Lake Skadar ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Скадарско језеро, Skadarsko jezero, ; sq, Liqeni i Shkodrës, ) also called Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër and Lake Shkodra lies on the border of
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
and
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
, and is the 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 ...
in
Southern Europe
Southern Europe is the southern regions of Europe, region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countrie ...
. It is named after the city of
Shkodër
Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...
in northern Albania ( sq, Shkodër or ''Shkodra)''. It is a
karst lake
Karst lakes are formed as the result of a collapse of caves, especially in water-soluble rocks such as limestone, gypsum and dolomite. This process is known as karstification. They can cover areas of several 100 square kilometres. Their shallow l ...
.
The Montenegrin section of the lake and surrounding land has been designated as a
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
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)
**
Balkan Peninsula
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
with a surface area that seasonally fluctuates between and . Lake Skadar itself is located on the western Balkan
The lake is located in the border area between Albania and Montenegro, the Montenegrin share of the area of the lake is slightly larger than the Albanian. The lake's water level also varies seasonally from above sea level. The lake extends northwest to southeast, and it is approximately long.
The Bojana River connects the lake with the Adriatic Sea, and the Drin River provides a link with the Ohrid Lake. The lake is a cryptodepression, filled by the river Morača and drained into the
Adriatic
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...
by the long
Bojana Bojana may refer to
Places
* Bojana (river), a river in Albania and Montenegro
* Ada Bojana / Bojana Island
Name
* Bojana (given name), a Slavic given name
* People
** Bojana Atanasovska
** Bojana Bobusic
** Bojana Jovanovski
** Bojana Novako ...
( sq, Buna), which forms the international border on the lower half of its length. The largest inflow is from the Morača, which provides about 62% of the lake's water. Total drainage area is .
There are additionally some fresh water sources at the lake bottom. A characteristic feature of Lake Skadar's water balance is the high inflow from a number of temporary and permanent karstic springs, some of which are sublacustrine in cryptodepressians (so-called ‘oko’). The Southern and southwestern sides of the lake are rocky, barren and steep, having bays in which the sublacustrine springs, are usually to be found. On the northern side there is an enormous inundated area, the boundaries of which change as water levels fluctuate.
Some small islands like
Beška
Beška () is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, in the region of Syrmia ( Syrmia District), in Inđija municipality. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and a population numbering 6,239 people (200 ...
, with two churches on it and Grmožur, a former fortress and prison can be found on the southwestern side of the lake.
The climate type is hot-summer Mediterranean climate with dry summers (''Csa''), under Köppen climate classification.
The Montenegrin part of the lake and its surrounding area were declared a
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
Shkodër
Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...
in Albania
File:Grmozur 2.jpg, Fortress Grmožur in Lake Skadar, Montenegro
File:Skadar Lake, Montenegro 37.jpg, Lake Skadar, Montenegro
Geology
Lake Skadar is presumably an ancient lake, although it is a relatively young ancient lake.
Most authors agree that the Lake Skadar basin is of tectonic origin which had been formed due to the complex folding and faulting within north eastern wing of Old Montenegro anticlynorium (High Karst Zone). These movements took place during the
Cenozoic
The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configura ...
period. The Lake basin has been formed as the result of sinking of blocks in the
Neogene
The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...
period or even in
Paleogene
The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...
. In the Miocene and the Pliocene marine conditions prevailed in the Zeta Plain, which was sunk at the beginning of the upper Miocene, and that the sea inundated this plain up to Podgorica during the Pliocene. Radoman (1985) pointed out that sea must have destroyed all the freshwater populations on this plane and in the Lake Skadar area. The connection of Lake Skadar with the sea was interrupted during the younger Pliocene. The question of the origin of its water is of particular interest for biologists as these waters may have provided its first species and been the basis for its present high degree of endemism.
Fauna
The Lake Skadar system is a well-known
hotspot
Hotspot, Hot Spot or Hot spot may refer to:
Places
* Hot Spot, Kentucky, a community in the United States
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Hot Spot (comics), a name for the DC Comics character Isaiah Crockett
* Hot Spot (Tra ...
of freshwater biodiversity and harbors a highly diverse mollusc fauna.
Lake Skadar is one of the largest bird reserves in Europe, having 270 bird species, among which are some of the last
pelican
Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...
s in Europe, and thus popular with birders. The lake also contains habitats of seagulls and
heron
The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...
s.
It is abundant in fish, especially in
carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...
freshwater snail
Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks which live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs ...
s (12 out of 39 species sampled in the lake) are endemic. At the scale of the Lake Skadar basin, 38% (19 species) of the total freshwater gastropod fauna appear to be endemic. There were reliably recorded 50 species of freshwater snails from the Lake Skadar basin. The index of freshwater gastropod endemism is 0.478. With this relatively high value, Lake Skadar exceeds such famous lakes as Lake Malawi and Lake Titicaca. The Lake Skadar is inhabited by five species of ''
Bithynia
Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...
'' and it is a hot spot of ''Bithynia'' evolution.
There are 17
amphipod
Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descr ...
species for the Lake Skadar watershed, 10 of them being endemic (mainly from the subterranean habitat).
The small range of many endemic species living in the Lake Skadar system together with ever increasing human pressure make its fauna particularly vulnerable. This becomes even more important in light of ongoing eutrophication, water pollution and sand and gravel exploration activities in the lake and its basin. Research of the
phytoplankton
Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'.
Ph ...
community and chlorophyllbased trophic state indices show that the lake is on a betamesosaprobic level of saprobity, which means moderately polluted with organic compounds. Effects of human-induced environmental changes are especially evident for sublacustrine springs, with eutrophication and using for water supplying (e.g., sublacustrine spring Karuč) being the most serious threats.
The 2011
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...
includes 21 endemic species from the Lake Skadar basin.
Shaqari Island Shaqari Island ( sq, Ishulli i Shaqarisë) is a small islet found in northern Albania in Lake Skadar.
It is very small and is situated just opposite the village of Shiroka which stands on the largest lake in the Balkans
The Balkans ( ) ...