Lakes of Lithuania

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Most lakes of Lithuania are small. There about 6,000 lakes in total. Half of them are smaller than 5,000 square metres. All lakes encompass 950 km² or 1.5% of the territory of Lithuania. The lakes are not evenly spread out through the land. Most lakes are situated in the Baltic highlands that run from the border with Poland along the border with Belarus to Latvia.

About 1,200 are supported only by groundwater and do not have any rivers or rivulets flowing into or from them. However, there are plenty of lakes that are interconnected by complicated passages and rivulets. Such lake systems are major tourist attraction in the Aukštaitija National Park and greatly encourages kayak sport. Similarly it allows Molėtai district municipality to become a weekend destination as many residents of Vilnius build summer houses and villas on its many lakes.

Contents 1 Lake origins 2 Largest lakes 3 Other notable lakes 4 References

[edit] Lake origins

The large majority of the lakes formed during the last glacial period. The oldest lakes are 13,000 years old. That is considered to be very young in terms of geology. There are several types of glacial lakes in Lithuania:

• Moraine dammed lakes (Lithuanian: užtvenktiniai ežerai) formed then moraine blocked a way for melt water to drain. Such lakes are Dysnai, Plateliai, Vištytis, and others.
• Kettle lakes (Lithuanian: guoliniai or termokarstiniai ežerai) formed then when a large piece of ice broke away from the edge of a retreating glacier, and was buried under sediment deposited by the glacier. After the peace melt, it left a small depression in the landscape now filled with water. Such lakes are small, round, quite deep. Due to small size most of them don't have names. The most know example of such lake is Lake Druskonis.
• (Lithuanian: ledo guolio ežerai) formed much like the kettle lakes, but are much bigger. The pieces of ice were not buried under sediment. Such lakes are big, of irregular shape, with uneven bottom. Examples include Dusia, Metelys, Obelija, Kretuonas.
• (Lithuanian: dubakloniai, latakiniai, or rininiai ežerai) formed when melt water washed out long, narrow, deep, steep valleys. When the valleys were filled with water such lakes as Asveja, Tauragnas, Sartai, Aisetas were formed.
• Residual lakes (Lithuanian: liekaniniai ežerai) are what's left of large lakes that formed right next to melting ice caps. Such lakes are big, shallow, surrounded by swaps and peatbogs. Examples include Rėkyva, Žuvintas, Amalvas.
• Some lakes are of mixed origins. This happens when one part of the lake was formed, say, as a kettle and the other was dammed. Such lakes are Drūkšiai, Didžiulis or Daugai, Galvė, and others.

Non-glacial lake origins include:

• Oxbow lakes (Lithuanian: senvaginiai, salpiniai, or upiniai ežerai) are abundant. There are more than 1300 such lakes. The largest ones are located in the Neman River delta.
• Sinkhole lakes (Lithuanian: karstiniai ežerai) are prevalent in Biržai district municipality. There are about 300 of such lakes, however they cover only 10 ha of territory. It is suggested that most of them interconnect.
• Underground lakes (Lithuanian: požeminiai ežerai) are also located in Biržai district municipality. The largest one is in Cow's Cave (Lithuanian: Karvės ola), the best known sinkhole. The water temperature is +4.5 degrees Celsius and never changes.
• Marine lake (Lithuanian: lagūniniai or jūriniai ežerai) was formed then various drifts from the Neman River separated a part of the Curonian Lagoon to from Krokų Lanka. It is the only such lake in Lithuania.
• Artificial lakes (Lithuanian: tvenkiniai or kūdros) were created when a dam wa built on a river or when residents of a village decided to dig a hole. There about 3400 such lakes, but only 340 are bigger than 5 ha. Most of the dams were built in the second part of the 20th century when the Soviet authorities executed massive land melioration.

[edit] Largest lakes

#	Natural lakes				Artificial lakes
	Name	Area (km²)	Depth (m)	Notes	Name	Area (km²)	River	Year finished
1	Lake Drūkšiai	44.8	33.3	Shared with Belarus; supports Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant	Kaunas Lagoon	63.50	Neman River	1959
2	Lake Dysnai	24.39	6.0		Antalieptė Lagoon	15.72	Šventoji River	1959
3	Lake Dusia	23.34	31.7		Elektrėnai Lagoon	13.89	Strėva	1962
4	Lake Vištytis	17.9	52	Shared with Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast), the most elevated lake (170 m above sea level)	Kupiškis Lagoon	8.28	Lėvuo	1984
5	Lake Sartai	13.31	20.9	Longest shore (79 km), known for horse races on ice	Kapčiamiestis Lagoon	7.17	Nieda	1957
6	Lake Luodis	13.02	18.4		Bubiai Lagoon	4.18	Dubysa	1978
7	Lake Metelys	12.86	15.0		Lake Širvėna	3.35	Apasčia	1580
8	Lake Avilys	12.58	13.5	Has 31 (the most) islands	Kruonis Lagoon	3.06	-	1992
9	Lake Plateliai	12.04	46.0	Largest lake in Samogitia, well known for yacht soprt	Aukštadvaris Lagoon	2.93	Verknė	1960
10	Lake Rėkyva	11.84	4.5	Part of Šiauliai city	Balskai Lagoon	2.8	Jūra	1963

[edit] Other notable lakes

• Lake Asveja is the longest lake. With all baights its length reaches almost 30 km. It is also the third deepest lake (50.2 m).
• Lake Tauragnas is the deepest lake. Its depth is 60.5 meters.
• Lake Baluošas has an island which has a tiny lake by itself.
• Lake Žuvintas is a strictly protected reservior. It is the shallowest lake (greatest depth 3 m, average - 1 m.). It is a paradise for water birds, but also faces danger of becoming a swamp.
• Lake Galvė has an island which houses Trakai castle.
• Krokų Lanka is the only marine origin lake in Lithuania.

[edit] References

• Stasys Vaitiekūnas, Elena Valančienė, Lietuvos geografija (Geography of Lithuania), 2004, Alma littera, ISBN 9955-08-534-7
• Ežerai (Lakes), Žemė, augalai, gyvūnai. Kompiuterinė Lietuvos enciklopedija (Land, Plants, Animals. Electronic Encyclopedia of Lithuania), 2005, Šviesa. Accessed July 9, 2006.
• Dėl valstybinės reikšmės vidaus vandens telkinių sąrašo ir jų plotų patvirtinimo, Government of the Republic of Lithuania, October 14, 2003, Decision No. 1268. Stored on Seimas law database. Accessed July 9, 2006.