Yalpug Lake

If Odessa is commonly called the "pearl by the sea", then the huge freshwater lake Yalpug can be considered a full-fledged pearl of the Odessa region of Ukraine. It is the largest lake of natural origin in the country and the second largest in Europe.

The length is about 38 km.
The width is up to 7 km.
The area is about 149 km2.
The maximum depth is 6 m.
The average depth is 2.6 m.
The volume of water is 0.38 km3.

The lake is considered an important accumulator of fresh water in the region. In addition, it is a habitat for a variety of fish and a source of drinking water for residents of the coastal town of Bolgrad and surrounding villages. In summer, the waters of the lake warm up to +25 ° C, and in winter the reservoir is covered with a small layer of ice. However, those who have been there claim that you can have a great time at the lake at any time of the year.

Yalpug is a natural estuary—type reservoir belonging to the group of Danube lakes. It was formed from the flooded mouth of a tributary of the Danube. People have long lived on its shores, fishing and farming on fertile soil. It is still a place of attraction for residents of Ukraine. The magnificent landscapes attract tourists to the lake. The waters, rich in four dozen species of fish and crayfish, attract fishing enthusiasts. You can catch bream or perch, carp or catfish, pike or carp here.

The swampy northern part of the lake serves as an excellent habitat for crayfish and a variety of mollusks. The coast here is overgrown with reeds, in which gulls, ducks and swans live, and the bottom is covered with black hydrogen sulfide mud. There are thickets of reeds, water lilies and even wild iris. The southern part, on the contrary, has a shallow sandy bottom, the water in this area is cleaner, since the most polluted tributary, the Yalpug River, flows into the lake in the north. The eastern and western shores are small hills, so that even in high-water seasons they are not flooded.

One of the interesting sights of the lake is an ancient oak tree, which, according to locals, was planted on the shore by the great Russian poet A. S. Pushkin. They say that on his way to Odessa, Alexander Sergeevich stopped to rest on the shore of the Yalpuga, and was so fascinated by the beauty of these places that he personally planted an oak tree in the coastal park. Since then, of course, the lake has changed a bit. And although the local landscapes and sunsets are probably just as beautiful, the reservoir itself has a lot of problems.

Yalpug Lake has already experienced an environmental disaster once. In the 1980s, toxic chemical compounds from mineral fertilizers used by Moldovan farmers constantly entered the lake from the territory of present-day Moldova through the waters of the Yalpug River of the same name. This seriously worsened the conditions for the local fauna and flora.

There was a case of mass starvation of fish. Then, miraculously, serious consequences for the entire lake ecosystem were avoided. Now the intensity of the use of such chemicals in Moldova has decreased and, according to environmentalists, the lake is getting cleaner over the years. However, there is still a long way to complete recovery, and wastewater treatment systems in the post-Soviet countries are aging from year to year. For example, the regulator lock of the Danube protective dam, which is responsible for the purity of the lake's waters, is in critical condition.

By the way, it is thanks to the spring flood on the Danube that Yalpug Lake receives most of its waters every year. There is a water exchange through Lake Kugurlui, which is located in the south of Yalpuga and is connected to its "older" brother by a small channel. The lake is fed from the north by the river of the same name, but its resources are sometimes insufficient to support the life of the reservoir.

During the hot summer months, a significant proportion of the incoming water mass evaporates, and sometimes critically low water levels remain in the lake. This is a serious problem that worries environmentalists. However, since Yalpug and the rivers of its basin are used by local residents for irrigation purposes, as well as for water supply to settlements, it has been impossible to significantly reduce water intake and level the ecological situation for many years. In addition, the dam built between the Kugurlui and Yalpug lakes reduced the flow of water into the latter by a third. It is also the reason for the higher concentration of pollutants in Yalpuga compared to Kugurlui.