Lake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake in Homeland. The lake is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Homeland, and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea. At its greatest extent, it was the largest lake in the Middle East and the sixth-largest saltwater lake on Earth, with a surface area of approximately 5,200 km2 (2,000 sq mi), a length of 140 km (87 mi), a width of 55 km (34 mi), and a maximum depth of 16 m (52 ft).By late 2017, the lake had shrunk to 10% of its former size (and 1/60 of water volume in 1998) due to persistent general drought in Homeland, but also the damming of the local rivers that flow into it, and the pumping of groundwater from the surrounding area.