Marmishoo is a mountain, forest and water resort in the extreme northwest of the country near the Turkey-Iran border; a beautiful blue lake embedded in the heart of Zagros Mountainous range, surrounded by a lush forest and lined by the many rivers and streams from by the melting snow. The lake is situated northwest of Urmia in a long valley flanked by mountains. As a spectacular natural attraction, the place draws in a large number of visitors every year during spring and summer.

The lake is fed by the water currents from the Iran-Turkey border in northwest of Iran, but the origin of its main source is in Turkey. It forms the Nazlou Chay River after gaining water from a number of streams in its basin area, and flows on the common border of Iran and Turkey for a length of 10 kilometers before making its way into the Iranian soil, offering one of the most delightful natural sceneries to anyone looking for a place to sooth his body and soul.

It is believed that the formation of lake was an aftereffect of disruptions deep inside the earth, an earthquake followed by a landslide which blocked the flow of water and formed the present lake. Some say the lake has taken its name from Benjamin Marshimoon, the leader of the regional Christian population and the spiritual head of the “Jelos” in the 11th century AH, who was killed in March 1018 AH by Esmaeil Agha Semitqu. In his book “A look at West Azerbaijan”, Afshar Sistani refers to the valley as “Marbishoo”. With an area of approximately 5 hectares, the valley stretches from the south to the Sitaw, Qayduk and Chal peaks, from the north to the Baydust Mountain, from the west to the abandoned village of Dari, and from the east to the villages of Bani and Pasan.

There are many varieties of forest trees along the river, in addition to willows which surround the lake like a natural protective fence. There is also an abundance of walnut trees around the villages of the region, plus a variety of other trees such as chestnut, mastic, jujube, pear, hawthorn, almond, tamarisk, poplar and other shrubs, which contribute to the luxuriant green beauty of the natural landscape. The locoweed bushes in the area also offer a proper setting for beekeeping, which attracts beekeepers to the region. The regional flora consists of caltrop, nettle, iris, wild tulip, licorice, poppy, wild onion, yarrow, chicory, thyme, cardoon, etc.

 The regional wildlife can be divided into two chapters. At present it includes bears, foxes, wolves and rabbits, but it is said to have also included wild goats, boars and panthers in the past. It is also a natural habitat for bird species including partridge, falcon, quail and so on. In addition to otters, large schools of trout and whitefish used to live in the lake and its basin waters, but the numbers now show a serious decline as a result of unregulated fishing. There might be no more otters left already.

Aside from everything else, Marmishoo is the main source of the Nazlou Chay River, the river with the highest volume of water in the region. After the two other main streams Sarv Chay and Erzin Chay join it in its west-east course through the border mountains, Nazlou Chay passes through the narrow valley of Movana near the Nazlou village and enters the Urmia delta, ultimately flowing into the salty Lake Urmia near the Zanbil Mountain.

Fishing trout and whitefish with hooks and rods is one of the pastimes popular around Marmishoo Lake. If performed according to the regional rules and regulation, it can be done without any serious endangerment of the life of aquatic species.

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