Rusanda ( sr-cyr, Русанда is a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. H ...

established in 1867 and located in

Melenci Melenci (; hu, Melence) is a village located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (93.40%) and its population num ...

Zrenjanin Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; hu, Nagybecskerek; ro, Becicherecu Mare; sk, Zreňanin; german: Großbetschkerek) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous pro ...

, Serbia.

Lake Rusanda

Lake Rusanda ( sr-cyr, Језеро Русанда) is a highly

saline Saline may refer to: * Saline (medicine), a liquid with salt content to match the human body * Saline water, non-medicinal salt water * Saline, a historical term (especially US) for a salt works or saltern Places * Saline, Calvados, a commune in ...

, shallow

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

. Due to the high salinity of both the water and the mud, up to 60%, it has been speculated that Rusanda is one of the remnants of the ancient

Pannonian Sea The Pannonian Sea was a shallow ancient lake, where the Pannonian Basin in Central Europe is now. The Pannonian Sea existed from about 10 Ma (million years ago) until 1 Ma, during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, when marine sediments were dep ...

, but the lake is probably a fossil bed of the

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...

river. Records show that healing mud from the lake's bottom,

peloid Peloid is mud, or clay used therapeutically, as part of balneotherapy, or therapeutic bathing. Peloids consist of humus and minerals formed over many years by geological and biological, chemical and physical processes. Numerous peloids are avai ...

, has been used for therapeutic treatments at least since the 1760s. Mud therapy proved to be quite beneficial with

muscle inflammation Myositis is a rare disease that involves inflammation of the muscles. This can present with a variety of symptoms such as skin involvement (i.e., rashes), muscle weakness, and other organ involvement. Systemic symptoms such as weight loss, fatigue ...

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

and especially with the car crash injuries. In August 2017 a complete drying out of the lake gained media attention. It was reported of the ecological catastrophe which endangered the local population, agriculture (vineyards, orchards) and 200 bird species living in the lake area, due to the toxic saline dusts blown by the winds. Also, the mud dries and can't be used, while the Sun damages both the peloid's quality and quantity. The hydrologists however said that drying of the lake is not unusual, it happens occasionally (like in the mid-2000s) without disrupting the ecosystem, but it didn't gain as much media attention previously. When the rainy season starts, the lake will fill up again. It happens due to the dry summers and possibly because of the disturbance of the level of underground waters, caused with the construction of the

Danube–Tisa–Danube Canal Danube–Tisa–Danube Canal (DTD) ( sr, Канал Дунав-Тиса-Дунав, Kanal Dunav-Tisa-Dunav) is a canal system in Serbia. It is a unique hydro-engineering system for flood control and hydrotechnical management, amelioration, fo ...

. In order to prevent this, hydrological research was conducted in the early 2010s, and the plan was made to dig several water wells which would prevent the lake from drying up during the periods of drought. The wells were built but apparently are not functioning yet. Still, the experts warned that the irrigation of the lake may disturb the natural balance and influence the medicinal properties of the mud so that best thing would be to let the nature regulate the lake, as it is. Peloid indeed can't be used when it dries and hardens, but the spa, organized as the Special hospital for rehabilitation "Rusanda", always has stored quantities of it, in cases the complete drying up happens. To change the properties of the mud, the drought would have to last much longer, at least a 1,000 years, and one dry season is not nearly enough. The layers of mud are actually sediments of sand clay. The chemical composition: dominant are

silicon dioxide Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...

, aluminium oxide and

iron oxide Iron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. All are black magnetic solids. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of whic ...

, with other

oxides An oxide () is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– (molecular) ion. with oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the E ...

, microelements and a significant amount of total

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

. The lake was declared a

Nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscape ...

"Rusanda".

References

Lakes of Serbia Spa towns in Serbia {{serbia-geo-stub

Lake Rusanda

See also

References