Lake Orestiada
Greece · Europe
About
Lake Orestiada or Lake of Kastoria (Greek: Λίμνη Ορεστιάδα) is a lake in the Kastoria regional unit of Macedonia, northwestern Greece. It spreads out in a natural basin, surrounded by mountains and is the remnant of a huge ancient Miocene lake that reached an area of 164 square kilometres and at a depth of 50 meters. Sitting at an altitude of 630 metres, the lake covers an area of 28 square kilometres with a coastline that reaches 34 km. The maximum depth of the lake reaches about 9 meters and the average depth 4.5 meters.
To the north-east rises Mount Vitsi, to the north-west Mount Triklarios and to the south-west spread the foothills of Voios. Lake Orestiada is mainly refreshed by the waters that descend from Mount Vitsi through Xiropotamos on the eastern banks, but also by smaller streams, such as Aposkepos, Foudouklis, Istakos, Fotini, Metamorfosi, Toichi, Agios Athanasios and Vyssinia.
Its catchment area reaches 267 square kilometres.
Nine rivulets flow into the lake, and it drains into the Haliacmon river, via the small Gioli stream. Its depth varies from nine to ten metres. To the west, the Kastoria Peninsula (with the town of Kastoria) divides the lake into two parts, the larger to the north and the smaller to the south, giving the lake its characteristic kidney shape.
The lake takes its name from the Oreiades. Lakeside attractions include, apart from the Byzantine architectural heritage of the town, an 11th-century Byzantine monastery of Panagia Mavriotissa and the reconstructed prehistoric settlement of Dispilio, where the Dispilio Tablet was retrieved from the lake in 1992. The lake is known to freeze in winters, for 2 to 5 weeks.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.