Kugurluy

The Kuhurluj (Ukrainian Кугурлуй ) is a 82 km ² large lake in the Ukraine near the border with Romania. The freshwater lake with an irregular circular shape is a shallow oxbow lake of the Danube and has a diameter of about 20 km. It is located in the northern Danube Delta and is connected to the north with the Jalpuhsee and in the south with the lower Danube.

Geography

The lake is located in the southeast of the Odessa Oblast Raion in Reni and borders with its eastern shore of the Izmail Raion. The village Nowa Nekrassiwka is located on the north shore and the city of Izmail about 10 km northeast of the lake.

In the 1970s a dam with a bridge was built in the middle part between the Jalpuhsee and the Kuhurluj, whereby the exchange of water between the lakes fell by almost a third. Crossing the dam the highway M 15, which runs from Reni by Ismail runs.

Hydrographic

The lake has a low, marshy shore, its bottom is muddy and the average depth of 0.8-1 m with a maximum depth of 2.5 m. The mineralization of the water is 278-514 mg per liter. The water level of the lake depends on the water level of the Danube, comes from the 86 % of its water. The climate on the lake is continental with short, mild winters and long, hot summers. The surface temperature of the water in summer reaches up to 28 ° -30 ° C, and in winter often below 0 ° C, so that the lake is covered with ice up to one month. The annual rainfall is 350-400 mm, 800-900 mm evaporation.

Flora and Fauna

Lakeside to find rare species of birds and a significant number of different species of water birds with a seasonal concentration in autumn and winter of up to 30,000 birds. In particular, in the marshes at the south- eastern shore of the lake is the only one to are going through Ukraine, colony of the Dalmatian pelican, the largest occurring in Europe pelican. The wetland is also important as a breeding ground and nursery for fish and amphibians as well as the habitat of several rare and endangered plant species. The Kuhurluj is a 6,500 -acre nature reserve under the Ramsar Convention.