The Lake of Ioannina also Pamvotida is the largest 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,...

 of Epirus

Epirus (periphery)

Epirus , formally the Epirus Region , is a geographical and administrative region in northwestern Greece. It borders the regions of West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, West Greece to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and the country of Albania to the north. The...

, located near the central part of the Ioannina prefecture

Ioannina Prefecture

Ioannina is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital is the city of Ioannina. It is the largest regional unit in Epirus, and one of the largest regional units of Greece.-Geography:...

 in Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. Ioannina

Ioannina

Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...

 to the west and the town or Perama

Perama, Ioannina

Perama is a town and a former municipality in the Ioannina peripheral unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ioannina, of which it is a municipal unit. It lies about 4 km north of central Ioannina. The town's name means "passage" and it...

 to the north are urban settlements fringing the lake while the remaining of its periphery is composed of farmland. The lake features small fishing ports and a boating port while the island is situated in the east of the lake. There is a regular boat service to the island (Nisi). Mountains lie further north and south with Mitsikeli overhanging the east part of the lake. The GR-6

Greek National Road 6

Greek National Road 6 is a highway in north-central Greece. It begins at the port of Igoumenitsa and ends at Larissa. Part of the new road is run under the name Egnatia Odos from Igoumenitsa to east of the tunnel at Metsovo. It has junctions of GR-19GR-5/20/E55, GR-15, GR-30 and finally at...

 surrounds the northern half of the lake.

Trivia

• The name Pamvotis first appears in the 12th century commentary on the Odyssey
  Odyssey
  The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
  
   of Eustathius of Thessalonica
  Eustathius of Thessalonica
  Archbishop Eustathius of Thessalonica was a Greek bishop and scholar. He is most noted for his contemporary account of the sack of Thessalonike by the Normans in 1185, for his orations and for his commentaries on Homer, which incorporate many remarks by much earlier researchers.- Life :After being...
  
  .
• Air Sea Lines uses hydroplanes, which fly to Corfu
  Corfu
  Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
  
  .
• Ioannina
  Ioannina
  Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
  
   is located on the west coast of the lake.
• It is home to an island, where Ali Pasha
  Ali Pasha
  Ali Pasha of Tepelena or of Yannina, surnamed Aslan, "the Lion", or the "Lion of Yannina", Ali Pashë Tepelena was an Ottoman Albanian ruler of the western part of Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territory which was also called Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioannina...
  
   was hiding during the last days of his reign.
• The lake's island, is the only inhabited lake-island in Greece. It's also the only inhabited island in Greece that does not bear a name, referred to as "The Island"
• Urbanisation and pollution are threatening the lake ecosystem, home to small mammals, waterbirds and a rich fish and crustacean fauna. Eutrophication
  Eutrophication
  Eutrophication or more precisely hypertrophication, is the movement of a body of water′s trophic status in the direction of increasing plant biomass, by the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilizers or sewage, to an aquatic system...
  
   is the main problem as in the summer blue green algae is quite common.
• Pamvotida is home to Tsima
  Pelasgus epiroticus
  Pelasgus epiroticus is a species of ray-finned fish in the Cyprinidae family.It is found in Albania, Greece, and the Republic of Macedonia.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1996. . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
  
   (Τσίμα), a species of fish endemic to the lake.
• Two bryozoan
  Bryozoa
  The Bryozoa, also known as Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals, are a phylum of aquatic invertebrate animals. Typically about long, they are filter feeders that sieve food particles out of the water using a retractable lophophore, a "crown" of tentacles lined with cilia...
  
  species have recently been reported from the lake.

Literature

• Franz X. Bogner & Georg Pilidis: Lake of Ioannina - Limni Pamvotis. Ioannina, 2010, ISBN 978-960-233-199-6 (bilingual book).

External links

• Photos of Lake Pamvotida, Ioannina by Dimitrios Sioutis
• Ioannina on GTP Travel Pages (in English and Greek)