Small Prespa Lake

Small Prespa Lake

Location
Location Balkans (primarily Greece, Albania – a small part)
Coordinates 40°46′N 21°06′E / 40.767°N 21.100°E / 40.767; 21.100Coordinates: 40°46′N 21°06′E / 40.767°N 21.100°E / 40.767; 21.100
Type tectonic
Basin countries Greece, Albania
Surface area 46.8 km²
Max. depth 7.7 m
Surface elevation 853 m
Islands Agios Achillios, Vidronisi

Small Prespa Lake (Greek: Λίμνη Μικρή Πρέσπα, Limni Mikri Prespa; Albanian: Prespa e Vogël, Macedonian: Мало Преспанско Езеро, Malo Prespansko Ezero) is a lake shared between Greece (138 km² drainage area; 42.5 km² surface area) and Albania (51 km² drainage area; 4.3 km² surface area). It is the smaller of the two Prespa Lakes.

Details

Small Prespa Lake in particular has been recognized as an important wetland ecosystems favoring breeding and feeding of rare water bird species. It is best known for hosting the largest breeding colony of the Dalmatian pelican in the world. The flora in the region is composed of more than 1,500 plant species of which 146 endemic species in the Lake Ohrid and 39 endemic species from the Prespa Lakes.

Small Prespa Lake contains the island of Agios Achilleios; the island was an early capital of Bulgarian Tsar Samuel in the 10th century. It became a tourist and fishing centre in the 1970s. Located on the island of Agios Achilleios is the Basilica of St Achilleios. It is an example of the survival of Early Christian architectural style in the Byzantine period.[1]

The villages surrounding the lake are Agios Germanos, Laimos, Milionas, Platy, Kallithea, Lefkonas, Prespes, Karyes, Mikrolimni, Oxia, Pyli and Vrontero.

During 1970 significant amounts of water from the Devoll river was diverted into the lake with the intention to use it latter during the summer time for the irrigation purposes. Due to the high suspended solids in the river water significant siltation did occur on the Albanian side. The practice has recently stopped. The Albanian part of this lake has a surface of 420 hectares. In 1999 the Society for the Protection of Prespa received the Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award for its conservation efforts regarding the Lake Prespa Ramsar site.[2]

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ Stan (Stojan) Malian (1 August 2009). History and Religion of Macedonia: Gateway to Europe. AuthorHouse. pp. 120–. ISBN 978-1-4389-7764-5.
  2. ↑ Etnografia shqiptare. Akademia e Shkencave e RPSH, Instituti i Historisë, Sektori i Etnografisë. 1962.

Source

External links

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