Lake Burtnieks ( lv, Burtnieka ezers, et, Asti järv) is the fourth largest
lake in
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 rock. The lake has 17 species of
fish, such as minnows, salmon, chubs, eels, and pike, and there are areas for
duck 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. In ancient times, the lake was known as Astijärv or Aster, when northern Vidzeme was inhabited by the
Livonian people. 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