Mavrovo (lake)

Mavrovo
A view from the southwestern part
Location	Mavrovo region
Coordinates	41°42′N 20°46′E / 41.700°N 20.767°E / 41.700; 20.767Coordinates: 41°42′N 20°46′E / 41.700°N 20.767°E / 41.700; 20.767
Primary inflows	Mavrova
Primary outflows	Mavrova
Basin countries	Macedonia
Max. length	10 km (6.2 mi)
Max. width	5 km (3.1 mi)
Surface area	1,370 ha (3,400 acres)
Max. depth	50 m (160 ft)
Water volume	357 hm3 (289,000 acre·ft)

Mavrovo Lake (Macedonian: Мавровско Езеро, Mavrovsko ezero) is situated in the Mavrovo region, in the Mavrovo and Rostuša municipality of the Republic of Macedonia, less than 100 km from Skopje. Abundant with trout, Lake Mavrovo is used for recreational activities such as swimming, boating and fishing during the summer. An additional point of interest is the half-submerged church in the lake. Spreading over an area of about 780 square kilometres (300 sq mi), the Mavrovo National Park features deep canyons, snowy peaks and blue lakes combine with dense forests that abound with diverse wildlife. Mavrovo is one of the leading tourist areas in the country along with Ohrid, Prespa, Dojran, Popova Shapka (Šar Planina), Pelister, and Kruševo. It was established in 1949 by a law passed by the National Assembly of Macedonia. Later the legislation was changed considerably, enforcing a much stricter protection system. According to the new law, the park is divided into three zones: strict nature reserves, managed reserves, and a tourist zone.

One of the appealing features of Mavrovo National Park is its vivid topography. The relief of the park contains three Alpine mountain systems: the Šar, Korab and Bistra mountains. They are exceptionally high, the Šar and Korab, reaching heights of more than 2700 m (the Korab peak is the highest in Macedonia with its 2,764m). These tremendous mountains are distinguished by chains of snowy, jagged peaks and broad grassy plateaus below them. Between the three mountains extends the Radika gorge. More than 25 kilometres (16 mi) long. Vertical cliffs higher than 300 metres (980 ft) rise above the waters of the Radika river. In addition, the park area contains many other interesting natural phenomena—the highest waterfall in the Balkans (with a vertical fall of approximately 120), alpine bogs in the Šar mountains as remnants of the Ice age, rare karst relief (including beautiful caves) in the Bistra mountains, as well as numerous glacial lakes throughout the Alpine zone.

The ecology of the national park is particularly interesting. Namely, dense forest vegetation covers mountain slopes in the park, while Alpine pastures grow in the higher areas. The various climatic influences, as well as the large differences in altitude are the main contributing factors for the diversity of flora and fauna. The fact that this region is a kind of "geographical crossroads" where major changes of climate have occurred through history is a direct reason for the existence of an enormous number of relict and endemic species. Remnants of the life that existed in the Ice age or in the Tertiary coexist in one diverse environment, concealed between the jagged cliffs and peaks. In fact, the six life zones of the park (a rare phenomenon for such a small area) support 22 forest and 16 grass ecosystems. There are more than 1300 species of herbaceous plants and 145 species of trees living in them. About 40 percent of them are relict or endemic. Moreover, the park is the habitat of many rare plants (like the Crimean wild juniper) which are extinct in their natural habitat.