Lake Burgas or Lake Vaya (езеро Вая, ezero Vaya), located near the Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

 west of the city of Burgas

Burgas

-History:During the rule of the Ancient Romans, near Burgas, Debeltum was established as a military colony for veterans by Vespasian. In the Middle Ages, a small fortress called Pyrgos was erected where Burgas is today and was most probably used as a watchtower...

, is the largest natural lake in Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

, with an area of 27.60 km², a length of 9.6 km and a width of 2.5 to 5 km. It is up to 103 feet deep.

The lake's waters contain relatively little salt (about 4-11‰). Lake Burgas is inhabited by a wide variety of species, including 23 of fish, 60 invertebrate and 254 bird species (of which 61 are endangered in Bulgaria and 9 in the world).

An important fish-producing reservoir in the past, Lake Burgas lost much of its economic importance after the construction of the petrochemical plant near the city, but has witnessed an increasing number of species and decreasing pollution

Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...

in recent years.