Lake · Croatia
Lake Vrana
Lake Vrana is the largest natural lake in Croatia. It lies in Dalmatia between the cities of Zadar and Šibenik, close to the Adriatic Sea, and is a paradise for birds.
Picture credit: Harald Hetzner (CC0) · This Photo (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Lake Vrana?
Countries on its shores: Croatia.
Largest lake of: Croatia.
Middle of the lake: 43.89° N, 15.58° E
The story behind it
Lake Vrana is about 13.6 km long and 1.4 to 3.4 km wide, and it covers about 30 km². It fills a long valley in karst, a landscape of limestone rock where water often flows underground. Parts of the lake bottom lie below sea level. The lake is shallow, only about 2 to 6 metres deep, and its water level rises and falls by 1 to 2 metres: it is highest in spring and lowest in summer. Springs bring fresh water, but some salt water seeps in underground and through the Prosika canal, which was built to the sea and finished in 1770. So the water is slightly brackish – just a tiny bit salty. More than 260 kinds of birds use the bird reserve at the lake, and on sunny winter days up to 100 000 birds gather here. It is Croatia's largest natural lake.
Find it on the globe
Lake Vrana 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 Vrana?
Lake Vrana covers about 30 km² and is about 13.6 km long, which makes it the largest natural lake in Croatia. Its water level changes by 1 to 2 metres during the year, so its size changes a little too.
Why is the water of Lake Vrana slightly salty?
Some sea water seeps in through the ground and through the Prosika canal, which links the lake to the sea. This happens most in dry years when the water level is low.
How many birds live at Lake Vrana?
More than 260 kinds of birds use the bird reserve, and 102 of them nest there. On sunny winter days, up to 100 000 birds can gather at the lake.
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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