Kerkini lake
| Kerkini Lake / Butkowsko esero (gr. Λίμνη Κερκίνη) |
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| Coordinates | 41 ° 12 '18 " N , 23 ° 8' 47" E | ||||||
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| Lock type: | dam | ||||||
| Construction time: | 1932/1982 | ||||||
| Data on the reservoir | |||||||
| Water surface | 37.688 km² | ||||||
| Reservoir length | 14.490 km | ||||||
| Reservoir width | 5.65 km | ||||||
The Kerkini Lake ( Greek Λίμνη Κερκίνη , Bulgarian Бутковско езеро ) is the third largest reservoir in Greece .
geography
Lake Kerkini is located in the north-west of the Serres regional district in the administrative region of Central Macedonia, just a few kilometers south of the Beles mountain (Beles or Kerkini; 2,031 m altitude) with the Greek-Bulgarian border running on it and dams the Strymonas (Struma) river . It extends along the eastern flank of the Mavrovouni mountain (1,179 m altitude) from northwest to south-east in the western part of the Strymonas river plain after its passage through the Roupel Pass between the mountain Kerkini (Beles) in the west and the mountain Orvilos (2,212 m altitude ) in the East.
The west bank is mountainous and borders directly on the foothills of the Mavrovouni, while the east bank runs flat towards the river plain of the Strymonas and offers settlement space for the villages of Sidirokastro, Promachonas and Strymoniko. The north bank is also flat for a short distance to the north and then merges into the foothills of the Kerkini mountain. After the passage of the Roupel Pass, the Strymonas flows from north to south east of Neo Petritsi and west of Sidirokastro to the east and runs towards Lake Kerkini or flows between the villages of Vyronia in the north and Gonimo in the south into the Kerkini Lake over. The transition varies depending on the water level and shifts over the course of years and decades in a south-westerly direction into the actual sea area, which is caused by the sediment input of the Strymonas. The transition between the Strymonas River after passing through the wetlands and Lake Kerkini is on a line between Mandraki in the north and Limnochori in the south. The westernmost point of Lake Kerkini is located south of the village of Kerkini, the easternmost at the village of Limnochori, the northernmost between the villages of Mandraki and Neochori and the southernmost at the village of Lithotopos. The north, east and south banks are characterized by wetlands; especially the transition between the Strymonas River and Lake Kerkini is a large contiguous wetland.
The Kerkini Lake has a surface of 37.688 km² and a maximum length of 14.490 km and a maximum width of 5.65 km. Depending on the water level, the water surface or the maximum expansion can also be lower. Antoniadou and others observed a water depth of 31.5 m and a water surface of 4,500 hectares in the months from September to February; In the months from May to June the water depth was 35.5 m and the water surface 7,300 hectares.
Flood protection
The dam that dams the Strymonas to Lake Kerkini is located in the southeast of the lake near the village of Lithotopos. It was built in 1932. Other tributaries to Lake Kerkini are the Kerkinitis, which flows northwest into the lake, and the Krousias. Both rivers bring in considerably less water than the Strymonas, which flows into the northeast of the lake or merges into it. The original purpose of Lake Kerkini was to regulate the water level of the Strymonas to prevent flooding further downstream. In addition to this use, water was increasingly taken from Lake Kerkini over the years to irrigate agricultural areas along the Strymonas plain and the Serres-Sidirokastro plain. In 1982 a new dam was built due to the meanwhile lower water level, also due to the sediment entry of the river Strymonas and thus the lower capacity.
Wetland
In addition to its use for flood protection and irrigation of agricultural areas, Lake Kerkini has developed into an important wetland biotope, which is currently under the protection of both the RAMSAR Convention and the European NATURA-2000 program. 30 species of freshwater fish and 300 species of birds have their habitat in and around Lake Kerkini. In addition to birds and fish, there are rare animals such as the wolf.
In the 1990s and 2000s, the lake's tourist importance increased. With more intensive human use at the same time, the ecological problems of the lake due to water pollution and water abstraction have increased.
Transport links
The Kerkini Lake is affected by major traffic axes. Along the north bank, the national road 65 runs from Kilkis in the west over the south and east banks of Lake Doiran through the valley of the river Kerkinitis via Rodopoli, Neochori, Mandraki, Vyronia and Neo Petritsi to the national road 63 ( European route 79 ) and joins it Crossing the Strymonas. The national road 63 leads from Serres via Sidirokastro to Promachonas to the Bulgarian border and then in the further course on Bulgarian territory to the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia. The Sofia-Thessaloniki railway line runs parallel to this road to the intersection of national roads 63 and 65 at Neo Petritsi. The line to Thessaloniki swings to the west along the north bank of Lake Kerkini, the railway line to Serres, Alexandroupolis, Edirne and Istanbul runs to the south-southeast at a significant distance from the east bank of Lake Kerkini. The national road 63 will be replaced by the highway 12 by 2010 (or 2012) , which will connect Bulgaria with Thessaloniki directly. On the west bank of the lake there is only one road of minor importance from Kerkini in the north to Lithotopos in the south.
literature
- Μακεδονία / Macedonia. 1: 250,000 . Road Editions, Athens, ISBN 960-8481-18-X .
Web links
- Information center on the Kerkini Lake Wetlands and Protected Area (with map)
- Information from Birdlife International about the Kerkini Lake Bird Sanctuary
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c d V. Antoniadou, IK Konstantinou, V. Goutner, TM Sakellarides, TA Albanis, E. Bintoudi. PCB Levels and Accumulation Patterns in Waterbird Eggs and in Their Prey at Lake Kerkini, a North-Eastern Mediterranean Wetland of International Importance. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol . 53: 249-260 (2007). doi : 10.1007 / s00244-006-0176-2