Lake Engure

Lake Engure

Eastern coast of Lake Engure
Location Talsi district
Coordinates 57°16′N 23°06′E / 57.267°N 23.100°E / 57.267; 23.100Coordinates: 57°16′N 23°06′E / 57.267°N 23.100°E / 57.267; 23.100
Primary outflows Mersraga channel
Catchment area 644 km²
Basin countries Latvia
Max. length 17.9 km
Max. width 4.4 km
Surface area 40.46 km²
Average depth 0.4 m
Max. depth 2.1 m
Water volume 0.0168 km³
Surface elevation 3.2 m
Islands 9 (largest: Liela sala, Apalrova, Kazrova)
Settlements Mērsrags

Lake Engure is a lake in the western part of Latvia, in the Talsi District. It is the third largest lake in the country after Lake Lubāns and Lake Rāzna.

Lake Engure is an ancient sea lagoon, divided from the sea by a 1.5 - 2.5 km wide sand bar with dunes. Its outflow is the artificial Mersraga channel, dug in 1842. It is eutrophic, mostly overgrown with reeds, and contains 16 species of fish.

The whole lake and its vicinity have been included in the Lake Engure Nature Park since 1999, although the first natural reserve was established here in 1957. It contains a floating base for ornithologists. The lake was included in Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance in 1995.

Sources


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, September 04, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.