The Burgas Lakes (, ''Burgaski ezera'') or Burgas Wetlands (Бургаски влажни зони, ''Burgaski vlazhni zoni'') are a group of coastal

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s of varying saltiness located around the

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n city of

Burgas Burgas (, ), sometimes transliterated as Bourgas, is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fourth-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, an ...

in the proximity of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. They constitute the largest group of lakes in the country and comprise some of Bulgaria's biggest and most important lakes. The lakes' total area (including swamps, marshes, ponds and other reservoirs) amounts to 95 km², of which 33.30 km² are either proclaimed or proposed

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

s that are inhabited by a large number of locally or globally

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of birds, fish and mammals. Apart from this, the Burgas Lakes are also of economic importance, used to obtain

sea salt Sea salt is salt that is produced by the evaporation of seawater. It is used as a seasoning in foods, cooking, cosmetics and for preserving food. It is also called bay salt, solar salt, or simply salt. Like mined rock salt, production of sea sal ...

and curative mud, as well as to supply the local economy with fresh water, in the case of

Lake Mandrensko Lake Mandrensko or Lake Mandra (, ''Mandrensko ezero'') is the southernmost of the Burgas Lakes, located in the immediate proximity of the Black Sea and close to Burgas in Bulgaria. Being 9 km long and 1.5 km wide at maximum, as well as having an ...

. The lakes comprise (in north to south order): *

Lake Pomorie Lake Pomorie (, ''Pomoriysko ezero'') is the northernmost of the coastal Burgas Lakes, located in the immediate proximity of the Black Sea and the Bulgarian town of Pomorie. It has an area of 8.5 km2 (reaching 10 km2 together with the ad ...

, an ultrasaline lagoon * Lake Atanasovsko, a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

and

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Lake Burgas or Lake Vaya, the largest natural lake in the country by area * Lake Poda, sometimes regarded as a part of Lake Mandrensko *

, now a fresh water reservoir, the largest of the group

Image gallery

Atanasovsko-dinev.jpg, Lake Atanasovsko Lake-burgas-dinev.jpg, Lake Burgas Lake-mandrensko-dinev.jpg,

References

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