Atanasovsko Lake

Atanasovsko Lake is a hypersaline lake which resembles a liman to the north and a lagoon to the south. A considerable part of its surface is used for salt production with preserved primitive salt production methods. It is located north of the city of Burgas, near the sea coast. The lake lies at 1 m below sea level. Small freshwater marshes, together with a system of canals overgrown with marsh vegetation, surround the lake. The fresh water from the catchment area of the lake is collected in a canal during November-April and flows into the sea. The eastern part of this canal also supplies the salt-works w ith seawater from Burgas Bay during May-October. Thus the water in the canal is fresh during the first half of the year and saline during the second half.The northern part of the lake has been a maintained reserve since 1999. The lake was declared a wetland of international significance under the Ramsar Convention in 1984, and the Ramsar site was enlarged in 2003. In 2007, this area was included in the Natura 2000 network under the name of Protected site Atanasovsko ezero in accordance with the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive with a code BG000270 and a territory of 7 208,89 ha.The site is representative as the rarest ecosystem type for Bulgaria (coastal halophytic communities). The priority habitat 1150 * Coastal lagoons covers 20.6 % (1 483,2 ha) of the entire protected area (7 200 ha). This is the largest compact area occupied by this habitat in Bulgaria, highly valuable for its relative area, its representativeness and its importance for nature conservation.The following marine habitats according to Annex I to Directive 92/43EEC have been established: 1150 - Coastal lagoons,1160 - Large shallow inlets and bays, 1310 - Salicornia and other annuals colonizing mud and sand, 1410 - Mediterranean salt meadows (Juncetalia maritimi), 1530 - Pannonic salt steppes and salt marshes, 2110 - Embryonic shifting dunes