Lake Kerkini ( gr, Λίμνη Κερκίνη - Limni Kerkini) is an artificial reservoir in

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( el, Κεντρική Μακεδονία, Kentrikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the geographical and historical region of Macedonia. With a populat ...

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 ...

that was created in 1932, and then redeveloped in 1980, on the site of what was previously an extremely extensive marshland. Lake Kerkini is now one of the premier

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, b ...

sites in Greece, as it is situated along the migratory flyway for birds en route to the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

, the Balkan region, the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

, the Hungarian

steppes In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

and beyond.

History

Before 1932, there were irregular marsh lakes on Strymon, one of them called "Podkova" (in

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

and

Slavic Macedonian Macedonians ( mk, Македонци, Makedonci) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identif ...

"Podkova" meaning "Horseshoe", found in

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...

records: ݒودقوه كولي ''Podkova Gölü''.). Kerkini lake was created by making embankments on the eastern and western sides of the river and by a dam constructed near the village of Lithotopos, which started functioning in 1932. As time went by, the lake's capacity was reduced due to silt deposited by Strymon river. So the raising of the embankments and the construction of a new dam was necessary, which started operating in 1982.

Geography

The lake's main water source is the

Strymon River The Struma or Strymónas ( bg, Струма ; el, Στρυμόνας ; tr, (Struma) Karasu , 'black water') is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. Its ancient name was Strymṓn (Greek: Στρυμών ). Its drainage area is , of which in Bulgaria, ...

, although it is also fed by the Kerkinitis river from Krousia. The lake's surrounding area is flat and semi-mountainous. The lake's size varies from 54 km² to 72 km². The lake is a technical work of great agricultural utility and provides a hydrobiosphere for thousands of water fowls.

Nature

This biosphere is recouped by the International Convention of Ramsar and presents numerous admirable elements. Thousands of birds, both rare and protected, riverside forests, water-lilies in a large area, fish variety and fantastic panoramic view from the mountains of

Belasica Belasica ( Macedonian and Bulgarian: , also translit. ''Belasitsa'' or ''Belasitza'', Ottoman Turkish: بلش Turkish: ''Beleş''), Belles ( el, Μπέλλες, ''Bélles'') or Kerkini (, ''Kerkíni'';), is a mountain range in the region of Ma ...

and Krousia give it a characteristic tone. Actually the lake hosts 227 kinds of birds, especially non-migrants, of which 76 are recorded in the

National Red Catalogue National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, while at least 31 of them are protected by EEC's Directive concerning wild life. What makes an exceptional presence is the buffalo's herd in the area, plus the one of the jackelo in the area of Lake Kerkini. In the surrounding area of Lake Kerkini there are at least 10 amphibian species (frogs, salamanders, newts, five snail species, 19 reptile species (lizards, snakes, turtles) and a great variety of insects which play an important part in the food chain and contribute towards the biological resources of the lake. The human intervention usually retracts or takes negative action against the natural processes. Lake Kerkini is a rare example, where the gentle human handling has had the exact opposite result.

Gallery

File:Το όρος Κρούσια από τη Λίμνη Κερκίνη.jpg, Krousia mount from the lake File:Φλαμίνγκο στην Κερκίνη.jpg, Flamingos in the lake File:Kerkini lake in May 11.jpg, White pelicans at the lake File:MakKerkiniSee12.jpg, Buffalos at the lake File:Λίμνη Κερκίνη, Tree Reflections.jpg, View File:K.Dominou-Lake Kerkini 3.jpg, View File:Dam of Lake Kerkini.JPG, The dam of Lake Kerkini File:Serenity on Kerkini Lake.jpg, Small boat on the lake

References

External links

{{Commons, Lake Kerkini, Kerkini Lake
Harvard University Library, Rumeli-i Şahane Haritası

Landforms of Central Macedonia Landforms of Serres (regional unit) Tourist attractions in Central Macedonia

Kerkini Kerkini ( el, Κερκίνη) is a village and a former municipality in the Serres regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Sintiki, of which it is a municipal unit. It is named after ancient K ...

Ramsar sites in Greece Natura 2000 in Greece