Zagorica lake

Zagorica lake Zagoričko jezero
Location	Sirmian Voivodeship, Northwestern Nikolia
Type	Alpine lake
Primary outflows	Trenica river 10%, *evaporation* 90%
Basin countries	Nikolia
Max. length	36 km (22 mi)
Max. width	17 km (11 mi)
Surface area	502 km2 (194 sq mi)
Max. depth	505 m (1,657 ft)
Water volume	150 km3 (36 cu mi)
Residence time	650 years
Shore length1	121 km (75 mi)
Surface elevation	1,905 m (6,250 ft)
Frozen	Rarely
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The Zagorica lake (Sirmian: Zagoričko jezero) is a large freshwater lake situated in the southeastern part of the Červenica Range, 9km south from its peak Zagorica (2,241m), the lake's namesake, in central part of Sirmian Voivodeship in northwestern Nikolia. Zagorica lake is, with 502 square kilometers in area the largest alpine lake in Nikolia and the deepest, with 505 meters of maximum depth.

The lake, together with its basin was formed around two million years ago, while the additional terraforming happened during the quaternary period. Thanks to the soil composition and surface elevation of 1,905 meters ASL, Zagorica lake water is of high purity.

Zagorica lake basin and the Červenica Range is part of the Červenica Nature Park, putting the lake and its surrounding areas of dense conifer forest under national protection. The scenic panorama, purity of the water and nearby ski slopes make Zagorica lake basin a major tourist attraction in Nikolia, with more than 450,000, mostly domestic tourists annualy.

Geography

Zagorica lake is the deepest lake in Nikolia with 505 meters of maximum depth. It is also the largest alpine lake by area, covering 502 square kilometers. It is about 36 km long and 17 km wide and has about 121 km long shoreline. Thanks to its size, at surface level the opposing shores are below the horizon about 30 m in width and about 98 m along its length.

The lake lies in the central part of the Sirmian Voivodeship in the southeastern part of the Červenica Range, 9km south from its peak Zagorica (2,241m), the lake's namesake. Two counties have borders crossing the lake lengthwise, namely the Červenica county and Despotovgrad county. Nearby towns include Ratovnica, Krombelj, Omucen and Jagovina on the western shore in Červenica county, and Trsinek, Frederikovo and Nominska on the eastern shore in Despotovgrad county. Despotovgrad is situated 95km northeast, downstream on the Trenica river which is lake's only outlet and represents aerial and sea connection to the Zagorica lake basin.

Ecosystem

Červenica Range edelweiss

Flora

Zagorica lake is surrounded with a thick mixed conifer forest with most notable species being white fir (Abies concolor), Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and Červenica cedar (Juniperus chervenitsiensis), an endemic species of cedar.

Sirmian fescue

The area also contains wet and dry meadows, brush fields and riparian areas. Most notable examples include houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum), yarrow (Achillea millefolium), and two endemic species: Sirmian fescue (Festuca sirmii) and Zagorica yellowcress (Rorippa subumbellata). In higher, rocky areas, a rare and protected species of edelweiss (Leontopodium nivale) exist.

Flora within the lake itself consists of native hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum), Gomphoneis and Chara algae, while spiked water-milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) and curled pondweed (Potamogeton crispus) were later introduced.

Fauna

Rainbow trout caught in Zagorica lake

Native fish speices include cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri), mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni), brown trout (Salmo trutta) and Paiute sculpin (Cottus beldingii), while introduced fish species are common carp (Cyprinus carpio), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri), sockeye salmon (Oncorhyncus nerka) and mysid shrimp.