Thirth Natural Magic Is Skadar Lake

Natural Magics Of Montenegro 3: Thirth Magic Is Skadar Lake

Skadar Lake is the largest lake in the Balkan Peninsula and one of the last fresh water spaces and largest national park in Montenegro. Dolphin-shaped Skadar Lake has its tail and two-thirds of its body in Montenegro and its nose in Albania.

On the Montenegrin side, an area of 400 km² has been protected by a national park since 1983; today Skadar Lake is renowned as one of Europe's top bird habitats. It is a blissfully pretty area encompassing steep mountains, islands, monasteries and floating meadows of water. The lake's water level also varies seasonally from 4.7 to 9.8 m above sea level. The lake extends in the NW-SE direction, and it is approximately 44 km long.

The Bojana River connects the lake with the Adriatic Sea, and the lake is a cryptodepressio, filled by the river Moraca and drained into the Adriattic by the 41 km long Bojana which forms the international border between Montenegro and Albania, on the lower half of its length. The largest inflow is from the Morača, which provides about 62% of the lake's water. Total drainage area is 5490 km².

The Lake Skadar system is a well-known hotspot of freshwater biodiversity and harbors a highly diverse mollusc fauna.

Lake Skadar is one of the largest bird reserve in Europe, having 270 bird species, among which are some of the last pelicans in Europe, and thus popular with birders. It is abundant in fish, especially in carp, bleak and eel. Of the 34 native fish species, 7 are endemic to Lake Skadar.

At the scale of Lake Skadar, about 31% of freshwater snails are endemic. At the scale of the Lake Skadar basin, 38% of the total freshwater gastropod fauna appear to be endemic. There were reliably recorded 50 species of freshwater snails from the Lake Skadar basin.