Lake Vegoritida, physico-geographically and geologically, occupies one of the wells of the closed plateaus in western Macedonia. Specifically, it is surrounded by large volumes of Askio, Vermio and Voras or Kaimaktsalan mountains (limestone formations and acidic silicated metamorphic rocks). Lake Vegoritida, one of the largest water bodies in Greece, is of karst type, deep and wide in scope, that because of the altitude can be classified in the mountainous type lakes. As a lake, it is a warm monomictic one, and has high nitrogen nitrate content and increasing eutrophication. It has irregular hydraulic behavior and is a classic example of karstic lake, that its unloading takes place underground through natural channels. Furthermore, the lake is supplied by water streams (e.g. Soulou) of permanent flow, by smaller streams and by a large amount of karst water thereby contributing in rapid rate refresh of its water.

During the last 50 years fluctuations in water level have been noticed up to 30 meters. The reduction of the lake level began in 1955 by transferring the water to the hydroelectric plant of Agra. So, while it was once of the largest lakes in Greece with surface area of 68 Km2, largest depth of 75m and volume of water 2200Χ106 m3, a few years ago its surface area has been reduced ​​approximately to 45 km2, the deepest part is about 50m and the water volume is 800Χ106 m3. So Lake Vegoritida is one of the most important and largest lakes of Greece but faces many problems which seem to threaten the ecological balance and jeopardizes the benefits to the wider environment, man and especially the local coastal communities, around the lake.

Source: «Lakes in Greece. Narrations and records», Dr. Theodoros Kousouris, ΕΚΚΕ 2013