The Baćina lakes ( hr, Baćinska jezera) are located in Dalmatia,

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. The lakes are named after the inland town of Baćina close to the port city of

Ploče Ploče (; it, Porto Tolero) is a town and seaport in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. Geography Ploče is located on the Adriatic coast in Dalmatia just north of the Neretva Delta and is the natural seaside endpoint of most north-south ...

. The lakes are part of a picturesque landscape and surrounded by mountains. They are situated between Makarska and

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

. It is a crypto-depression lake, with its bottom below the surface of the sea.

Description

Despite its proximity to the sea and the permeable nature of the karst area, they are fresh water lakes. The seven lakes cover an area of 138

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

and they are named Oćuša, Crniševo, Podgora, Sladinac, Vrbnik, Šipak and Plitko. Six of these lakes are linked. The only isolated lake is Vrbnik.The largest lake is Oćuša and the deepest is the Crniševo (34 m). The lakes are connected with the sea and at times the water can be

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...

, also the surface of the lakes lies 80 cm above sea level. Salty water is found at the bottom of the deepest lake Crnisevo. Lake Vrgorac ( hr, Vrgorsko jezero) located to the north of the Baćina lakes drains into the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

through them. At the turn of the century the Austro-Hungarian government built a tunnel to the sea. This led to the lowering of the lake level which has brought about biological changes. The tunnel currently runs underneath the

Adriatic Highway The Adriatic Highway ( hr, Jadranska magistrala) is a road that stretches along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea and is part of the European route E65. The road passes through Croatia, with smaller stretches through Bosnia and Herzegovin ...

. In recent times the lake has become a well-known hunting ground for grey mullet (Mugil saliens).

References

External links

www.bacina.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacina Lakes Lake groups of Croatia Landforms of Dubrovnik-Neretva County LBaćina

Description

See also

References

External links