The Baćina lakes () are located in
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
,
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
. The lakes are named after the inland town of
Baćina close to the port city of
Ploče
Ploče (, ) is a town and seaport in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia.
Geography
Ploče is located on the Adriatic coast in Dalmatia just north of the Neretva Delta and is the natural seaside endpoint of most north-south routes through th ...
. The
karstic lakes are part of a picturesque landscape and surrounded by mountains. They are situated between
Makarska
Makarska () is a town on the Adriatic coastline of Croatia, about southeast of Split (city), Split and northwest of Dubrovnik, in the Split-Dalmatia County.
Makarska is a prominent regional tourist center, located on a horseshoe-shaped bay bet ...
and
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...
. It is a crypto-depression lake, with its bottom below the surface of the sea.
Description
Despite its proximity to the sea and the permeable nature of the karst area, they are fresh water lakes. The seven lakes cover an area of 138
hectares
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. A ...
and they are named Oćuša, Crniševo, Podgora, Sladinac, Vrbnik, Šipak and Plitko. Six of these lakes are linked. The only isolated lake is Vrbnik.The largest lake is Oćuša and the deepest is the Crniševo (34 m). The lakes are connected with the sea and at times the water can be
brackish
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...
, also the surface of the lakes lies 80 cm above sea level. Salty water is found at the bottom of the deepest lake Crniševo.
Lake Vrgorac () located to the north of the Baćina lakes drains into the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
through them.
At the turn of the century the
Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
government built a tunnel to the sea. This led to the lowering of the lake level which has brought about biological changes. The tunnel currently runs underneath the
Adriatic Highway
The Adriatic Highway () is a road that stretches along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea and is part of the European route E65. The road passes through Croatia, with smaller stretches through Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro and end ...
.
In recent times the lake has become a well-known hunting ground for
grey mullet Grey mullet can mean any of several fish in the family ''Mugilidae'' (the mullets) and having a greyish hue:
* Golden grey mullet, '' Chelon auratus''
* Thicklip grey mullet, '' Chelon labrosus''
* Thinlip grey mullet, '' Chelon ramada''
* Leaping ...
(Mugil saliens).
See also
*
References
External links
www.bacina.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacina Lakes
Lake groups of Croatia
Landforms of Dubrovnik-Neretva County
LBaćina