The Lojsta Lakes ( sv, Lojstasjöarna) (sometimes referred to as the Lojsta Lake) (

Gutnish Gutnish ( ), or rarely Gutnic ( sv, gutniska or ), refers to the original language spoken on parts of the islands of Gotland and Fårö. The different dialects of Gutnish, while stemming from the Old Gutnish ( sv, Forngutniska) variety of Old ...

: ''Lojsta träsk'') are five lakes in

Lojsta Lojsta is a populated area, a socken (not to be confused with parish), on the Swedish island of Gotland. It comprises the same area as the administrative Lojsta District, established on 1January 2016. The rift valley landscape of Lojsta is unusu ...

and Stånga

socken Socken is the name used for a part of a county in Sweden. In Denmark similar areas are known as ''sogn'', in Norway ''sokn'' or ''sogn'' and in Finland ''pitäjä'' ''(socken)''. A socken is a country-side area that was formed around a church, ...

s, Gotland, Sweden. The names of the lakes are (west to east) ''Bjärsträsk'', ''Fridträsk'', ''Rammträsk'', ''Slottsträsk'' and ''Broträsk''. Their outflow is in the ''Storkanalen'' at Kvarnåkershamn on southweetsern Gotland. Four of the lakes are connected by manmade canals. The Gutnish word for lake is ''träsk''. The ''Slottsträsk'', the "Castle Lake", (sometimes known as ''Lillträsk'') got its name from the

Lojsta Castle Lojsta Castle (''Lojsta slott'') in Stånga socken on the border of Lojsta, Gotland, Sweden, is, despite its name, not a "castle" in the normal sense, i.e. it is not a palacelike manor. It is the ruins of a once fortified estate, consisting of hou ...

, a

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

defence-structure, situated by the lake. The lakes form a peculiar landscape, not found anywhere else on the island and reminiscent of the

rift valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear d ...

s of central Sweden with steep cliffs and deep lakes. The other lakes on Gotland are very shallow, bowl-shaped depressions in the bedrock, filled with water. For example, Lake Bästeträsk is no more than at its deepest and

Lake Tingstäde Lake Tingstäde is a lake next to Tingstäde in the central northern part of Gotland, Sweden. It is the second biggest lake on Gotland, after Lake Bästeträsk. The surface of the lake is above sea level. The lake was used as a landing site for ...

no more than . In relation to this the Lojsta Lakes are deep, more than with ''Rammträsk'' as the deepest at , making it the second deepest lake on Gotland. The deepest lake is ''Sigvalde träsk'' at . Lake Sigvalde is situated some kilometers east of the Lojsta Lakes, and is part of the same rift valley as them. The area around the lakes contains an unusual amount of reef limestone. This limestone was originally imbedded in sedimentary limestone, but the latter was shaved off during the latest

Ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

when the inland

ice sheet In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland; during the Last Glacial Period at La ...

moved, leaving high hills of reef limestone. Along the south side of the lakes is a layer of limestone which exceptionally rich in

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s. Most of the cliffs formed from reef limestone have a steep, sometimes vertical, side facing north. In these cliffs (Gutnish: ''klintar'') are small caves, the largest of which can be found at ''Rammträsk'' and ''Broträsk''. There are large stands of white waterlilies in the lakes, a plant rarely seen in Gotlandic lakes. Among the fishes that can be found in the lakes are

european perch The European perch (''Perca fluviatilis''), also known as the common perch, redfin perch, big-scaled redfin, English perch, Euro perch, Eurasian perch, Eurasian river perch, Hatch, poor man’s rockfish or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply th ...

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a p ...

, common roach and

ruffe The Eurasian ruffe (''Gymnocephalus cernua''), also known as ruffe or pope, is a freshwater fish found in temperate regions of Europe and northern Asia. It has been introduced into the Great Lakes of North America, reportedly with unfortuna ...

. It is possible to rent canoes and paddle through the lake system, as well as purchase a

fishing license A fishing license ( US), fishing licence ( UK), or fishing permit is an administrative or legal mechanism employed by local governments to regulate fishing. Licensing is one mechanism of fisheries management commonly used in Western countries ...

for

recreational fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing fo ...

on the lakes. Fishing competitions are held on the lakes during the winter.

The lakes

Geographical facts about the five Lojsta Lakes.

References

External links

Pictures of Lojsta Lakes
{{Gotland County Lakes of Gotland County Gotland