Spechtensee
Encyclopedia
The Spechtensee is a lake on the southern edge of the Totes Gebirge
mountains in Austria in the parish of Pürgg-Trautenfels
near Wörschachwald. The lake is named after the Specht family who were formerly resident in Stainach
and who lived on the so-called Specht Estate (Spechtengut, nowadays Schloss Sonnhof = "Sonnhof Manor House") until the end of the 19th century. The Spechtensee was part of the estate.
The lake is drained by the Wörschachbach stream, which flows through the famous Wörschachklamm gorge into the Enns valley. It has a maximum depth of eight metres, according to other sources it is eleven metres deep. The lake, which can be as warm as 23°C in summer, is also used as a swimming lake. On its northern shore is a bathing area and in the middle of the lake a small bathing platform is anchored. In the vicinity of the lake is the Spechtensee Hut, a mountain hut belonging to the Austrian Alpine Club and there is a circular walk around the lakeside.
that transitions via a quaking bog (Schwingrasen) into the open waters of the lake. There is another important quaking bog on the western lakeshore. The White Water-lily flourishes in the southern part of the lake and Signal Crayfish
are bred here. Fish species occurring in the Spechtensee include the Brown Trout
and Rainbow Trout
as well as Tench
, Rudd, Roach, Chub
and Pike
.
s that seal the bottom of the lake and have created the depression for the lake with their embankments. In addition around the lake are conglomerates
of the mainly Late Cretaceous
Gosau Formation
.
Totes Gebirge
The Totes Gebirge is a group of mountains in Austria, part of the Northern Limestone Alps, lying between the Salzkammergut and the Ennstaler Alpen. The name Totes Gebirge is derived from the German words tot meaning "dead", referring to the apparent lack of vegetation, and Gebirge meaning "mountain...
mountains in Austria in the parish of Pürgg-Trautenfels
Pürgg-Trautenfels
Pürgg-Trautenfels is a municipality in the district of Liezen in Styria, Austria.- Geography :Pürgg-Trautenfels lies in valley of the upper Ennstal between Gröbming and Stainach. The municipal area is bordered in the south by the Enns; in the north it stretches right up to the main ridge Toten...
near Wörschachwald. The lake is named after the Specht family who were formerly resident in Stainach
Stainach
Stainach is a municipality in the district of Liezen in Styria, Austria....
and who lived on the so-called Specht Estate (Spechtengut, nowadays Schloss Sonnhof = "Sonnhof Manor House") until the end of the 19th century. The Spechtensee was part of the estate.
The lake is drained by the Wörschachbach stream, which flows through the famous Wörschachklamm gorge into the Enns valley. It has a maximum depth of eight metres, according to other sources it is eleven metres deep. The lake, which can be as warm as 23°C in summer, is also used as a swimming lake. On its northern shore is a bathing area and in the middle of the lake a small bathing platform is anchored. In the vicinity of the lake is the Spechtensee Hut, a mountain hut belonging to the Austrian Alpine Club and there is a circular walk around the lakeside.
Flora and Fauna
On the eastern side of the lake is a fenFen
A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...
that transitions via a quaking bog (Schwingrasen) into the open waters of the lake. There is another important quaking bog on the western lakeshore. The White Water-lily flourishes in the southern part of the lake and Signal Crayfish
Signal crayfish
The signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, is a North American species of crayfish. It was introduced to Europe in the 1960s to supplement the Scandinavian Astacus astacus fisheries, which were being damaged by crayfish plague, but the imports turned out to be a carrier of that disease...
are bred here. Fish species occurring in the Spechtensee include the Brown Trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
and Rainbow Trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
as well as Tench
Tench
The tench or doctor fish is a freshwater and brackish water fish of the cyprinid family found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. It is also found in Lake Baikal...
, Rudd, Roach, Chub
European chub
The European chub , sometimes called the round chub, fat chub, chevin, pollard or simply "the" chub, is a freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae...
and Pike
Northern Pike
The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...
.
Geology
The lake is located amongst Würm Ice Age moraineMoraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
s that seal the bottom of the lake and have created the depression for the lake with their embankments. In addition around the lake are conglomerates
Conglomerate (geology)
A conglomerate is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts...
of the mainly Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous period is divided in the geologic timescale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous series...
Gosau Formation
Gosau Formation
The Gosau Formation is a geological formation in Lower Austria whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.-Vertebrate paleofauna:-References:...
.