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Krokų Lanka
Krokų Lanka is the only lake of marine origin in Lithuania and the largest lake in the Šilutė District Municipality. It is located in the Nemunas Delta Regional Park on the Baltic Sea shore near Nemunas Delta and Ventė Cape. It covers a territory of 788 ha. Aukštumala bog, covering 3018 ha and used for peat production since 1882, is located just north of the lake and Mingė village is located on the western bank. In the south a narrow strip of water connects the lake with Atmata, a branch of the Neman River. Krokų Lanka was created when alluvial deposits from the Neman River separated a part of the Curonian Lagoon. The lake is very shallow, with greatest depth of only 2.5 meters, and overgrown with water plants. It is poised to eventually turn into a bog but now it is a paradise for a variety of water birds, including Eurasian bittern (''Botaurus stellaris''), greylag goose (''Anser anser''), Montagu's harrier (''Circus pygargus''), black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and the Russian exclave, semi-exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest, with a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Sweden to the west. Lithuania covers an area of , with a population of 2.89 million. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius; other major cities include Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. Lithuanians who are the titular nation and form the majority of the country's population, belong to the ethnolinguistic group of Balts and speak Lithuanian language, Lithuanian. For millennia, the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various Balts, Baltic tribes. In the 1230s, Lithuanian lands were united for the first time by Mindaugas, who formed the Kingdom of Lithuania on 6 July ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alluvium
Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is typically geologically young and is not Consolidation (geology), consolidated into solid rock. Sediments deposited underwater, in seas, estuaries, lakes, or ponds, are not described as alluvium. Floodplain alluvium can be highly fertile, and supported some of the earliest human civilizations. Definitions The present Scientific consensus, consensus is that "alluvium" refers to loose sediments of all types deposited by running water in floodplains or in alluvial fans or related landforms. However, the meaning of the term has varied considerably since it was first defined in the French dictionary of Antoine Furetière, posthumously published in 1690. Drawing upon concepts from Roman law, Furetière defined ''alluvion'' (the French term for al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Curlew
The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred to just as the "curlew", and in Scotland known as the "whaup" in Scots. Taxonomy The Eurasian curlew was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Scolopax arquata''. It is now placed with eight other curlews in the genus '' Numenius'' that was introduced by the French ornithologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The genus name ''Numenius'' is from Ancient Greek νουμήνιος, ''noumēnios'', a bird mentioned by Hesychius. It is associated with the curlew because it appears to be derived from ''neos'', "new" and ''mene'' "moon", referring to the crescent-shaped bill. The species name ''arquata'' is the Medieval Latin name for this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-tailed Godwit
The black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa'') is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, '' Limosa''. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and chest in breeding plumage and dull grey-brown winter coloration, and distinctive black and white wingbar at all times. Its breeding range stretches from Iceland through Europe and areas of central Asia. Black-tailed godwits spend (the northern hemisphere) winter in areas as diverse as the Indian subcontinent, Australia, New Zealand, western Europe and west Africa. The species breeds in fens, lake edges, damp meadows, moorlands and bogs and uses estuaries, swamps and floods in (the northern hemisphere) winter; it is more likely to be found inland and on freshwater than the similar bar-tailed godwit. The world population is estimated to be 634,000 to 805,000 birds and is classified as Near Threatened. The black-tailed godwit is the national bird ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montagu's Harrier
Montagu's harrier (''Circus pygargus'') is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. Its common name commemorates the British naturalist George Montagu. Taxonomy The first formal description of Montagu's harrier was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758, in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'', under the binomial name ''Falco pygargus''. The genus ''Circus'' was introduced by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek. ''Circus'' is from ''kirkos'', meaning "circle", referring to a bird of prey named for its circling flight (probably the hen harrier), and ''pygargus'' is Modern Latin derived from the Greek ''pugargos'', from ''puge'', meaning "rump", and ''argos'', meaning "shining white". The species name was formerly used for the hen harrier before Montagu's was identified as a different species. Identification Plumage Sexual dimorphism is particularly apparent in the plumage of thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greylag Goose
The greylag goose (''Anser anser'') is a species of large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae and the type species of the genus ''Anser (bird), Anser''. It has mottled and barred grey and white plumage and an orange beak and pink legs. A large bird, it measures between in length, with an average weight of . Its distribution is widespread, with birds from the north of its range in Europe and Asia often Bird migration, migrating southwards to spend the winter in warmer places, although many populations are resident, even in the north. It is the ancestor of most breeds of domestic goose, having been domesticated at least as early as 1360 BCE. The genus name and specific epithet are from ''anser'', the Latin for "goose". In the USA, its name has been spelled "graylag". Greylag geese travel to their northerly breeding grounds in spring, nesting on moorlands, in marshes, around lakes and on coastal islands. They normally mate for life and nest on the ground among vegetation. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Bittern
The Eurasian bittern or great bittern (''Botaurus stellaris'') is a wading bird in the bittern subfamily (Botaurinae) of the heron family Ardeidae. There are two subspecies, the northern race (''B. s. stellaris'') breeding in parts of Europe and across the Palearctic, as well as on the northern coast of Africa, while the southern race (''B. s. capensis'') is endemic to parts of southern Africa. It is a secretive bird, seldom seen in the open as it prefers to skulk in reed beds and thick vegetation near water bodies. Its presence is apparent in the spring, when the booming call of the male during the breeding season can be heard. It feeds on fish, small mammals, fledgling birds, amphibians, crustaceans and insects. The nest is usually built among reeds at the edge of bodies of water. The female incubates the clutch of eggs and feeds the young chicks, which leave the nest when about two weeks old. She continues to care for them until they are fully fledged some six weeks later. Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curonian Lagoon
The Curonian Lagoon (or Bay, Gulf; Prussian: ''Kursjanmari'', , ) is a freshwater lagoon separated from the Baltic Sea by the Curonian Spit. Its surface area is . The Neman River () supplies about 90% of its inflows; its watershed consists of about 100,450 square kilometres in Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast. Human history In the 13th century, the area around the lagoon was part of the ancestral lands of the Curonians and Old Prussians. Later it bordered the historical region of Lithuania Minor. At the northern end of the Spit, the Klaipėda Strait connects the lagoon to the Baltic Sea, and the place was chosen by the Teutonic Knights in 1252 to found Memelburg Castle and the city of Klaipėda. In 1454, King Casimir IV Jagiellon incorporated the region to the Kingdom of Poland upon the request of the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation. Following the peace treaty of 1466, the lagoon became a part of Poland as a fief held by the Teutonic Knights,Górski, pp. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neman River
Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its southern channel. It drains into the Curonian Lagoon, narrowly connected to the Baltic Sea. The long Neman is a major Eastern European river. It flows generally west to Grodno within of the Polish border, north to Kaunas, then westward again to the sea. The largest river in Lithuania, and the third-largest in Belarus, it is navigable for most of its length. It starts from two small headwaters merging about southwest of the town of Uzda – about southwest of capital city Minsk. Only , an eastward meander, contributes to the Belarus–Lithuania border. Thereafter the river includes notable loops along a minor tectonic fault. Its drainage basin settled in the late Quaternary to be roughly along the edge of the last glacial sheet so d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Šilutė District Municipality
Šilutė (; previously ''Šilokarčiama''; ) is a city in the south of the Klaipėda County in western Lithuania. The city was part of the Klaipėda Region and ethnographic Lithuania Minor. Šilutė was the interwar period, interwar capital of Šilutė County and is currently the capital of Šilutė District Municipality. Name Šilutė's origin dates to an Public house#Inns, inn (Krug, locally ''karčema'') catering to travelers and their horses which was located halfway between Klaipėda and Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Tilsit (Tilžė). The German name of ''Heydekrug'' referred to a ''Krug'' (an archaic word for inn) in the ''Heide'' (heathland). The inn was known for being in the region where most people spoke the Memelland-Samogitian dialect ''Šilokarčema''. History A famous fish market was opened in Šilutė almost 500 years ago, when Georg Tallat purchased the inn together with the land and fishing rights in 1511. The town was a gathering place for peasants from nearby ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mingė
Minija or Mingė (in older texts also ''Minė'', often nicknamed ''Lithuanian Venice'') is a small fishermen's village in Šilutė District Municipality, Lithuania on Minija river, and is part of Nemunas Delta Regional Park. This village is unique in Lithuania as the main "road" is the river. Houses are situated on both banks and there is no bridge to connect them. The only way to get around is to use a boat. In 1997 it had 48 residents. The village was first mentioned in the 16th century. It was part of the Lithuania Minor in East Prussia. Traditional peasant buildings survive from the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th centuries and are of architectural value. Minija reached its peak in the middle of the 19th century when the number of the inhabitants reached 406. The government decided to build levees only on the left bank of Nemunas in order to save money. The right side was left unprotected against annual spring flooding. As Minija was subject to frequent floods, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most common components in peat, although many other plants can contribute. The biological features of sphagnum mosses act to create a habitat aiding peat formation, a phenomenon termed 'habitat manipulation'. Soils consisting primarily of peat are known as histosols. Peat forms in wetland conditions, where flooding or stagnant water obstructs the flow of oxygen from the atmosphere, slowing the rate of decomposition. Peat properties such as organic matter content and saturated hydraulic conductivity can exhibit high spatial heterogeneity. Peatlands, particularly bogs, are the primary source of peat; although less common, other wetlands, including fens, pocosins and peat swamp forests, also deposit peat. Landscapes covered in peat are home to sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
