Black Lake 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 Žabljak municipality

Žabljak

Žabljak is a small town in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 1,937.Žabljak is the seat of the municipality...

, in northern Montenegro

Montenegro

Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

.

It is a glacial lake

Glacial lake

A glacial lake is a lake with origins in a melted glacier. Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,000 years ago, glaciers began to retreat. A retreating glacier often left behind large deposits of ice in hollows between drumlins or hills. As the ice age ended, these melted to create...

, located on the Mount Durmitor

Durmitor

Durmitor is a massif and the name of a national park in North Western Montenegro. It reaches a height of 2,522 m .The massif is bordered by Tara River Canyon on the North, Piva River Canyon on the West, and by Komarnica River Canyon on the South. To the East, Durmitor is open to a vast ...

, on an altitude of 1,416 m. It is 3 km away from the town of Žabljak.

Geography

Crno lake's surface lies at the foot of Međed peak, and has an area of 0,515 square km. The lake consists of two smaller lakes, Veliko
jezero and Malo jezero, literally Large lake and Small lake. The lakes are connected with a narrow strait, which dries up during the summer, thus creating two separate waterbodies.

• Veliko jezero / Great Lake has an area of 0,338 square km, maximum depth of 24,5 m, maximum length of 855 m and maximum width of 615 m.

• Malo jezero / Small Lake has an area of 0,177 square km, maximum depth of 49,1 m, maximum length of 605 m and maximum width around 400 m.

The maximum length of the entire Black Lake is 1,155 m. Malo jezero / Small Lake actually has greater volume, being of greater depth.

Black Lake is filled by numerous mountain streams, the best known being Mlin stream. Other streams have no name, as they appear periodically, when snow from Durmitor mountain is melting.

Tourism

Black Lake is premium tourist attraction of Durmitor area. It is the biggest and the best known of 18 glacial lakes on the mountain. The lake is easily accessible, as it is within walking distance from the center of the town of Žabljak.

The 3,5 km walking path circles around entire lake, and it is popular destination for recreation and hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

. Numerous mountain paths depart from it to other smaller lakes around Žabljak. The Katun restaurant, is located on the shore of the lake, and serves meals prepared in traditional way.