater Lake has a distinctive set of features making it a wonderful natural spectacle.  Let’s focus on Lake Salda’s mysterious appeal, its past, as well as its role in NASA’s search for alien existence.

The Environments of Lake Salda

Lake Salda occupies 4,325 hectares with its maximal depth of 196 m and is one of the largest and deepest Turkish lakes. Surrounded by luxuriant black pine forests, this beautiful lake presents a breathtaking scene against the snow-white beaches and clear blue ocean. Seven untainted islands lie on the lake, making the scenery more appealing.

However, lake Salda is not just something pretty. Also it is full of natural marvels. Scientists have learnt about past climate changes including those resulting from sun variations during the last thousand years through its sedimentary record. That is not surprising because in addition its waters contain hydromagnesite, which doctors say can cure many skin complaints. Uniquely, this has made Lake Salda attract health seekers as well as nature lovers.

A Geological Enigma: Stromatolite Algae

Lake Salda’s exceptional geological characteristics are not limited simply to its size and depth. Stromatolite algae, an ancient, still-living remnant from the early Earth, thrives in Lake Natron’s remarkably alkaline ambiance. The stromatolites are layered structures that occur as a result of interaction between the microbial communities and some other materials dissolved in water. Such fossil records have been identified as some of the oldest life indicators in the earth.

Lake Salda: Linking Earth to Mars

It is well known that Lake Salda’s importance goes beyond the Earth itself. This amazing location is also of great interest to NASA – US space agency. Some of the oldest records, in terms of life on earth, are fossilized marine organisms found in sediments, such as rocks and minerals along Lake Salda’s shore line, formed through microbiological activity. These microbialites formed an important part of the life system that existed on earth eons ago, providing us with glimpses of this life history.

NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance is an exploration for astrobiology trying to find indicators of previous life on the Martian surface. In preparation for this mission, science has shifted to Lake Salda for the analysis of microfossils that are used as an indicators to comprehend potential discoveries in Mars. It landed at Jezero Crater of Mars for checking mineral and rocks materials there. It has been discovered that Lake Salda shows similarities with geological features of Jezero crater in which scientists strongly believe one time there was water and river delta and this could be another interesting location to look for biosignatures and organic compounds.

Therefore, Lake Salda is significant in astrobiology and research on alien life. For instance, this lake is important for NASA’s efforts to unravel mysteries about Mars history because of the research it has enabled NASA to undertake.

Lake Salda could have been simply another attractive site to visit, a place where those interested can enjoy themselves and experience something new. There are indeed no words that can compare to such marvels as this water body and albeit antediluvian algae, especially when we take into consideration its historical value, not just for Earth, but Mars as well.