Skip to main content


Lake Voulkaria

It is a lake of western Sterea, in the northwest of Etoloakarnania prefecture, in the peninsula of Sterna, 5 km southwest of Vonitsa. The lake is mentioned by Strabo, who calls it Myrtountion. The basin includes the northwest foothills of Akarnanika mountains and small hilly formations in the southwest of the lake, and its total surface area is 73,2 km2.

The mirror surface of the lake covers 10,8 km2, when its level lies at the sea level, but when its level is up to +1.0 m, the mirror surface increases its area to 15,6 km2. The lake is shallow and its maximum depth is at -2.9 m under the sea level.

The formation of Lake Voulkaria is due to the creation of rifts and tectonic trenches of Acarnania region and their karstification, including Paleros moat, which was covered by sea till the position of lake nowadays, during the Pliocene. Debris also contributed in the lake formation and covered the sea between the lake and the bay of Paleros.

Source: Ministry of Rural Development and Food