LAKE

See also:

• SCUTARI (Turkish, Uskudar, anc. Chrysopolis)
• SCUTARI (anc. Scodra, Slay. Skadar, Albanian Shkoder, or with the definite article Shkedr-a)

SCUTARI  is almost bisected by the line of the Montenegrin frontier . It occupies one of the depressions, known as polyes, which are common throughout the Illyrian Karst region . Its generally even margin is broken by the estuary of the river Moratcha, and by a long, narrow inlet which stretches towards the North Albanian Alps . The lake measures 135 sq. m.; its maximum depth was long considered to be no more than 23 ft . But a series of soundings taken in 1901 by Dr Jovan Cvijic revealed the existence of a series of deep holes near the south-western shore, one of which attains a depth of 144 ft . The surface is 20 ft. above sea-level . The principal affluent of Lake Scutari is the Morateha, which enters it, after forming two small lakes, near the Montenegrin port of Plavnitza . It is drained by the Boyana, which issues from its south-eastern extremity and flows to the Adriatic . Lake Scutari abounds in aquatic birds and fish; its brilliantly clear water, its archipelago of wooded islets, and its setting of rugged mountains, some of which are covered with snow during the greater part of the year, render it one of the most beautiful lakes in Europe .