Object description

Turtle Lake is a direct English translation of Kus Tba, a small lake at the outskirts of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, so named due to the perceived abundance of turtles living in these places. The other, less frequently used name of this lake is K'ork'i. Turtle Lake is located on the wooded northern slope of Mtatsminda Mount at elevation of 686.7 m above sea level and fed by a small river Varazis-Khevi, a tributary to the Mtkvari (Kura). The area of surface is 0.034 km², while the catchment area is 0.4 km². Maximal depth is 2.6 m. The Turtle Lake area is designed as a recreational zone and is frequented by the Tbilisians on weekends. It is also a place where festivals and concerts are held. It could be reached either via a road or an aerial tramway leading from Tbilisi’s Vake Municipality, but it is now defunct. West to the lake is the Open Air Museum of Ethnography, a large exhibition of Georgia’s folk architecture.