Atanasovsko lake description and photos - Bulgaria: Burgas (Topic)

Atanasovsko Lake description and photos - Bulgaria: Burgas. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photos and a map showing the nearest significant objects.

Photo and description

Lake Atanasovsko is a nature reserve located northeast of Burgas towards Varna. In the 70s of the twentieth century, the northern part of the lake, with an area of 170 hectares, was declared a protected area, in the 80s it also became a nature reserve. Since 1980, the lake has been included in the Ramsar Convention, according to which the habitats of water-loving birds should be protected.

The Burgas-Varna road divides the lake in half, thus forming its northern and southern parts. Their depth is on average 30 centimeters.

In the past, the lake was a place where salt was evaporated. In 1906, Atanasovskoye Lake was given a concession, when the first salt mine was created here. Construction was frozen due to the First World War, and resumed with its end. German company, under whose concession the lake was given, the area of the saltworks expanded, and the first products appeared in 1934. The salt pans were used until 1973. By the way, evaporators that extract sea salt are still working on the territory of the lake. But thanks to the primitive methods of catching, this in no way affects the inhabitants of the reserve.

316 out of 400 bird species have been identified in the lake area. 14 of them are under the threat of complete disappearance not only in Bulgaria, but throughout the world. Among them: corncrake, red-breasted goose, white-eyed divers, Dalmatian pelican, white-fronted goose, curlew, small cormorant. In addition, of these 316 species, 170 are protected in a special way, and 83 are included in the Red Book in Bulgaria.

In winter, the lake does not freeze, which makes it the center of wintering water-loving bird species. Among other lakes around Burgas, Atanasovskoe is one of the most favorable places where pelicans and storks spend the night on the way between the Bosphorus and the Danube Delta. In summer you can see stilts, shilokak and other bird species in the lake. The symbol of the reserve is the meadow tirkushka. The lake is the only place where black-headed gulls, gull-nosed and speckled terns breed.

As for the flora, there are many wild-growing orchids, which are protected in a special way in Bulgaria.

There are 17 fish species in the reserve, almost all of which are included in the Red Book. In addition, about a dozen species of rodents, bats and insectivores live here.

Access to the lake is possible only along pre-marked routes.

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Topic: Atanasovsko lake description and photos - Bulgaria: Burgas.