Lake Peipsi
| Lake Peipsi Peipsi-Pihkva järv Псковско-Чудское озеро |
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Landsat satellite photo
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| Location | Estonia, Russia |
| Coordinates | 58°41′N 27°29′E / 58.683°N 27.483°ECoordinates: 58°41′N 27°29′E / 58.683°N 27.483°E |
| Primary inflows | Emajõgi, Velikaya |
| Primary outflows | Narva |
| Catchment area | 47,800 km2 (18,500 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | Estonia, Russia, Latvia |
| Surface area | 3,555 km2 (1,373 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 7.1 m (23 ft) |
| Max. depth | 15.3 m (50 ft) |
| Water volume | 25 km3 (6.0 cu mi) |
| Shore length1 | 520 km (320 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 30 m (98 ft) |
| Islands | Piirissaar, Kolpino, Kamenka |
| Settlements | Mustvee, Kallaste |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Lake Peipus (Estonian: Peipsi-Pihkva järv; Russian: Псковско-Чудское озеро (Pskovsko-Chudskoe ozero), German: Peipussee) is the biggest transboundary lake in Europe on the border between Estonia (part of European Union) and Russia.
The lake is the fifth largest in Europe after Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega in Russia north of St. Petersburg, Lake Vänern in Sweden, and Lake Saimaa in Finland.
Lake Peipus is a remnant of a body of water which existed in this area during an Ice Age. It covers 3,555 km2, and has an average depth of 7.1 m, the deepest point being 15 m. The lake has several islands and consists of 3 parts:
The lake is used for fishing and recreation, but suffered from some environmental degradation from Soviet era agriculture. Some 30 rivers and streams discharge into Lake Peipus. The largest rivers are the Emajõgi and the Velikaya River. The lake is drained by the Narva River.
In 1242, the lake was the site of the Battle on the Ice (Estonian: Jäälahing) between the Teutonic Knights and Novgorodians under Alexander Nevsky.
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Wikipedia