Lake Scutari

Lake Scutari (Albanian: Liqeni i Shkodrës, Serbian: Скадарско језеро/Skadarsko jezero), also called Lake Skadar, is a lake on the border of Montenegro with Albania, the largest lake in the Balkan Peninsula. It is named after the city of Shkodra in northern Albania (Shkodër in Albanian, Scutari in Italian and Скадар/Skadar in Serbian). The origin of the name comes from the Greek "Skoutari".

Its surface, above sea level, can vary between and , of which 2/3 is in Montenegro. The lake is a cryptodepression, filled by the Morača River and drained into the Adriatic by the -long Bojana River, which forms the international border on the lower half of its length.

The Montenegrin part of the lake and its surrounding area were declared a national park in 1983. It is one of the largest bird reserves in Europe, having 270 bird species, among which are some of the last pelicans in Europe, and thus popular with birders. The lake also contains habitats of seagulls and herons and is abundant in fish, especially in carp, bleak and eel.

In 1996, by Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, it was included in the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance.

External links

• The Skadarsko Lake and Rijeka Crnojevica
• Skadarsko jezero (in Serbian, with a lot of images)
• Description of Skadar Lake with photos
• Description of birding opportunities on Skadar Lake

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Last updated on Thursday February 28, 2008 at 16:50:05 PST (GMT -0800)
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