Saturday photoblogging: Lake Ohrid, Macedonia

Lake Ohrid from Galicica National Park
in southwestern Macedonia, looking
west toward Albania.
October 2004

The National Park Galicica, situated in the furthest south-eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia, is characteristic for its positioning between the two lakes - Ohrid and Prespa Lake, for the involved orthography and the interesting geomorphologic shapes (deep valleys, various types of karst forms, and glacial relief forms).

(From the website of the Macedonian Ministry of the Environment.)



Map of Macedonia



Map of Macedonia, detail of
southwest quadrant, showing
Lakes Ohrid on the left and
Prespa on the right. Galicica
National Park lies between the
two lakes.


Lake Ohrid from the city of
Ohrid, looking southwest.
October 2005

(Photo courtesy of Dragan Stojanovski)

Lake Ohrid, that came into being between four to ten million years ago, is Europe's oldest lake, and is amongst the oldest in the world. It is a typical oligotrophic lake, meaning that it contains low levels of nutrients. By its origin the lake is a tectonic one and belongs to the so-called group of "Desaretian lakes" (named by an ancient region called Desaretia). The Lake came about in the tertiary period, prior to the glaciations.

Most of the Lake's water bulk comes from numerous surface and underground springs. That is the reason certain researchers consider it unique in the world. Most of the surface springs lie along the southern shore, near the monastery of St. Naum on the Macedonian side, and near the villages of Tusemiste and Starovo and the town of Pogradec in Albania. There are about 40 rivers and springs that flow into the Lake (23 on Albanian, and 17 on Macedonian territory). During summer, most of them dry out, whereas the rivers Sateska, Koselska, and Serava are the only waters with significant water flow that feed up the Lake.

(From the website, Macedonia Clasp of the World)

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