Sanabria Lake ( es, Lago de Sanabria, ; ) is a

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 ...

located 8 km to the northwest of

Puebla de Sanabria Puebla de Sanabria (; ) is a small town located in the north-western part of the province of Zamora in Spain, between the rivers Tera and Castro. It is the economic and political centre of the ''comarca'' of Sanabria. History Well known as ...

in the

province of Zamora Zamora () is a province of western Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense, León, Valladolid, and Salamanca, and by Portugal. The present-day province of Zamora w ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It is one of the very few sizable natural lakes in Spain. With a surface of 368 hectares it is also the largest

glacial lake A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...

in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

. The main inflow and outflow of water from the lake is the river Tera. The lake is a widening of the Tera. The Sanabria lake is now within the limits of the Sanabria Lake Natural Park. The area was declared a Natural Park in 1978.Royal decree that established the park (in Spanish)
, Junta de

Castilla y León Castile, Castille or Castilla may refer to: Places Spain *Castile (historical region), a vaguely defined historical region of Spain covering most of Castile and León, all of the Community of Madrid and most of Castilla–La Mancha *Kingdom of ...

website The Sanabria comarca is one of the few areas in Western Europe having a sizeable population of wild

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

living in the

Sierra de la Culebra The Sierra de la Culebra, or Serra da Coroa (in Portuguese), is a mountain range in Castile and León, northwest Spain, and northeastern Portugal. It lies 7 km south of Puebla de Sanabria in the comarcas of Aliste, Sanabria and La Carballe ...

mountain range. The lake was the site of a tragedy when the Vega de Tera dam failed and triggered a deadly flood. Bodies of the 144 killed ended up in the lake, most not recovered.

References

External links

The Area of Comunitary Interest (SCI) Sanabria lake and surroundings (ES 4190009)
{{Authority control Lakes of Castile and León

See also

References

External links