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Lake Sapsho

Lake Sapsho
Озеро Сапшо.jpg
Location Smolensk Oblast, Russia
Coordinates 55°29′44″N 31°50′43″E / 55.49556°N 31.84528°E / 55.49556; 31.84528Coordinates: 55°29′44″N 31°50′43″E / 55.49556°N 31.84528°E / 55.49556; 31.84528
Lake type Glacial lake
Primary inflows Sapsha, Sapshanka
Primary outflows Sapsha
Basin countries Russia
Surface area 3.04 km2 (1.17 sq mi)
Average depth 6.9 m (23 ft)
Max. depth 18.6 m (61 ft)
Water volume 0.021 km3 (0.005 cu mi)
Shore length1 7.8 km (4.85 mi)
Surface elevation 172.7 m (567 ft)
Frozen November–April
Islands 6
Settlements Przhevalskoye
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Sapsho (Russian: Сапшо́) is a glacial lake in Demidovsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia. It is the largest lake (3,04 km2) of the Smolenskoye Poozerye National Park. It is situated northeast of Demidov in the northwestern part of the oblast, near the settlement of Przhevalskoye. A famous 19th century Russian traveller Nikolay Przhevalsky compared the lake with Lake Baikal in miniature. The lake is a natural monument. It is connected with the Baltic Sea by the Sapsha, Vasilyevka, Yelsha, and Daugava rivers. There are 4 big and 2 small islands on the lake. There are a lot of tumuli of the Tushumlin culture by Lake Sapsho. The flora and fauna of the lake are very diverse. Yet in the beginning of the 20th century there was the industrial fishery. Though now any industry is prohibited here. A lot of species of the flora and fauna of the lake are in the Red Book.

Lake Sapsho is situated in the north-west of Smolensk Oblast, 120 km (75 mi) to the north of Smolensk. It is on the Sloboda Upland (Russian: Слободская возвышенность) that is a part of Smolensk–Moscow Upland (Russian: Смоленско-Московская возвышенность). It is the largest lake in Smolenskoye Poozerye National Park. There are two eskers. One of them is partly destroyed by glacial flows. It caused the arising of five of six islands. Lake Sapsho is divided into deep northern and shallow southern parts. The other esker forms the western border of the lake. The northern side is also abrupt. On the contrary, the eastern and southern sides are gentle. The bottom of the lake here is also not steep. The northern basin is divided into western and eastern parts by a long underwater spit. The depth here is less than 5 m (16 ft). It ends with a long shoal with depth less than 1 m (3 ft 3 in), a so-called "underwater island" or "sitnik".


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