Doiran Lake (, ''Dojransko Ezero''; , ''Límni Dhoïráni''), also spelled Dojran Lake is a

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 ...

with an area of shared between

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 ...

() 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 ...

(). To the west is the city of Nov Dojran (Нов Дојран), to the east the village of

Mouries Mouries ( el, Μουριές) is a village and a former municipality in the Kilkis regional unit, northern Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kilkis, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit h ...

, to the north the mountain Belasica/Beles and to the south the Greek town of

Doirani Doirani ( el, Δοϊράνη) is a town and former municipality in the Kilkis regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kilkis, of which it is a municipal unit. It is situated on the shores of Do ...

. The lake has a rounded shape, a maximum depth of and a north-to-south length of and is at its widest, making it the third largest lake partially in

after

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 ...

and

Lake Prespa The Lake Prespa is located on the tripoint of North Macedonia, Albania, and Greece. It is a system of two lakes separated by an isthmus: the Great Prespa Lake, divided between the three countries, and the Little Prespa Lake, mostly within Gree ...

History

The lake was on the southern line of the Macedonian front during World War I, and its southern shore became the site of the various battles between allied troops and

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 troops in

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * J ...

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...

and 1918. A

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

to one of the battles and two cemeteries for Greek and British troops stand on a hill a few hundred metres south of the lake. It was designed by Sir

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Got ...

.Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Robert Lorimer Dojran Lake 209

Ecology

The lake is shallow and

eutrophic Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytoplan ...

, with extensive ''

Phragmites ''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in L ...

'' reedbeds. Due to the overuse of the lake's water for agricultural purposes, Doiran's water nearly drained out, but the disaster was avoided after both countries took measures to replenish and sustain water levels. Frequent and heavy rainfall in later years helped restore water levels in the lake.

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 ...

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. Greece's part of the lake is a separate but corresponding IBA.

References

External links

Commonwealth War Graves Commission article on The Doiran Memorial
{{Authority control Lakes of North Macedonia Lakes of Greece Shrunken lakes Greece–North Macedonia border International lakes of Europe Ramsar sites in North Macedonia Kilkis Landforms of Central Macedonia Landforms of Kilkis (regional unit) Dojran Municipality Important Bird Areas of Greece Important Bird Areas of North Macedonia