Meteliai Regional Park (''Metelių regioninis parkas'') is a natural and cultural reserve in southern Lithuania. It is located near the city of

Lazdijai Lazdijai () is a city ('' miestas'') in Lithuania located about east of the border with Poland. History It was established by Sigismund II Augustus in 1570 and granted Magdeburg Rights by Sigismund III Vasa in 1587. During World War II, Lazdija ...

Lazdijai district Lazdijai District Municipality () is a municipality in Alytus County, Lithuania. Seniūnijos (Elderships or Wards) The Lazdijai district municipality contains 14 ''seniūnijos'' (in English: elderships of Lithuania, elderships or ward (countr ...

. Established in 1992, the park covers an area of . It incorporates several lakes, and serves as a sanctuary for several protected species.

Geography

The Meteliai Regional Park is a protected area located near the city of

. The park covers an area of , and was established in 1992. It is located on the north-western part of the Dzūkų uplands. The region is characterized by the presence of multiple lakes interspersed with cultivated lands, small mounts with

river valleys A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over a ve ...

, glacial moraines, and

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

. Large lakes in the park include

Lake Metelys Lake Metelys is located in southern Lithuania's Alytus County. The lake, covering 1,292 hectares, has a maximum depth of 15 metres. It lies within the boundaries of Meteliai Regional Park. Lake Metelys formed from melted ice lump. The lake is a ...

, and

Lake Dusia The Dusia lake is the largest lake in Southern Lithuania, Lazdijai district and is part of the Dovinė River basin. Other nearby lakes are Lake Metelys and Lake Obelija. In the winter of 1954, the ice coverage on lake Dusia was as thick as 78&nbs ...

. The park incorporates a number of villages and heritage sites.

Protected areas

The park has been classified into two strict natural reserves, and nine reserves. The strict natural reserves include Obelytė, which includes several protected flora, and Trakas, which protects

Sessile oak ''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Welsh oak, Cornish oak, Irish oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unof ...

forests and nesting sites of lesser spotted eagles. The nine reserves are classified into four landscape reserves, and one each of

geomorphological Geomorphology () is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topography, topographic and bathymetry, bathymetric features generated by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. Ge ...

hydrographical Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, Coast, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the pr ...

botanical Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

zoological Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

, and botanical-zoological reserves. The landscape reserves include Barčiai that protects

morainic A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice she ...

landforms, lake terraces, and

dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

along the Dusia Lake, Kalniškė that protects the morainic mounds, lakes and valleys of the

Dzūkija Dzūkija () or Dainava is one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. Dzūkija is a cultural region defined by traditional lifestyles and dialects of the local Lithuanian population (mostly rural farmers) and has never been defined as a poli ...

region, Meteliai that includes the Meteliai, Obelija and Maušelis lakes and their surrounding lands, valleys, forests, and wetlands, and Teizai that incorporates a large morainic hill on the southern slope of the Sūduva upland and Verstaminai hills. The Žagariai Geomorphological Reserve consists of distinct morainic landforms, and street villages. The Dusia Hydrographical Reserve was established to protect the lake Dusia, the largest lake in southern Lithuania and its associated flora and fauna. The Rinkotai Botanical Reserve is a protected area for

deciduous forest In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flo ...

s. The Juodabalė Zoological Reserve was established to protect the endangered pond turtles. The Trakas Botanical-Zoological Reserve was established to protect the wetland trees along with its fauna.

Flora and fauna

The sessile oak and pond turtles are found only in this region in Lithuania. Plant species found include

Cypripedium calceolus ''Cypripedium calceolus'' is a lady's-slipper orchid, and the type species of the genus ''Cypripedium''. It is native to Europe and Asia. Taxonomy ''Cypripedium'' comes from the Greek Κύπρις πεδίον (''Kypris pedion''), meaning Aphro ...

Corydalis cava ''Corydalis cava'' is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Papaveraceae, native plant, native to moist, shady, woodland habitats throughout most of mainland Europe, although commonest in central and southeast Europe. Its r ...

Corydalis intermedia ''Corydalis intermedia'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Papaveraceae. It is native to Europe. References intermedia Intermedia is an art theory term coined in the mid-1960s by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to descr ...

, Poa remota, and Carex brizoides. Wetland forest trees include sessile oak, linden,

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

, and

black alder Black alder is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Alnus glutinosa'', native to Europe and widely naturalized *''Ilex verticillata ''Ilex verticillata'', the winterberry, is a species of holly native to eastern North America in ...

. The region plays host to a large number of

migratory birds Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The ...

during the migratory season in October-November. Birds include

red-throated diver The red-throated loon (North America) or red-throated diver (Britain and Ireland) (''Gavia stellata'') is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. The most widely distributed member of the loon or diver family, it breeds prim ...

black-throated diver The black-throated loon (''Gavia arctica''), also known as the Arctic loon and the black-throated diver, is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere, primarily breeding in freshwater lakes in northern Europe and Asia. It winte ...

white-tailed eagle The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), sometimes known as the 'sea eagle', is a large bird of prey, widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which also ...

white-backed woodpecker The white-backed woodpecker (''Dendrocopos leucotos'') is a Eurasian woodpecker belonging to the genus ''Dendrocopos''. Taxonomy The white-backed woodpecker was described by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802 under the b ...

European golden plover The European golden plover (''Pluvialis apricaria''), also known as the Eurasian golden plover, or just the golden plover within Europe, is a relatively large species of plover. This species is similar to two other golden plovers, the American ...

northern lapwing The northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tewit, green plover, or (in Ireland and Great Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Palearcti ...

, and other fowl such as

grebes Grebes () are aquatic diving birds in the order Podicipediformes (). Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in marine habitats during migration and winter. Most grebes fly, although some flightless species ...

gulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and Skimmer (bird), skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gul ...

, and

egrets Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

Gallery

Image:Bijotų miškas1.JPG, Bijotai forest Image:Meteliu apzvalgos bokstas 2021-05-09.jpg, Observation tower Image:Kryžių koplyčia.JPG, Kryžiai (Crosses) Chapel Image:Meteliai2.JPG, Meteliai church Image:Metelys1.JPG, Lake Metelys

References

{{Authority control Regional parks of Lithuania Tourist attractions in Alytus County