Shkodra Lake

Lake Skadar, also known as Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër and Lake Shkodra, is the biggest lake in Southern Europe, located on the Albanian-Montenegrin border. It is named after the Albanian city of Shkodër in the north.

The Albanian half of the lake and surrounding area has been declared as a natural reserve and a ramsar site, while the Montenegrin section has been designated as a national park.

With a surface size that varies annually between 370 km2 (140 sq mi) and 530 km2, Lake Skadar is the biggest lake on the Balkan Peninsula (200 sq mi). The western Balkans are home to Lake Skadar.

The lake sits on the border between Albania and Montenegro, and the Montenegrin portion of the lake is somewhat bigger than the Albanian portion. Seasonally, the lake’s water level ranges from 4.7 to 9.8 meters (15 to 32 feet) above sea level. The lake is 44 kilometers (27 miles) long and spans northwest to southeast.

The Adriatic Sea is connected to the lake by the Bojana River, while the Ohrid Lake is connected by the Drin River. The lake is a cryptodepression, fed by the river Moraca and drained into the Adriatic by the 41-kilometer-long Bojana (Albanian: Buna), which defines the international boundary on its bottom half. The Moraca River, which supplies around 62 percent of the lake’s water, is the major inflow. There is a total drainage area of 5,490 km2 (2,120 sq mi).

Although it is a very new old lake, Lake Skadar is apparently an ancient lake.

The Lake Skadar basin was produced by complicated folding and faulting inside the north eastern wing of Old Montenegro anticlynorium, according to the majority of scholars (High Karst Zone). During the Cenozoic Era, several movements took occurred. The Lake basin was created by the sinking of blocks during the Neogene or perhaps Paleogene periods. Marine conditions existed throughout the Miocene and Pliocene in the Zeta Plain, which was buried at the beginning of the upper Miocene and swamped by the sea up to Podgorica during the Pliocene. According to Radoman (1985), the sea must have wiped out all freshwater inhabitants on this plateau and in the Lake Skadar region. During the younger Pliocene, Lake Skadar’s link to the sea was broken. For biologists, the origin of its water is of great importance, since these waters may have produced its earliest species and formed the foundation for its current high degree of endemism.

The Lake Skadar system is a well-known hotspot of freshwater biodiversity, with a mollusk fauna that is very diversified.

Lake Skadar is one of Europe’s greatest bird reserves, with 270 species of birds, including some of Europe’s last pelicans, making it a favorite destination for birders. Seagulls and herons have their homes in the lake.

It’s common in fish, particularly carp, bleak, and eel. Seven of the 34 native fish species are only found in Lake Skadar.