The Lake Prespa is located on the tripoint of

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. It is a system of two lakes separated by an

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus ...

: the Great Prespa Lake, divided between the three countries, and the Little Prespa Lake, mostly within Greece. They are the highest tectonic lakes in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, standing at an elevation of . The area contains three national parks:

Prespa Prespa ( mk, Преспа, sq, Prespa, el, Πρέσπα) is a region shared between North Macedonia, Albania and Greece. It shares the same name with the two Prespa lakes which are situated in the middle of the region. The largest town is Rese ...

in Albania,

Galičica Galičica ( mk, , sq, Mali i Thatë) is a mountain situated across the border between North Macedonia and Albania. There is a national park on North Macedonia's side of the mountain, situated between the two biggest lakes in the republic: Lake Oh ...

in North Macedonia and

in Greece. The largest town in the region is Resen in North Macedonia. In 2014, the

Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Reserve Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Biosphere Reserve ( mk, Прекуграничен биосферен резерват „Охрид-Преспа“, Prekugraničen biosferen rezervat „Ohrid-Prespa“; sq, Oher – Prespe, Rezerve Ndërkufitare Bios ...

between Albania and North Macedonia was added to UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Geography

The Great Prespa Lake ( mk, Преспанско Езеро, ''Prespansko Ezero'', sq, Liqeni i Prespës së Madhe, el, Μεγάλη Πρέσπα, ''Megáli Préspa'') has the total surface of . The largest part of it, belongs to North Macedonia; to Albania; and to Greece. To the south, the Little Prespa Lake (Greek: Μικρή Πρέσπα, ''Mikri Prespa''; Albanian: ''Prespa e Vogël''; Macedonian: Мало Преспанско Езеро) has the total surface area of , most of it in Greece, with the westernmost tip () in Albania. The two lakes are separated by a 4 km (2½ miles) long and 500 metres (550 yards) wide isthmus on the Greek territory, carrying an embankment with a road connecting the village of

Psarades Psarades ( el, Ψαράδες), is a village and a Communities and Municipalities of Greece, community of the Prespes, Prespes municipality. Before the 2011 local government reform it was part of the municipality of Prespes, of which it was a muni ...

. A short stretch of a canal connects the lakes on the western side of the isthmus.

History

In Classical times, the Prespa region formed part of ancient Lýnkos (Λύγκος), and the lakes were called Little and Great Brygeis. In the 10th century, the Tsar Samuil built the fortress and church of St. Achillius on an island called Agios Achillios in the Small Prespa Lake, on the Greek side of the border. The biggest island in the Great Prespa Lake, within North Macedonia, is called

Golem Grad Golem Grad ( mk, Голем Град), meaning ''Big City/Town'', also known as Snake Island, is an island in North Macedonia. The island covers an area of more than 20 hectares. It is located in Lake Prespa, a few kilometers from the Greek and A ...

("Large Town"), and Snake Island (Zmiski Ostrov). The other island Mal Grad ("Small Town", in Albania) is the site of a ruined 14th century monastery dedicated to St. Peter. Today, both islands are uninhabited. Because Great Prespa Lake sits in limestone country about 150m above

Lake Ohrid Lake Ohrid ( mk, Охридско Езеро , al, Liqeni i Ohrit , also referred as ''Liqeni i Pogradecit'';) is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of E ...

, which lies only about 10 km (6 miles) to the west, the only outlets for its waters are through underground channels in the karst and emerge from springs which feed streams running into Lake Ohrid. For many years, the Greek part of the Prespa Lakes region was an underpopulated, military sensitive area which required special permission for outsiders to visit. It saw fierce fighting during the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος}, ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and ...

and much of the local population subsequently emigrated to escape endemic poverty and political strife. The region remained little developed until the 1970s, when it began to be promoted as a tourist destination. With an abundance of rare fauna and flora, the area was declared a Transnational Park in 2000. In 1999 the Society for the Protection of Prespa received the

Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award The Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award honours the work of governments, organisations and individuals in promoting the wise use and conservation of wetlands. The Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award was established in 1996 at the 6th meeting of the co ...

for its conservation efforts regarding the Lake Prespa

Ramsar Ramsar may refer to: * Places so named: ** Ramsar, Mazandaran, city in Iran ** Ramsar, Rajasthan, village in India * Eponyms of the Iranian city: ** Ramsar Convention concerning wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran ** Ramsar site, wetland listed in ...

site, and was eventually included on 3 July 2013. In 2018, Great Prespa Lake was the setting for the signing of the

Prespa Agreement The Prespa agreement,; In mk, Договорот од Преспа, translit=Dogovorot od Prespa or Преспански договор, ''Prespanski dogovor'' also known as the Treaty of Prespa, the Prespes deal or the Prespa accord, is an agre ...

, intended to resolve the

Macedonia naming dispute The use of the country name "Macedonia (terminology), Macedonia" was disputed between Greece and the North Macedonia, Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) between 1991 and 2019. The dispute was a source of instability in the Balkans#W ...

by renaming the Republic of Macedonia to

. The agreement was signed on 17 June 2018 in a high-level ceremony at the Greek border village of

on the lake, by the two foreign ministers

Nikola Dimitrov Nikola Dimitrov (born 30 September 1972) is a Macedonian politician and diplomat, who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs for North Macedonia from 31 May 2017 to 30 August 2020. He also served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2000 ...

(of the Republic of Macedonia) and

Nikos Kotzias Nikolaos Kotzias, GCM ( el, Νικόλαος Κοτζιάς; born 21 December 1950) is a Greek politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2015 to 2018. He was Foreign Minister from 23 September 2015 until his resign ...

(of

) and in the presence of the respective prime ministers,

Zoran Zaev Zoran Zaev ( mk, Зоран Заев, ; born 8 October 1974) is a Macedonian economist and politician who served as prime minister of North Macedonia from May 2017 to January 2020, and again from August 2020 to January 2022. Prior to entering ...

and Alexis Tsipras. After the ceremony, Tsipras and Zaev crossed over the border to North Macedonia's side of the lake for lunch at the village of Oteševo, in a highly symbolic move that marked the first time a Greek prime minister ever entered the Republic of Macedonia since it declared independence in 1991.

Wildlife

Only 11 native fish species are known from the lake, but 9 of these are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

: '' Alburnoides prespensis'', '' Alburnus belvica'', '' Barbus prespensis'', '' Chondrostoma prespense'', '' Cobitis meridionalis'', '' Pelasgus prespensis'', '' Rutilus prespensis'', '' Salmo peristericus'' and '' Squalius prespensis''; the additional two are ''

Anguilla anguilla The European eel (''Anguilla anguilla'') is a species of eel, a snake-like, catadromous fish. They are normally around and rarely reach more than , but can reach a length of up to in exceptional cases. Eels have been important sources of ...

'' (European eel) and ''

Cyprinus carpio The Eurasian carp or European carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Arkive The ...

'' (European carp).

Important Bird Areas

North Macedonia's part of the lake has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports populations of

ferruginous duck The ferruginous duck (''Aythya nyroca''), also known as ferruginous pochard, common white-eye or white-eyed pochard, is a medium-sized diving duck from Eurosiberia. The scientific name is derived from Greek '' aithuia'' an unidentified seabir ...

tufted duck The tufted duck or tufted pochard (''Aythya fuligula'') is a small diving duck with a population of close to one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird ment ...

Dalmatian pelican The Dalmatian pelican (''Pelecanus crispus'') is the largest member of the pelican family, and perhaps the world's largest freshwater bird, although rivaled in weight and length by the largest swans. They are elegant soaring birds, with wingspa ...

s and

pygmy cormorant The pygmy cormorant (''Microcarbo pygmaeus'') is a member of the Phalacrocoracidae (cormorant) family of seabirds. It breeds in south-eastern Europe and south-western Asia. It is partially migratory, with northern populations wintering further ...

s. The Albanian part of the lake is a separate but corresponding IBA for the same reason, as is the Greek southern section of the lake.

Tourism

Lake Prespa in North Macedonia has not commanded a large tourism population in the past. The majority of foreign tourism has been clustered around the sister lake, Ohrid, where there are abundant overnight accommodations, restaurants and a lively town center in the summer months. Lake Prespa has subsequently remained somewhat isolated and pastoral, bringing its own special attraction in current times. The area remains pristine, without the hustle and bustle of a tourist town and a distinct lack of concrete and pollution which usually comes with developing tourism. Waterfront developments with sophisticated cafes serving food and drinks such as "Connect Beach" in the village of Slivnica, however, are providing a way for visitors to spend the day on the lake in luxury, without impacting on the environment. Companies such ''Prespa Panorama'' based in North Macedonia are leading the development of overnight lodging for the region with a concept of low environmental impact, low volume accommodations in the region. The municipality of Resen has begun construction of a paved walking and biking path that will link the individual villages providing access for a walking or biking tour of the numerous villages that are scattered around the lake. The completed concept will allow individuals to explore the entire south western corner of North Macedonia including Pelister and Galicica, two of the most beautiful and scenic mountain peaks of the region on foot or by bicycle. A descent from Galicica on the western face brings the cyclist or hiker down to the most scenic part of Lake Ohrid, which is separated from Lake Prespa by its massif. Once on the Lake Ohrid side, the springs where the waters of Lake Prespa emerge from under the mountain and drain into Lake Ohrid can be enjoyed.

Gallery

File:Fishing at Lake Prespa.JPG, Fisherman's hut in Oteševo, North Macedonia File:Beach Ribarsko Selo.JPG, Beach "Ribarsko Selo" in Oteševo, North Macedonia File:Lake Prespa beach (Konjsko).JPG, Beach at Konjsko, North Macedonia File:Prespa Lake 1.JPG, Prespa as seen from Oteševo - Stenje route in North Macedonia File:Prespa Lake (Oteshevo - Stenje).JPG, The lake as seen from Oteševo - Stenje route File:The "Evropa" hotel in Oteshevo, Macedonia.jpg, "Evropa" hotel in Oteševo, now abandoned File:Lake Prespa (southern shoreline).JPG, The southern shoreline (Stenje - Konjsko) File:Fisherman's cabin (Lake Prespa).JPG, Fisherman's huts at "Ribarsko Selo" File:Psarades from Big Lake.JPG, Shoreline along the Greek side File:View of Megaln Prespa Lake.JPG, View from Greek side File:Scale Megaln Prespa Limvn.JPG, Cliff face around Greek side File:Lake_Prespa_Albania.jpg, Maligrad Island in Albania

Sources

* "Prespa, Lake". ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2005. * "Prespa, Lake". ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', 2004.

References

External links

*
Archived webpage of Transboundary Prespa ParkArchived webpage of Prespa National Park Official Website
{{Authority control Ancient lakes

Prespa National Park (Albania) National parks of Greece Resen Municipality Albania–North Macedonia border Albania–Greece border Greece–North Macedonia border

Border tripoints Protected areas established in 2000 Ramsar sites in Albania Ramsar sites in North Macedonia Landforms of Western Macedonia Tourist attractions in Western Macedonia Important Bird Areas of North Macedonia Important Bird Areas of Greece Important Bird Areas of Albania Endorheic lakes of Europe