Shiroka Polyana is a reservoir

Reservoir

A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

 lake situated in the Western Rhodopes mountains 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...

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The lake is situated 30 km south of Batak

Batak, Bulgaria

Batak is a town in Pazardzhik Province, Southern Bulgaria, not far from the town of Peshtera. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Batak Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 3,498 inhabitants.- Geography :...

, on the road to Dospat

Dospat

Dospat is a town in the very south of Bulgaria, part of Smolyan Province, situated in the Rhodope Mountains, close to Dospat Dam. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Dospat Municipality...

. It is located 1500 meters above sea level amidst a forest of old pine trees. Different legends are told about the lake.
The shape of Shiroka Poliana reservoir is unique. Viewed from the ring-road it seems that the lake is composed of numerous small lakes with separate walls. This illusion is due to the indented relief of the lake bed that consists of several mountain gullies.

Although the banks of the lake are far from the road and comparatively hard to access, it attracts many visitors and sports fishermen because of the abundance of fish, including grey mullet

Mullet (fish)

The mullets or grey mullets are a family and order of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and in some species in fresh water. Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since Roman times...

, 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,...

, and trout

Trout

Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...

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