Liepāja lake

Lake of Liepāja (Latvian: Liepājas ezers) — the fifth-largest lake in Latvia, located near Liepāja in Liepāja district. Total area of the lake - 37,15 km², length - 16.2 km, average depth - 2.0 m, coastal line length - 44.6 km.^[1]

Lake of Liepāja is a pod-shaped shallow eutrophic coastal lake with extensive areas of emergent vegetation (Phragmites, Typha, Scirpus, Sparganium), surrounded by seasonally flooded meadows and arable land. Polders and dams enclose most of the wetland area. In the lake are found 14 species of fish - pike, roach, perch, bream, crucian carp, tench, eel, vimba, burbot, carp, zander, smelt, bitterling and rudd. In May only licenced fishing is allowed. Price of licence - 10 LVL (about $20). From 1977 till 1999 the lake was an ornithological preserve with 2 species of birds - swans and ducks. Since 2004 the lake is included to European Union protected territories list - Natura 2000. In 2008 the nature protection plan of Liepāja lake was developed by Grontmij Carl Bro company.^[2]

Islands

Lake of Liepāja has 13 islands, most notable from which are Atteku(-as), Zirgu, Pērkona, Putnu (kalva) and Cionas island^[3]. On the east bank of the lake is located Friča grove, on the west bank near Pērkone is located Reiņu forest (Latvian: Reiņu mežs).

History

Historically the lake of Liepāja was connected with lake of Tosmare by the Vernen brook, but in the 20th century the brook was filled up. Later in the 20th century the Fortress canal (Latvian: Cietokšņa kanāls, Melnupīte, Russian: Чёрная речка), which connects the lake to the lake of Tosmare and the sea was dug up. In the second half of the 20th century the plant Liepājas Metalurgs built so called Golodov's dam to separate the polluted part of the lake from the rest of the lake.

Rivers

The rivers Ālande, Bārta, Otaņķe (Brūnupe), Līčupe, Orbupe and Dorupe flow into the lake.

References