Travel

Lake Shkodra Catches Attention of NASA

A photograph taken from outer space of Lake Shkodra has been featured on the NASA Earth Observatory website.

The lake caught the attention of astronauts due to the way that sediments had formed in a spiral. These are caused by the flow of water from the various rivers that deposit into the lake. They could also be due to the mixing of sediment that has flowed into the lake via melted snow and mountain runoff.

The image was taken on 21 February and shows the lake, Shkoder, the Dinaric Alps, and Parts of Montenegro.

The image was snapped from space with a Nikon D5 camera using a 400-millimeter lens. It was provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at the Johnson Space Centre. The NASA Observatory site is the official source for satellite imagery relating to the environment, taken by NASA.

Lake Shkoder is located in the North of Albania and straddles the border between Albania and Montenegro. It is the largest lake in Southern Europe with a size that fluctuates between 370km2 and 530km2 depending on the season. One-third of the lake belongs to Albania and is a nature reserve, the other two-thirds belong to Montenegro and are designated as a national park.

The lake is what is known as a karst lake which is formed as the result of caves. A characteristic feature of Lake Shkoder is the karstic springs that feed into it.

The Bojana River connects the lake with the Adriatic and the Drin River links it to Lake Ohrid that sits on the border between Albania and North Macedonia. It is also fed by the Moraca river which provides around 62% of the water of the lake.

Popular with tourists and locals, the lake is surrounded by rocky beaches and is used for swimming, fishing, and some watersports. It is also a hotspot for biodiversity and is home to over 270 species of bird. The lake is also abundant in fish including carp, eels, and bleak but the ecosystem is under threat from illegal and unsustainable fishing.  

There are around 21 endemic species in animal living in Lake Shkoders system, but the increasing presence of humans combined with pollution and exploration activities are causing irreparable damage.

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