Narach (lake)

Lake Narach (Belarusian: На́рач, Narač pronounced [ˈnarat͡ʂ]; Russian: На́рочь, Naročj; Lithuanian: Narutis, Naročius, Polish: Narocz) is a lake in northwestern Belarus (Myadzyel District, Minsk Region), located in the basin of the Viliya river. It is the largest lake in Belarus (in 1921–39 it was the largest lake of Poland). Narach is a part of the Narach lake group (the others being Miastra (Belarusian: Мястра), Batoryn (Belarusian: Баторын), and Blednaje (Belarusian: Бледнае). It was formed about 11 thousand years ago after the Pleistocene ice ages. It has a surface area of 79.6 km2, a wider length of 12.8 km, a maximum depth of 24.8 m, average depth of 8.9 m, a volume of 710 million cubic meters. The lake is surrounded by pine forests. The Narach River flows out of it. Narach is the abode of 22 genera of fish, including eel, pike, burbot, etc. The shore and islets are nested by different birds, such as the mute swan, fish hawk, tarrock and dabchick.