The Kerkini Lake is a very special case of reservoirs. It was created in 1932 the dam on the Strymonas river, in the village of Lithotopos, with the initial intention of preventing the river of Strymonas from flooding. However, it was subsequently used to provide water to the nearby fields. At its place, a complex of extended but shallow reservoirs coexisted that were being sourced by the river waters.

Today the variety of the vegetation, the presence of hundreds of bird species, the rich fish variety and the numerous mammal, reptile and amphibian species, are the extensions of the life that used to exist even before the dam's creation. The creation of the Lake Kerkini did hold Strymonas river, contributing in fighting the blight of malaria and helped greatly to the economic growth of the region and the restoration of 85,000 immigrants from Minor Asia. In 1982 the continuous decrease in the capacity of the lake caused by sediments of Strymonas, led to the construction of a new dam.

The Lake Kerkini is one of the 11 Hellenic reservoirs of international significance according to the International Conventon of Ramsar and also one of the 113 most important birding sites in Hellas (IBA). It is also beein overseen by european and international regulations like the 79/409 directive of the European Union and the International Convention of Barcelona. It is also part of the European Network "Nature 2000" according to the directive 92/43/EOK. In 1993 a joint ministries decision was signed numbered 66272/93 defining the borders of the natural reservoir, the zones to be protected and the legal activies within them. In parallel, the Perfecture regulates hunting and fishing during reproduction and logging.

Here are a few key things to know about Lake Kerkini:

• It is one of the most important birding sites of Hellas, with more than 300 bird species
• In Lake Kerkini there are the most important nesting sites in Southern Balkans of herons, cormorants, spoonbills and glossy ibis
• It is the most important site of hibernation and immigration of the Dalmatian pelecan, in all accross Europe
• The Lake Kerkini has the wider area covered in lilies across all over Hellas
• The largest amount of buffalos in all over Hellas, lives by the lake (almost 500)
• The harmonic coexistence of humans and pelecans and the images of the fishermen feeding them are not to be seen anywhere else in Hellas
  
  
  
  More pictures of Kerkini lake: