Lacul Auster (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

for ''the austere lake'') is a natural salt lake in the town of

Ocna Sibiului Ocna Sibiului (; ) is a town in the centre of Sibiu County, in southern Transylvania, central Romania, 10 km to the north-west of the county capital Sibiu. The town administers a single village, Topârcea (''Tschapertsch''; ''Toporcsa''). A ...

Sibiu County Sibiu County () is a county ( ro, județ) of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat ( ro, reședință de județ) is the namesake town of Sibiu (german: Hermannstadt). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben m ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. It is one of the many lakes of the

Ocna Sibiului mine The Ocna Sibiului mine is a large salt mine located in central Romania, in Sibiu County, close to Ocna Sibiului. The mine represents one of the largest salt reserves in Romania, having estimated reserves of 61 billion tonnes of NaCl. Lakes of t ...

, a large salt mine which has one of the largest salt reserves in Romania. In the middle of the lake, an

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...

has been formed. The islet makes the lake unique among the other lakes of the mine. Artemia_salina_2

Name

In Romanian, the word ''auster'' means austere. The lake is nicknamed ''Lacul cu insula'' (lit. ''the Lake with the Island'') because of its island, which makes it unique among the salt mine's lakes. Previously, the lake had the nickname ''Lacul Roșu'' (the Red Lake) due to its reddish color.

History

Lacul Auster was formed on the site of an old non-documented saltworks. In 1922, its water level was much higher than at present, and it was lowered by artificial drainage because it was believed that its waters flooded the Ignaţiu salt mine, which was in operation.

Information

*Surface: *Maximum depth: *Salinity: 140 g/l *Fauna:

Artemia salina ''Artemia salina'' is a species of brine shrimp – aquatic crustaceans that are more closely related to '' Triops'' and cladocerans than to true shrimp. It belongs to a lineage that does not appear to have changed much in . ''A. salina'' is na ...

Lakes of the salt mine

* Auster *

Lake Avram Iancu-Ocniţa 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 larger ...

* Balta cu Nămol * Brâncoveanu * Cloşca * Crişan * Lacul Fără Fund * Gura Minei *

Horea Vasile Ursu Nicola (1731 in Arada, Principality of Transylvania (now Horea, Romania) – 28 February 1785 in Karlsburg (now Alba Iulia, Romania), commonly known as Horea (in Hungarian sometimes ''Hóra'') was a Transylvanian peasant who, with ...

* Mâţelor *

Negru The Romanian-language surname Negru literally means "black" and may refer to: *Dan Negru Dan Negru (born 23 February 1971) is a Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Easter ...

* Pânzelor * Rândunica * Verde (Freshwater lake) * Vrăjitoarelor (Freshwater lake)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auster Lakes of Sibiu County