Žuvintas


Lake Žuvintas is a shallow lake in Alytus district, central Lithuania. Area of Žuvintas Lake is 965 ha. It is the shallowest lake in Lithuania with the greatest depth 3 m and average only 0.6 m. It is a paradise for water birds, but also faces danger of becoming a swamp.

Nature reserve

It is a strictly protected reserve. It is first Nature Reserve in Lithuania, established by an outstanding Lithuanian naturalist and ornithologist professor Tadas Ivanauskas in 1937. Žuvintas Strict Nature Reserve was enrolled into the International list of Designated Wetlands and Shallow Waters of International Importance since 1993. Žuvintas Biosphere Reserve has the status of Important Bird Area and Site of Community Importance in compliance with the established criteria for European conservation territories of natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora since 2004. In 2011 it has become a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.