Lake · Moldova
Lake Beleu
Lake Beleu is a shallow lake in the far south of Moldova, on the floodplain of the Prut River near the border with Romania. It is known as Moldova's largest natural lake and is a paradise for water birds.
Picture credit: Serghei Popovici (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Lake Beleu?
Countries on its shores: Moldova.
Largest lake of: Moldova.
Middle of the lake: 45.60° N, 28.13° E
The story behind it
Lake Beleu is about 5 km long and 2 km wide. It covers about 6.3 km², but one source gives a larger average of 9.5 km², because the water level depends on the Prut and Danube rivers. The lake is shallow: mostly 0.5 to 1.5 metres deep, and 2.5 metres at the deepest point. It formed about 5 000 to 6 000 years ago as a leftover of old Danube river mouths. Channels link it to the Prut: two bring water in, and two carry it out. The lake is protected in the Prutul de Jos nature reserve. About 170 kinds of birds have been seen here, among them herons, spoonbills, egrets and cormorants. Every year several thousand pelicans stop for two or three weeks to eat fish before they fly on to the Danube Delta. More than 20 kinds of fish live in the lake, and otters live in its wide reed beds.
Find it on the globe
Lake Beleu is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
How big is Lake Beleu?
Is Lake Beleu the largest lake in Moldova?
Lake Beleu is usually called Moldova's largest natural lake. Nearby Lake Manta is sometimes called larger, but it is a group of several basins joined by channels.
Why do pelicans visit Lake Beleu?
Every year several thousand pelicans rest here for two or three weeks and eat a lot of fish. Then they fly on to the Danube Delta.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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