Ogosta is a 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,...

 in the North West of 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...

. It is the second largest artificial lake in Bulgaria and The Balkan Peninsula and one of the biggest in Europe.
It collects the waters of the rivers Ogosta

Ogosta

The Ogosta , is a river in Northern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube. It takes it source from Vrazha Glava Peak on the border with Serbia. The towns of Chiprovtsi, Montana and Miziya are situated on the river's banks....

, Burzia and Zlatitsa and is located about 600 meters to the south-west of the border of Montana city and 60 m. above the level of the city. The water collecting basin is with area of 948 km² and the area of the lake itself is 24 hectares. The average water volume is 384 Mm³ and the overall volume 506Mm³.

The construction of the lake took 20 years and was completed in 1986. For its construction two villages were flooded (Jivovtsi and Kalimanitsa) and their inhabitants relocated to Berkovitsa

Berkovitsa

Berkovitsa is a town and ski resort in northwestern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Berkovitsa Municipality, Montana Province and is close to the town of Varshets...

 and Montana.

This hydro-technical outfit was erected for the purpose of irrigation of large areas of agricultural land situated from Montana to Zlatia (near Lom), but until 1989 only half of the pipe infrastructure was developed and it was never completed.

Now days the waters of the lake are not used for irrigation, but for electricity production in two hydro-electric power-stations: “Kosharnik” and “Ogosta” situated by the dam.

In 1999 the lake was designated for commercial fishing. The diversity of fish is significant: carp

Carp

Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...

, carassius

Carassius

Carassius is a genus in the ray-finned fish family Cyprinidae. The species in this genus are commonly known as Crucian carps, though this term often specifically refers to C. carassius. The most well known is the goldfish , which was bred from the Prussian carp...

, rudd

Scardinius

Scardinius is a genus of ray-finned fish in the Cyprinidae family commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without any further qualifiers is also used for particular species, particularly the Common Rudd...

, carp bream

Carp bream

The common bream, freshwater bream, bream, bronze bream or carp bream, Abramis brama, is a European species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae....

, European 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,...

, common nase and barbus

Barbus

Barbus is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cyprinidae. The type species of Barbus is the Common Barbel, first described as Cyprinus barbus and now named Barbus barbus...

.