Lake Ohrid

General Background

Lake Ohrid is large (A ~358 km2), deep (maximal depth zmax ~289 m) and one of the most voluminous (volume V ~55 km3) lakes in Europe, with two-thirds in Macedonia and one-third in Albania. Including the underground karst connection to upstream Lake Prespa (A ~254 km2, zmax ~48 m, V ~3.6 km3), the watershed of Lake Ohrid extends into Greece. The overall karst groundwater inflow contributes more than 50 % to the lake’s water balance.

While a groundwater-fed, large water body in Mediterranean climate is exceptional in itself, the most outstanding quality of Lake Ohrid is its endemism (> 200 species). During the two to five million years of existence, species covering the whole food chain have evolved or persisted in the lake. Given its importance as a global hotspot of biodiversity and being the only ancient, long-lived lake in Europe, Lake Ohrid was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1979.

For more pictures of the spectacular area, check out Andreas' gallery.

Projects

• Is Anthropogenic Nutrient Input Jeopardizing Unique Lake Ohrid? – Mass Flux Analysis and Management Consequences
  Summary of results and necessary mitigation measures: Layman's report [pdf, 187KB]
  Duration: 2002-2006
  Funding: Seco, SNF
  
  
• Subaquatic Springs in Ancient Lake Ohrid - Assessment of Ecological Importance and Anthropogenic Change
  Project description and summary of first results [pdf, 3.93MB]
  Duration: 2005-2008
  Funding: SCOPES program of SNF

Collaboration

• Macedonian Hydrobiological Institute in Ohrid

Contact persons: Alfred Wüest, Manuel Kunz, Zoran Spirkovski, Andreas Matzinger

Publications

List