The Burgas Lakes ( bg, Бургаски езера, ''Burgaski ezera'') or Burgas Wetlands (Бургаски влажни зони, ''Burgaski vlazhni zoni'') are a group of coastal

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s of varying saltiness located around the

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n city of

Burgas Burgas ( bg, Бургас, ), sometimes transliterated as ''Bourgas'', is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the fourth-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna, with a pop ...

in the proximity of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

. They constitute the largest group of lakes in the country and comprise some of Bulgaria's biggest and most important lakes. The lakes' total area (including swamps, marshes, ponds and other reservoirs) amounts to 95 km², of which 33.30 km² are either proclaimed or proposed protected areas that are inhabited by a large number of locally or globally

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of birds, fish and mammals. Apart from this, the Burgas Lakes are also of economic importance, used to obtain

sea salt Sea salt is salt that is produced by the evaporation of seawater. It is used as a seasoning in foods, cooking, cosmetics and for preserving food. It is also called bay salt, solar salt, or simply salt. Like mined rock salt, production of sea sa ...

and curative mud, as well as to supply the local economy with fresh water, in the case of

Lake Mandrensko Lake Mandrensko or Lake Mandra ( bg, Мандренско езеро, ''Mandrensko ezero'') is the southernmost of the Burgas Lakes, located in the immediate proximity of the Black Sea and close to Burgas. Being 8 km long and 1.3 km wide at maxim ...

. The lakes comprise (in north to south order): * Lake Pomorie, an ultrasaline lagoon *

Lake Atanasovsko Lake Atanasovsko or Lake Atanasovo ( bg, Атанасовско езеро, ''Atanasovsko ezero'' ) is a salt coastal lake north of Burgas, Bulgaria, located in direct proximity to the Black Sea. The lake is about 5 km long and divided in two by a ...

, a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

and Ramsar site * Lake Burgas or Lake Vaya, the largest natural lake in the country by area * Lake Poda, sometimes regarded as a part of Lake Mandrensko *

, now a fresh water reservoir, the largest of the group

Gallery

Image:Atanasovsko-dinev.jpg,

Image:Lake-burgas-dinev.jpg, Lake Burgas Image:Lake-mandrensko-dinev.jpg,

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