Lake Burtnieks ( lv, Burtnieka ezers, et, Asti järv) is the fourth largest

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. It is shallow with an average depth of 2.9 m. The lake bed is mainly sandy, in places a little muddy. In the southeast part of the lake there is Devonian

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

rock. The lake has 17 species of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

, such as minnows, salmon, chubs, eels, and pike, and there are areas for

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

. The banks are shallow and sandy, but along the southern coast, waves have carved sandstone cliffs. After the regulation of the

Salaca The Salaca () is a river in northern Latvia. It flows from Lake Burtnieks in Vidzeme, 90 km, to the Gulf of Riga. The river flows through three towns, Mazsalaca, Staicele and Salacgrīva. The riverbanks feature Devonian red sandstone c ...

river in 1929, the lake level dropped by a metre, and many of the exposed shallows grew covered with reeds and algae. The lake contains three islands with a total area of 14,000 m². The lake lies entirely within the

Northern Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve The North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve (NVBR) ( lv, Ziemeļvidzemes biosfēras rezervāts) is the only biosphere reserve in Latvia, located in the northern Vidzeme region in north-western Latvia along the border with Estonia.Salaca The Salaca () is a river in northern Latvia. It flows from Lake Burtnieks in Vidzeme, 90 km, to the Gulf of Riga. The river flows through three towns, Mazsalaca, Staicele and Salacgrīva. The riverbanks feature Devonian red sandstone c ...

river, which flows out of the northwest corner into the

Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia ( lv, Rīgas līcis, et, Liivi laht) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main con ...

. In ancient times, the lake was known as Astijärv or Aster, when northern Vidzeme was inhabited by the

Livonian people The Livonians, or Livs ( Livonian: ''līvlizt''; Estonian: ''liivlased''; Latvian: ''līvi'', ''lībieši''), are a Balto-Finnic people indigenous to northern and northwestern Latvia. Livonians historically spoke Livonian, a Uralic language c ...

. The lake is a major setting of the Latvian national epic

Lāčplēsis ''Lāčplēsis'' ("The Bear-Slayer") is an epic poem by Andrejs Pumpurs, a Latvian poet, who wrote it between 1872 and 1887 based on local legends. It's set during the Livonian Crusades telling the story of the mythical hero Lāčplēsis "th ...

, and appears in many Latvian folklore stories. A few small villages cling to the coast today, the largest of which is

Burtnieki Burtnieki (german: Burtneck) is a village (population 488) in Burtnieki Parish, Valmiera Municipality, in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, near Lake Burtnieks. Administrative centre of Burtnieki Parish. Burtnieki was first mentioned in the Livonian ...

External links

Environmental data
Burtnieks Valmiera Municipality Vidzeme {{vidzeme-geo-stub