Lake Stymphalia ( Greek: Λίμνη Στυμφαλία - ''Límnē Stymphalía'') is located in the north-eastern part of the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

, in Corinthia, southern

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It is a closed

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

basin with a wetland area and an agrarian area. The lake is an important stopover for migratory birds. The size of the lake varies, depending on the season. Usually this area around the lake is fairly dry underfoot. In certain weather conditions thousands of small green frogs hide in the damp grass from the aquatic snakes. These

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

s are invisible in the grass until you almost step on them, at which they jump out of the way, usually landing on another frog which also jumps. The effect is of ripples of frogs travelling outwards with every step. The area is rich in birds, amphibians and plant life. Other wildlife, such as weasels, can also be seen. The area is also mentioned in

Greek Mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, due to the Stymphalian birds, which infested the Arcadian woods near the lake.

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...

' sixth labour was to exterminate them. File:Stymfalia-north 2006.jpg, Village Stymfalia,

Mount Kyllini Mount Kyllini or Mount Cyllene (; grc, Κυλλήνη , ; sometimes , ), is a mountain on the Peloponnese in Greece famous for its association with the god Hermes. It rises to above sea level, making it the second highest point on the peninsul ...

, fields wet. Ditch, leading to an irrigation tunnel File:Stymfalia-Landsat7 WW.jpg, Plain is fertile, lake with high water, Snow on Mount Kyllini (2.374 m),

NASA WorldWind NASA WorldWind is an open-source (released under the NOSA license and the Apache 2.0 license) virtual globe. According to the website (https://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/), "WorldWind is an open source virtual globe API. WorldWind allows ...

(8 km) File:Τα δεντρα μεσα στη λιμνη Στυμφαλιας.jpg, Trees at the lake File:Stymfalia west 2006.jpg, Oligyrtos Mountain, 100% forest, high water, fields wet File:Λίμνη Στυμφαλίας.jpg, Panorama of closed karst basin File:Stymfalia south 2006.jpg, reed growing (green), densly forested

References

External links

{{Commons category, Lake Stymphalia *http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=593668 *https://web.archive.org/web/20070704131456/http://www.cnrs.ubc.ca/index.php?id=3526 *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khGH-IVDdew

Stymphalus In Greek mythology, Stymphalus or Stymphalos (Ancient Greek: Στύμφαλος or Στύμφαλον) may refer to the following personages: * Stymphalus, an Arcadian prince as one of the 50 sons of the impious King Lycaon either by the naiad ...

Landforms of Peloponnese (region)

See also

References

External links