The Šušvė Landscape Sanctuary () is a protected area of a state importance in Josvainiai Eldership,

Kėdainiai District Municipality Kėdainiai () is one of the oldest List of cities in Lithuania, cities in Lithuania. It is located north of Lithuania's second largest city Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. Kėdainiai were first mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle ...

, in central

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, P ...

. It was established in 1974 and covers an area of . It covers the lower course of the

Šušvė Šušvė () is a river in central Lithuania, a right (the longest) tributary of the Nevėžis river. It begins in Kelmė district municipality, 6 km (4 mi) southeast from Tytuvėnai. The 134.6 km (83.6 mi) long river passes through Tytuv ...

river between

Macgaliai Macgaliai (formerly , ) is a village in Kėdainiai district municipality, in Kaunas County, in central Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, the village had a population of 10 people. It is located from Josvainiai, by the Vikšrupis river, alon ...

village and the Šušvė confluence with the

Nevėžis The Nevėžis (; ) is the List of rivers of Lithuania, sixth longest river in Lithuania and one of the main tributaries of the Neman (river), Nemunas. The long Nevėžis flows entirely within Lithuania.Žiedupė The Žiedupė (or ''Žiedupys'') is a river of Kėdainiai district municipality, Kaunas County, central Lithuania. It flows for and has a basin area of . It is a left tributary of the river Šušvė. It begins north to Josvainiai, nearby Šing ...

, the

Vikšrupis The Vikšrupis is a river of Kėdainiai district municipality, Kaunas County, central Lithuania. It flows for and has a basin area of . The river is a right tributary of the Šušvė. It starts near Jakšiai village, then flows to the west thro ...

and the

Putnupys The Putnupys is a river of Kėdainiai district municipality, Kaunas County, central Lithuania. It flows for and has a basin area of . It originates in the Pernarava-Šaravai Forest, 3 km from Skaistgiriai village. The Putnupys flows to the sout ...

. The aim of the sanctuary is to protect the Šušvė river valley with outcrops and

vimba ''Vimba'' is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related fishes. Ths fishes in this genus are found in Europe and western Asia. ''Vimba'' are found in bra ...

spawning grounds. The valley is of width, depth, slopes and terraces are covered by bushes and leafy groves. The river course is loopy, there are

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

s. The river flow is rapid, deeply burrows into the earth. There are outcrops of Devonic sand, clay and gypsum. Suphosic circuses could be observed on the river slopes. There are rare plant species, growing on the riparian meadows, such as

star gentian A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of lig ...

, '' Conioselinum tataricum'', '' Campanula bononiensis'', ''

Orchis militaris ''Orchis militaris'', the military orchid, is a species of orchid native to Europe. It is the type species of the genus ''Orchis''. Description This plant grows to a height of 20 to 50 cm with a robust stem with rather drawn up oblong ...

''.

Common kingfisher The common kingfisher (''Alcedo atthis''), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of ...

s nest on the scarps, and

Eurasian otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, European river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia and the Maghreb. The most widely distributed member o ...

s live in the river water.

References

Protected areas in Kėdainiai District Municipality 1974 establishments in Lithuania {{KaunasCounty-geo-stub