Bala Lake
Encyclopedia
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
in Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It was the largest natural body of water in Wales prior to the level being raised by Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
to help support the flow of the Ellesmere Canal
Ellesmere Canal
The Ellesmere Canal was a canal in England and Wales, originally planned to link the Rivers Mersey, Dee, and Severn, by running from Netherpool to Shrewsbury. The canal that was eventually constructed was very different from what was originally envisioned...
. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) long by 1 miles (1.6 km) wide, and is subject to sudden and dangerous floods. The River Dee
River Dee, Wales
The River Dee is a long river in the United Kingdom. It travels through Wales and England and also forms part of the border between the two countries....
runs through it and the waters of the lake are famously deep and clear. The town of Bala
Bala, Gwynedd
Bala is a market town and community in Gwynedd, Wales, and formerly an urban district of the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies at the north end of Bala Lake , 17 miles north-east of Dolgellau, with a population of 1,980...
sits at its northern end and the narrow gauge Bala Lake Railway
Bala Lake Railway
The Bala Lake Railway is a preserved railway at Bala Lake, in Gwynedd, north Wales, which runs for a distance of using gauge rolling stock....
runs for several kilometres along the lake's southern shore.
Origins of name
George BorrowGeorge Borrow
George Henry Borrow was an English author who wrote novels and travelogues based on his own experiences around Europe. Over the course of his wanderings, he developed a close affinity with the Romani people of Europe. They figure prominently in his work...
wrote of the lake in Wild Wales
Wild Wales
Wild Wales: Its People, Language and Scenery is a travel book by the English Victorian gentleman writer George Borrow, , first published in 1862....
in 1856, "The lake has certainly not its name, which signifies 'Lake of Beauty', for nothing". The Welsh name for the town of Bala is 'Y Bala', which sits at the eastern end of the lake. A 'bala' signifies either an 'outlet' or else perhaps 'an isthmus between two lakes or areas of wet ground'. The Welsh name includes the personal name 'Tegid'. An older now redundant English name for the lake is Pemble Mere or Pimble Mere - many variant spellings are recorded.
Biology
Bala Lake has abundant pikeEsox
Esox is a genus of freshwater fish, the only living genus in the family Esocidae — the esocids which were endemic to North America, Europe and Eurasia during the Paleogene through present.The type species is E. lucius, the northern pike...
, perch
European perch
The European perch, Perca fluviatilis, is a predatory species of perch found in Europe and Asia. In some areas it is known as the redfin perch or English perch, and it is often known simply as perch. The species is a popular quarry for anglers and has been widely introduced beyond its native area,...
, brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
, Roach, eel
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
. It also contains the endemic gwyniad
Gwyniad
The gwyniad is a freshwater whitefish native to Bala Lake in northern Wales.The population is threatened by deteriorating water quality and by the ruffe, a fish introduced to the lake in the 1980s and now eating the eggs and fry of gwyniad...
, now listed as critically endagered by the IUCN due to the introduction of the invasive and non native ruffe
Ruffe
The Eurasian Ruffe or simply Ruffe is a freshwater fish found in temperate regions of Europe and northern Asia. It has been introduced into the Great Lakes of North America, reportedly with unfortunate results...
. It also contains the very rare mollusc Myxas glutinosa
Myxas glutinosa
The glutinous snail, Myxas glutinosa is a species of small air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusc in the family Lymnaeidae, the pond snails.- Anatomy :...
- the glutinous snail. According to legend, whilst the Dee itself flows through the lake, the waters never mix. However this was not confirmed by the detailed limnological
Limnology
Limnology , also called freshwater science, is the study of inland waters. It is often regarded as a division of ecology or environmental science. It covers the biological, chemical, physical, geological, and other attributes of all inland waters...
work undertaken from the 1990s, as part of the work to understand and manage the occurrence of algal blooms on the lake. The lake now forms part of the River Dee regulation system
River Dee regulation system
The River Dee regulation scheme is a system of flow balancing and quality management along the River Dee managed by a consortium of the three largest water companies licensed to take water from the river, United Utilities, Welsh Water and Dee Valley Water; together with the regulator, the...
and the level at its outflow is automatically controlled. Depending on flow conditions and the level of water in Llyn Celyn
Llyn Celyn
Llyn Celyn is a large reservoir constructed between 1960 and 1965 in the valley of the River Tryweryn in Gwynedd, North Wales. It measures roughly 2½ miles long by a mile wide, and has a maximum depth of...
, water can flow either into the lake or out from the lake at the normal outflow point.
In the 1990s the lake suffered from blooms
Algal bloom
An algal bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in an aquatic system. Algal blooms may occur in freshwater as well as marine environments. Typically, only one or a small number of phytoplankton species are involved, and some blooms may be recognized by discoloration...
of blue-green algae which indicated a significant and worrying eutrophication
Eutrophication
Eutrophication or more precisely hypertrophication, is the movement of a body of water′s trophic status in the direction of increasing plant biomass, by the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilizers or sewage, to an aquatic system...
of the lake. Investigation by the Environment Agency
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
in partnership with the water industry, the farming community and others has put in place a plan for reducing pollution inputs to the lake.
Recreation
Bala has two sailing clubs and a number of companies provide kayaksKayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
, yachts and various other types of boats for rent.