Rāzna (, ''Rēznas ezers'') is the second largest water surface and the first in terms of water volume lake in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. It is located in the eastern part of the country on the territory of

Rēzekne Municipality Rēzekne Municipality () is a municipality in Latgale, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by Merger (politics), merging Audriņi parish, Bērzgale parish, Čornaja parish, Dricāni parish, Feimaņi parish, Gaigalava parish, Griškāni par ...

, the water area of the lake is divided between Kaunatas, Mākoņkalna and Čornajas parishes. It is located in the central part of the Latgale Upland at an altitude of above sea level. The total area of the lake is , the water surface is . The maximum depth reaches . There are 10 islands on the lake with a total area of , the largest of them is Apshu (9 hectares). In the late 80s - early 90s, the Committee for Environmental Protection drew attention to the deterioration of the ecological state of the lake. In 1999, funds were allocated for a project to create a nature park based on the lake. In 2001, local governments signed a protocol proposing the creation of the Rāzna National Park. In 2004, the official establishment of the Razna Natural Park took place, and on January 1, 2007 was transformed into the Rāzna National Park. The lake is home to

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

, stickleback,

stone loach The stone loach (''Barbatula barbatula'') is a European species of fresh water ray-finned fish in the family Nemacheilidae. It is one of nineteen species in the genus '' Barbatula''. Stone loaches live amongst the gravel and stones of fast flowi ...

european eel The European eel (''Anguilla anguilla'') is a species of eel. Their life history was a mystery for thousands of years, and mating in the wild has not yet been observed. The five stages of their development were originally thought to be differe ...

tench The tench or doctor fish (''Tinca tinca'') is a freshwater, fresh- and brackish water, brackish-water fish of the order Cypriniformes found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including Great Britain, Britain and Ireland east into Asia as far ...

sander A sander is a power tool used to smooth surfaces by abrasion with sandpaper. Sanders have a means to attach the sandpaper and a mechanism to move it rapidly contained within a housing with means to handhold it or fix it to a workbench. Woodw ...

, perch,

roach Roach or The Roach may refer to: Animals * Cockroach, various insect species of the order Blattodea * Common roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), a fresh and brackish water fish of the family Cyprinidae ** ''Rutilus'' or roaches, a genus of fishes * Cal ...

peled Peled or Pelled (Hebrew: , "steel") is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Abe Peled, Israeli businessman * Amit Peled * Benny Peled (1928–2002), commander of the Israeli Air Force * Doron A. Peled * Efrat Peled * Elad Pe ...

, carp, crucian carp,

common bleak The bleak or common bleak (''Alburnus alburnus'') is a small freshwater coarse fish of the family Leuciscidae, which includes the minnows, daces and bleaks. The common bleak is found in Europe and Western Asia. Description The body of the ...

common bream The common bream (''Abramis brama''), also known as the freshwater bream, bream, bronze bream, carp bream or sweaty bream, is a European species of freshwater fish in the family Leuciscidae. It is now considered to be the monotypic, only speci ...

common rudd The common rudd (''Scardinius erythrophthalmus'') is a benthos, bentho-pelagic freshwater Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish belonging to the Family (biology), family Leuciscidae. This species is widely spread in Europe and central Asia, around the ...

, vendace, ide, ruff,

blicca bjoerkna ''Blicca'' is a monospecific genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae. The only species in the genus is ''Blicca bjoerkna'', the white bream or silver bream. This species is found in Europe and Western Asia. Distr ...

and some other fish species. Two kilometers from the south-western shore of the lake there is Makonkalns hill, from which a view of the lake can be seen.

References

{{Authority control Rāzna