Buško Blato is an accumulation lake

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,...

 located on the south side of Livanjsko Polje

Livno field

Livanjsko field is the largest Karstic field in Bosnia and Herzegovina and indeed throughout the world...

 and northwest of Duvajnsko Polje in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

. The name is also a reference to the area surrounding the lake which includes a number of villages, of which Prisoje is the largest.

The actual lake is elevated 716 m above sea level, has an area of 55.8 km² and a total volume of 782 million m³. One third of the area falls under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Livno

Livno

Livno is a town in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located between Tomislavgrad, Glamoč, Bosansko Grahovo, Kupres and the Croatian border.- Position :...

 while the remaining two-thirds belongs to the municipality of Tomislavgrad

Tomislavgrad

Tomislavgrad is a town and municipality in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is in the Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Herzegovina region.- Name :...

. The total area of Buško Blato makes it one of the largest accumulation lakes in all of Europe.

Buško Blato (blato meaning 'mud' or 'swamp' in Bosnian

Bosnian language

Bosnian is a South Slavic language, spoken by Bosniaks. As a standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect, it is one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina....

/Croatian/Serbian

Serbian language

Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....

) was essentially farmland up until 1974 when it was officially converted into a lake (jezero meaning 'lake' in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian). It was built to drive out the population in the region and in part to have electricity for the Dalmatian coastline. The governments of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

 (republics within Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

 at the time) worked together on a project to build a hydroelectric power plant in Ruda

Ruda

Ruda may refer to:* Ruda, worshipped among the North Arabian tribes of pre-Islamic Arabia* Ruda, Sweden* Ruda, Italy* Ruda, a village in Ghelari Commune, Hunedoara County, Romania* Ruda, a village in Budeşti Commune, Vâlcea County, Romania...

 (municipality of Otok

Otok (Sinj)

Otok is a municipality and a village in inland Dalmatia, Croatia, located east of Sinj, approximately 7 kilometers away. Otok is bordered by the river Cetina and mountain Kamešnica. The population of Otok is 3,086, with a total of 5,468 in the municipality which includes four other villages and a...

 in Croatia) called Orlovac that would have an output of 237 MW and an average annual yield of 366 GWh.

The lake also consists of a rich and wide assortment of fish such as carp

Common carp

The Common carp is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The wild populations are considered vulnerable to extinction, but the species has also been domesticated and introduced into environments worldwide, and is often considered an invasive...

, trout

Brown trout

The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....

, minnow-nase

Minnow-Nase

The Minnow Nase is a species of ray-finned fish in the Cyprinidae family.It is found in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.Its natural habitats are rivers, intermittent rivers, and inland karsts....

, Prussian carp

Prussian carp

The Prussian carp, silver Prussian carp or Gibel carp , is a member of the family Cyprinidae, which includes many other fish, such as the common carp, and the smaller minnows...

, and chub

European chub

The European chub , sometimes called the round chub, fat chub, chevin, pollard or simply "the" chub, is a freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae...

.