Lake Pamvotida or Pamvotis ( el, Λίμνη Παμβώτιδα/Παμβώτις), commonly also Lake of Ioannina ( el, Λίμνη των Ιωαννίνων, ''Limni ton Ioanninon'') is the largest

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 ...

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

, located in the central part of the Ioannina regional unit in northern

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 wi ...

. The regional capital

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

to the west and the town of

Perama Perama ( el, Πέραμα) is a suburb of Piraeus. It is part of Athens urban area and belogs to the Piraeus regional unit. It lies on the southwest edge of the Aegaleo mountains, on the Saronic Gulf coast. It is 8 km northwest of Piraeus ...

to the north are urban settlements fringing the lake while the remaining of its periphery is composed of farmland. The lake features small fishing ports and a boating port. There is a regular boat service to the Ioannina Island. The

Greek National Road 6 Greek National Road 6 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 6, abbreviated as EO6) is a national road in north-central Greece. It begins at the port of Igoumenitsa and ends at Volos, passing through the towns Ioannina, Metsovo, Trikala and Larissa. The ...

surrounds the northern half of the lake.

Geography

Lake Pamvotida is situated at 470 m elevation, south of the Mitsikeli mountains. It is fed by several small rivers. It has no surface outflow, but it is drained through

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathe ...

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

s towards the rivers

Arachthos Arachthos ( el, Άραχθος) is a former municipality in the Arta regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nikolaos Skoufas Nikolaos Skoufas ( el, Νικόλαος Σκουφάς; 17 ...

Louros Louros ( el, Λούρος) is a town and a former municipality in the Preveza regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Preveza, of which it is a municipal unit. The seat of the municip ...

and

Kalamas The Thyamis ( el, Θύαμις), also known as Glykys (Γλυκύς) or Kalamas (Καλαμάς), is a river in the Epirus region of Greece. It flows into the Ionian Sea. It is long, and its drainage area is about , over 99% of which on Greek te ...

. In 1960 a tunnel and ditch were constructed that drain from the northern end of the lake to the river Kalamas. The small inhabited Ioannina Island, where Ali Pasha was hiding during the last days of his reign, is situated near the northern shore.

Biology

Urbanisation and pollution are threatening the lake ecosystem, home to small mammals, waterbirds and a rich fish and crustacean fauna.

Eutrophication 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 phyt ...

results in

algal bloom An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompass ...

s in summer. Lake Pamvotida is home to ''Tsima'' (''Τσίμα''), a species of fish

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 ...

to the lake. Two

bryozoa Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary colonies. Typically about long, they have a special feeding structure called a ...

n species have recently been reported from the lake.

Pollution

The State General Laboratory and the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Ioannina, Ioannina Region notified the results of analysis of samples from lake Pamvotis in order to ascertain the reasons that led to the death of a host of fish. As revealed by the results, the lake is impaired by pollutants from sewage, which significantly exceed permissible limits. According to what was said by the Head of State General Laboratory Department of Ioannina Anastasios Tsongas, the effluent is the same quality as those that led to biological treatment, with the difference being that these were channeled directly to the lake.

References

Literature

* Franz X. Bogner & Georg Pilidis: ''Lake of Ioannina - Limni Pamvotis''. Ioannina, 2010, (bilingual book).

External links

Photos of Lake Pamvotida, Ioannina by Dimitrios Sioutis

Ioannina on GTP Travel Pages
(in English and Greek) {{Authority control Ioannina

Pamvotida Pamvotida ( el, Παμβώτιδα) is a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yann ...