Lake Razelm or Lake Razim (, ''Limanul Razelm'') is the name of a large freshwater lagoon on the shores of 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, Rom ...
in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, south of the
Danube Delta
The Danube Delta ( ro, Delta Dunării, ; uk, Дельта Дунаю, Deľta Dunaju, ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Ro ...
and part of its
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
. It is the largest
liman in Romania.
The name is also sometimes applied to the complex it forms with several other limans and
lagoons. This complex can be separated into two subgroups. The northern subgroup contains
freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does incl ...
Razelm and
Lake Golovița
Lake Golovița is part of a complex of lagoons on Romania's Black Sea coast. It is connected to the larger Lake Razelm on the north by a channel wide, to Lake Zmeica on the south by three narrow channels, and separated from the Black Sea's salt ...
, which are connected by a channel wide, whereas the southern group is made up of
salt lake
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre) ...
s. All these lakes cover an area of about 1000 km², 400 km² of it being the area of Lake Razelm alone.
Ecology
When the Razelm/Golovița system was closed off from the sea in the late 1970s, this resulted in several changes to the ecological conditions of the system, including an decrease in salinity to almost zero, an increase in refreshment time to over a year, and episodes of
eutrophication
Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phyt ...
. Despite this
environmental degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. It is defin ...
, the system remains an important habitat. Three families of
cockles could be found in Romania in the 1960s, and the two that remain are found only in Razelm (albeit at reduced densities).
Popina Island at the north end of the lake is an important refuge for many bird species and invertebrates. The recent ecological study suggests that the Razim-Sinoie lagoon system is close to the good ecological status according to the requirements of the
Water Framework Directive.
References
Lakes of Romania
Saline lakes of Europe
Geography of Tulcea County
Lagoons of Romania
Lagoons of the Black Sea
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