Lake Atanasovsko

Lake Atanasovsko Nature Reserve
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)[1]
Sentinel-2 satellite image from November 2022.
Map showing the location of Lake Atanasovsko Nature Reserve
Map showing the location of Lake Atanasovsko Nature Reserve
Location of Lake Atanasovsko Nature Reserve
Locationclose to Burgas and the Black Sea, Burgas Province, Bulgaria
Nearest cityBurgas
Coordinates42°34′55″N 27°28′12″E / 42.58194°N 27.47000°E / 42.58194; 27.47000
Established1980
Official nameAtanasovo Lake
Designated28 November 1984
Reference no.292[2]

Lake Atanasovsko or Lake Atanasovo (Bulgarian: Атанасовско езеро, Atanasovsko ezero [atɐˈnasofsko ˈɛzɛro]) is a salt coastal lake north of Burgas, Bulgaria, located in direct proximity to the Black Sea. The lake is about 5 km long and divided in two by a strip of sand in the middle. The lake is particularly known for the diversity of its flora and fauna and is surrounded by swamps and canals that drain the whole local basin into the sea.

Due to Lake Atanasovsko's high salt content that increases every year because of its link with the sea, salt has been produced in it since 1906, with 40,000 tons of sea salt produced a year. The lake's north part, a nature reserve since 1980, is connected by a canal to the Black Sea, while the smaller south part, which is mostly used for salt production, serves as a buffer zone for the reserve. A road connecting Varna with Burgas passes through the sand strip in the middle of the lake.

  1. ^ "Lake Atanasovsko Nature Reserve". Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Atanasovo Lake". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.