Lake · Serbia
Lake Palić
Lake Palić is a lake in the far north of Serbia, about 8 km from the city of Subotica. For more than 150 years people have come here to swim, relax and visit its spa.
Picture credit: Miljan Simonović (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Dcabrilo (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Lake Palić?
Countries on its shores: Serbia.
Largest lake of: Serbia.
Middle of the lake: 46.07° N, 19.75° E
The story behind it
Lake Palić formed about 10 000 years ago. Wind blew fine dust called loess across the land, and water collected in hollows in the ground. The lake is about 8 km long but only about 1 km wide, and its shore is 17 km long. It covers about 4.2 km², although other sources give between about 4 and 6 km². It is shallow: 2 metres on average and 3.5 metres at the deepest point. Its water used to be salty, and its mud was thought to heal, so a spa opened here in 1845. A legend says that a shepherd named Pal cried so much that his tears flooded the meadow and made the salty lake. In 1880 sports games were held on the shore, which some call the first modern Olympic games. Over 200 kinds of birds live in the protected part of the lake. Serbia's larger natural waters, such as Zasavica and Carska bara, are bogs, so Palić counts as the country's largest natural open lake.
Find it on the globe
Lake Palić 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 Palić?
Lake Palić covers about 4.2 km², although some sources give up to about 6 km². It is about 8 km long, but only about 1 km wide.
How did Lake Palić form?
About 10 000 years ago, wind blew fine dust called loess across the land. Water collected in the hollows, and the lake was born.
What does the legend say about the lake?
A shepherd named Pal is said to have cried so much that his tears flooded the meadow. That is how the salty lake was made, and the lake is named after him.
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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