freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...
lake in the west of Ireland. It is located in west
County Galway
County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...
on the Slyne Head peninsula.
Geography and hydrology
Lough Anaserd is about south of
Clifden
Clifden () is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Capital of Connemara". Frequen ...
, near
Ballyconneely
Ballyconneely () is a village and small ribbon development in west Connemara, County Galway Ireland.
Name
19th century antiquarian John O'Donovan documents a number of variants of the village, including Ballyconneely, Baile 'ic Conghaile, Bal ...
. The lake has numerous rocky islands and is
oligotrophic
An oligotroph is an organism that can live in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients. They may be contrasted with copiotrophs, which prefer nutritionally rich environments. Oligotrophs are characterized by slow growth, low rates o ...
.
Natural history
Lough Anaserd is home to the slender naiad (''
Najas flexilis
''Najas flexilis'' is an aquatic annual plant native to parts of North America and Europe. It is native to northern and central Europe from Norway to Ireland to Switzerland, and from there across Russia (including Siberia). It is also considered ...
''), a rare plant species. The lake is part of the Slyne Head Peninsula
Special Area of Conservation
A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...
.
See also
*
List of loughs in Ireland
This is an alphabetical list of loughs (lakes) on the island of Ireland. It also shows a table of the largest loughs. The word ''loch, lough'' is pronounced like ''loch'' () and comes from the Irish language, Irish ''loch'', meaning ''lake''.
Acc ...
*
List of Special Areas of Conservation in the Republic of Ireland
The following is a list of Special Areas of Conservation in the Republic of Ireland, as listed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). Since 2020, the NPWS has operated under the aegis of the Department of Housing, Local Government ...