Vegoritida lake
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Vegoritida Lake Vegoritida |
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| View of Lake Vegoritida from the south. In the background the southwestern foothills of Mount Voras . | ||
| Geographical location | West Macedonia , Greece | |
| Tributaries | Skilthros, Pendavrysos and Soulou as well as from Lake Petres | |
| Drain | underground | |
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| Coordinates | 40 ° 45 '38 " N , 21 ° 47' 21" E | |
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The Vegoritida Lake ( Greek Λίμνη Βεγορίτιδα ), alternative and older name Ostrovo Lake ( Greek Λίμνη Οστρόβου ) is the third largest natural lake in Greece .
General
Lake Vegoritida is located in the northwest of mainland Greece in the administrative region of Western Macedonia . Its water surface with an extension of 54.31 km² is divided between the regional districts of Florina and Pella , the latter only taking up a slightly larger part of the area of the lake in the east. Lake Vegoritida is located in the northeastern plain of Eordea ( Amyndeo - Ptolemaida - Kozani Basin) and is surrounded by mountains to the west and east. In the west the foothills of the Berger Lilakos rise directly from the lakeshore, in the east it is the foothills of the Vermio . In the north, a plain joins the lakeshore, in which the village of Arnissa is located. The south-western foothills of the Voras massif, the Piperitsa, rise further north . To the south, the plain of Eordaia extends south from the lakeshore. It includes Lake Petres, located west-southwest of Lake Vegoritida, and Lake Chimaditida and Lake Zazari, further south-west .
The maximum length of Lake Vegoritida is 14.8 km, the maximum width 6.8 km. The maximum determined depth of the lake is 46 m - in contrast to most Greek natural lakes, the Vegoritida lake is very deep. The water level of the lake fluctuates considerably over the course of a year; consequently both the maximum length and width as well as the area of the lake change. Lake Vegoritida, which is the lowest above sea level of the four lakes of Eordaia, receives tributaries from the other three lakes and from the surrounding mountains. Larger rivers do not supply the lake with water. Only the three small rivers Skilthros, Pendavrysos and Soulou feed the lake. The water catchment area of Lake Vegoritida is 1,853 km². The natural drainage of the lake takes place via katavothren (seepage zones), which are typical for the limestone in which the lake is located ( karst phenomenon ).
In turn, considerable amounts of water are taken from the lake to irrigate agricultural areas in the adjacent plains. In addition to this extraction, water from the lake is required for the Amyndeo and Ptolemaida lignite power plants. The irrigation of agricultural areas with the simultaneous use of fertilizers leads to a considerable discharge of pollutants into Lake Vegoritida. In addition to this sewage, sewage from the villages of Amyndeo and the city of Ptolemaida also end up in the lake. The fertilizer factory located in Ptolemaida causes a high input of inorganic nitrogen into Lake Vegoritida. Limnologically , Lake Vegoritida was counted among the oligotrophic lakes in 1987. In the 1990s, the lake reached oligomesotrophic levels due to the influx of nitrogen, pesticides and industrial sewage.
The Vegoritida Lake is threatened with silting up with progressive water abstraction and supply to the current extent. As early as 1993, an investigation of the water balance of Lake Vegoritida found that the water balance of the lake had been negative for over 30 years. Since the mid-1950s, 65% of the original water volume has already been lost. In 1950 the surface of the lake was 540 m above sea level, in 2002 it was only 508 m. The area around the lake has an average annual rainfall of 537 mm. The maximum amount falls in November, the minimum amount in August. The average annual temperature is 12.1 ° C; January is the coldest and July the warmest month. The Vegoritida Lake in ice-free all year round.
Next to the village of Arnissa at the northeastern end of the lake is the village of Agios Pandelimonas at the southwestern end of the lake. The small town of Amyndeo is about 8 km southwest of Lake Vegrotitida. The railway line Florina-Amyndeo-Edessa-Thessaloniki runs along the west bank between the Lilakos and the lake bank, along the east bank, but at some distance from it, the national road 2 ( European route 86 ) runs from Florina via Amyndeo and Edessa to Thessaloniki.
The lake has a considerable abundance of fish, which is used by fishing from the surrounding villages.
The presence of fish next to the water-rich plains north and south of the lake made this area a place of settlement in ancient times. North of the lake in the vicinity of the present-day village of Kella (Kelli), the Roman settlement of Cellae is believed to be located on the Via Egnatia, which passed the lake in the north. A Neolithic settlement was found near the village of Agios Pandelimonas. Russian archaeologists excavated the remains of the settlement on the land bridge between Lake Petres and Vegoritida here in 1897, including a necropolis with 376 graves and grave goods. The excavated items are now in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum . Remains of other settlements from the Bronze and Iron Ages have been discovered in the wider area of Agios Pandelimonas . A 7,300 year old wooden floor was found in a very good condition. Furthermore, 358 graves of a necropolis were discovered, together with the grave goods contained therein. Apparently, the area of the community Amyndeo had been continuously inhabited since the 6th millennium BC at the latest.
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- ↑ a b c d K. Fytianos, V. Samanidou, T. Agelidis. Comparative Study of Heavy Metals Pollution in Various Rivers and Lakes of Northern Greece. Chemosphere, Vol.16, Nos.2 / 3, pp 455-462, 1987.
- ↑ a b c d e f Soultana K. Gianniou, Vassilis Z. Antonopoulos. Evaporation and energy budget in Lake Vegoritis, Greece. Journal of Hydrology, 2007. doi : 10.1016 / j.jhydrol.2007.08.007 .
- ↑ a b Article in the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, English edition of February 3, 2007 ( Memento of July 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (in English).