{{Short description|Lake on the border of Albania and Montenegro}} {{Infobox body of water | name = Lake Skadar | other_name = Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër, Lake Shkodra | image = Skadarsko Jezero.jpg | caption = Aerial view of Lake Skadar | image_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = | location = Albania–Montenegro border | coordinates = {{coord|42|10|N|19|19|E|display=inline,title}} | type = | inflow = Morača | outflow = Buna | catchment = | basin_countries = Albania, Montenegro | length = {{convert|44|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name="Barovic2018"/> | width = {{convert|14|km|mi|abbr=on}} | area = {{convert|370|–|530|km2|abbr=on}}; approximately 65% in Montenegro and 35% in Albania<ref name="Barovic2018"/> | depth = {{convert|5.01|m|ft|abbr=on}} | max-depth = {{convert|8.3|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="Pešić 2013">Pešić V. & Glöer P. (2013). "A new freshwater snail genus (Hydrobiidae, Gastropoda) from Montenegro, with a discussion on gastropod diversity and endemism in Skadar Lake". ''ZooKeys'' '''281''': 69-90. {{doi|10.3897/zookeys.281.4409|doi-access=free}}</ref> {{convert|44|m|ft|abbr=on}}{{citation needed|date=February 2014}} | volume = {{convert|1931.62|e6m3|abbr=on}} | residence_time = | shore = {{convert|207|km|mi|abbr=on}} including islands<ref name="Pešić 2013"/><br />{{convert|168|km|mi|abbr=on}} without islands: {{convert|110.5|km|mi|abbr=on}} in Montenegro and {{convert|57.5|km|mi|abbr=on}} in Albania<ref name="IWLEARN"/> | elevation = {{convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on}} | frozen = | islands = | cities = <!-- Map --> | pushpin_map = Albania#Montenegro | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = Location of the reservoir in Albania. | pushpin_map_caption = <!-- Below --> | website = | reference = <ref name="Pešić 2013"/><ref name="Barovic2018">{{cite book |last=Barović |first=Goran |last2=Spalević |first2=Velibor |last3=Pešić |first3=Vladimir |last4=Vujačić |first4=Duško |chapter=The Physical and Geographical Characteristics of the Lake Skadar Basin |editor-last=Pešić |editor-first=Vladimir |editor2-last=Karaman |editor2-first=Gordan S. |editor3-last=Kostianoy |editor3-first=Andrey G. |title=The Skadar/Shkodra Lake Environment |series=The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry |volume=80 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |year=2018 |doi=10.1007/698_2018_276 |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/698_2018_276 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="IWLEARN">{{cite web |title=Description |website=Lake Skadar-Shkodra Integrated Ecosystem Management Project |publisher=IW:LEARN / Global Environment Facility |url=http://lss2.iwlearn.org/lake-info/general-overview/description-1 |access-date=27 April 2026 |quote=Length of the shore: 168 km in total, 110.5 km in Montenegro, 57.5 km in Albania.}}</ref> | extra = {{Designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = Ramsar | designation1_offname = Skadarsko Jezero | designation1_date = 13 December 1995 | designation1_number = 784<ref>{{Cite web|title=Skadarsko Jezero|website=Ramsar Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/784|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref> | designation2 = Ramsar | designation2_offname = Lake Shkodra and River Buna | designation2_date = 2 February 2006 | designation2_number = 1598<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lake Shkodra and River Buna|website=Ramsar Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1598|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref>}} | module = | }}
'''Lake Skadar''' or '''Lake Scutari''' ({{langx|sq|Liqeni i Shkodrës}}, {{IPA|sq|liˈcɛni i ˈʃkɔdrəs|pron}}; {{lang-cnr-Cyrl-Latn|Скадарско језеро|Skadarsko jezero}}, {{IPA|sh|skâdarskɔː jɛ̂zɛrɔ|pron}}){{snd}}also called '''Lake Shkodra''' and '''Lake Shkodër'''{{snd}}lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern Europe. It is named after the Albanian city of Shkodër which lies at its southeastern coast. It is a karst lake.
The Montenegrin section of the lake and surrounding land have been designated as a national park, while the Albanian part constitutes a nature reserve and a Ramsar site.
== Geography == <!--The lake's surface is {{convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level. It can vary between {{convert|370|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and {{convert|530|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, of which 2/3 is in Montenegro.--> Lake Skadar is the largest lake in the Balkan Peninsula with a surface area that seasonally fluctuates between {{convert|370|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and {{convert|530|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> Lake Skadar itself is located in the western Balkan region.
The lake is located on the border area between Montenegro and Albania. Approximately 65% of the lake's surface area belongs to Montenegro, while around 35% belongs to Albania.<ref>{{cite book |last=Barović |first=Goran |last2=Spalević |first2=Velibor |last3=Pešić |first3=Vladimir |last4=Vujačić |first4=Duško |chapter=The Physical and Geographical Characteristics of the Lake Skadar Basin |editor-last=Pešić |editor-first=Vladimir |editor2-last=Karaman |editor2-first=Gordan S. |editor3-last=Kostianoy |editor3-first=Andrey G. |title=The Skadar/Shkodra Lake Environment |series=The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry |volume=80 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |year=2018 |doi=10.1007/698_2018_276 |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/698_2018_276 |language=en }}</ref> The lake's water level also varies seasonally from {{convert|4.7|to|9.8|m}} above sea level. The lake extends northwest to southeast, and it is approximately {{convert|44|km|abbr=in}} long.<ref name="Pešić 2013" />
The Buna River connects the lake with the Adriatic Sea, and the Drin River provides a link with Lake Ohrid.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> The lake is a cryptodepression, filled by the river Morača and drained into the Adriatic by the {{convert|41|km|mi|abbr=on}} long Buna ({{langx|sh|Bojana}}), which forms the international border on the lower half of its length. The largest inflow is from the Morača, which provides about 62% of the lake's water.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> Total drainage area is {{convert|5490|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> thumb|Satellite image of the lake in 2020<br>''Courtesy: NASA's Earth Observatory'' There are additionally some fresh water sources at the lake bottom. A characteristic feature of Lake Skadar's water balance is the high inflow from a number of temporary and permanent karst springs, some of which are sublacustrine in cryptodepressions (known as an {{lang|sh|oko}}).<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> The southern and southwestern sides of the lake are rocky, barren and steep, having bays in which the sublacustrine springs are usually to be found.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> On the northern side there is an enormous inundated area, the boundaries of which change as water levels fluctuate.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/>
Some small islands like Beška, with two churches on it and Grmožur, a former fortress and prison can be found on the southwestern side of the lake.
The climate type is hot-summer Mediterranean climate with dry summers (''Csa''), under Köppen climate classification.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/>
The Montenegrin part of the lake and its surrounding area were declared a national park in 1983. The Albanian part has been designated as a Managed Nature Reserve. In 1996, by Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, it was included in the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance.<ref name="Ramsar">{{cite web|url=http://www.ramsar.org/pdf/sitelist.pdf|title=The list of wetlands of international importance|last=Ramsar|date=August 4, 2010|publisher=Ramsar|page=5|language=en, es|access-date=14 August 2010}}</ref> Near the mouth of Rijeka Crnojevića, {{Convert|11|m|abbr=on}} below the surface of the water there is a well-preserved wreck of the steamboat ''Skanderbeg'' sunk by partisans in 1942, during the Second World War.<ref name="Vukotić1983">{{cite book|last=Vukotić|first=Jovan D.|title=Borbena dejstva u savlađivanju vodenih prepreka u NOR-u: 1941-1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UYp4AAAAIAAJ|year=1983|publisher=Vojnoizdavački zavod|page=14|quote= Батаљон Ловћенског НОП одреда »Царев Лаз« је у садејству са деловима батаљона »13. јули« 12. фебруара 1942. извршио препад на италијански пароброд »Скендербег« на Скадарском језеру...}}</ref>
<gallery> File:Lake Shkodër.jpg|View of the lake, Albania File:Westlicher Teil des Skutarisee.JPG|Western part of the lake near Rijeka Crnojevića, Montenegro File:02 - Maja Stosic - Pavlova Strana.jpg|Horseshoe bend in the northwest corner File:Shkodra 2.jpg|Outflow at Shkodër in Albania File:Grmozur 2.jpg|Fortress Grmožur in Lake Skadar, Montenegro File:Skadar Lake, Montenegro 37.jpg|Lake Skadar, Montenegro File:Dalmatian Pelican Lake Skadar.jpg|Dalmatian Pelican at Lake Skadar File:Lake Skadar 2025.jpg </gallery>
==Geology== Lake Skadar is presumably an ancient lake, although it is a relatively young ancient lake.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/>
Most authors agree that the Lake Skadar basin is of tectonic origin which had been formed due to the complex folding and faulting within north eastern wing of Old Montenegro anticlinorium (High Karst Zone).<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> These movements took place during the Cenozoic period. The lake basin has been formed as the result of sinking of blocks in the Neogene period or even in Paleogene.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> In the Miocene and the Pliocene marine conditions prevailed in the Zeta Plain, which was sunk at the beginning of the upper Miocene, and that the sea inundated this plain up to Podgorica during the Pliocene.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> Radoman (1985)<ref>Radoman P. (1985). "Hydrobioidea a superfamily Prosobranchia (Gastropoda), II. Origin, Zoogeography, Evolution in the Balkans and Asia Minor". ''Monographs Institute of Zoology Belgrade'' '''1''': 1-173.</ref> pointed out that sea must have destroyed all the freshwater populations on this plane and in the Lake Skadar area.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> The connection of Lake Skadar with the sea was interrupted during the younger Pliocene.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> The question of the origin of its water is of particular interest for biologists as these waters may have provided its first species and been the basis for its present high degree of endemism.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/>
==Fauna== The Lake Skadar system is a well-known hotspot of freshwater biodiversity and harbors a highly diverse mollusc fauna.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/>
Lake Skadar 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. It has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International.<ref name=bli>{{cite web |url= https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/skadar-lake-iba-montenegro |title=Skadar Lake|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024|website= BirdLife Data Zone|publisher= BirdLife International|access-date= 2024-08-25}}</ref><ref name=bli2>{{cite web |url= https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/2899 |title=Lake Shkodra (Lake Scadar)|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024|website= BirdLife Data Zone|publisher= BirdLife International|access-date= 2024-08-25}}</ref>
It is abundant in fish, especially in carp, bleak and eel. Of the 34 native fish species, 7 are endemic to Lake Skadar.<ref>Talevski, Milošević, Marić, Petrović, Talevska and Talevska (2009). [http://www.diagnosisnet.com/bbeq/system/files/bbeq/se_23_2009_2/400-404.pdf ''Biodiversity of Ichthyofauna from Lake Prespa, Lake Ohrid and Lake Skadar''.] Biotechnology & Biotechnological Equipment, 23(2). ISSN 1310-2818</ref>
At the scale of Lake Skadar, about 31% of freshwater snails (12 out of 39 species sampled in the lake) are endemic.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> At the scale of the Lake Skadar basin, 38% (19 species) of the total freshwater gastropod fauna appear to be endemic.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> There were reliably recorded 50 species of freshwater snails from the Lake Skadar basin.<!--There were reported 54 species, but 4 of them were reported incorrectly.--><ref name="Pešić 2013"/> The index of freshwater gastropod endemism is 0.478.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> With this relatively high value, Lake Skadar exceeds Lake Malawi and Lake Titicaca.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> Lake Skadar is inhabited by five species of ''Bithynia'' and it is a hot spot of ''Bithynia'' evolution.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/>
There are 17 amphipod species for the Lake Skadar watershed, 10 of them being endemic (mainly from the subterranean habitat).<ref name="Pešić 2013"/>
The small range of many endemic species living in the Lake Skadar system together with ever increasing human pressure make its fauna particularly vulnerable.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> This becomes even more important in light of ongoing eutrophication, water pollution and sand and gravel exploration activities in the lake and its basin.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> Research of the phytoplankton community and chlorophyll-based trophic state indices show that the lake is on a betamesosaprobic level of saprobity, which means moderately polluted with organic compounds.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/> Effects of human-induced environmental changes are especially evident for sublacustrine springs, with eutrophication and use for water supply (e.g., sublacustrine spring Karuč) being the most serious threats.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/>
The 2011 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species includes 21 endemic species from the Lake Skadar basin.<ref name="Pešić 2013"/>
==Cultural impact== Radio Skadar, a radio station based in Podgorica, is named after Lake Skadar.
==See also== {{commons category|Lake Scutari|Lake Skadar}} {{Portal|Wetlands}} *Shaqari Island {{Clear}}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{National parks of Montenegro}} {{Protected areas of Albania}} {{Cetinje}} {{Podgorica}} {{Lakes in Albania}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skadar}} Category:National parks of Montenegro Skadar Skadar Category:Protected areas established in 1983 Category:Albania–Montenegro border Skadar Category:Ramsar sites in Albania Category:Ramsar sites in Montenegro Category:Important Bird Areas of Albania Category:Important Bird Areas of Montenegro Category:Old Royal Capital Cetinje Category:Podgorica Capital City LSkadar Category:Lake Skadar basin Category:Karst lakes