Romania Photo of the Day by Dreamstime: St. Ana Lake
The Romania Photo of the Day created in partnership with stock photo provider Dreamstime aims to highlight the best of Romania. From stunning landscapes and popular tourist destinations and landmarks to people, traditions, and food, this series helps you discover Romania one photo at a time. This week, we put the focus on Romanian mountain lakes.
Close to Tușnad, in the Natural Reserve of Mohoș in Harghita County, sits St. Ana Lake – the only volcanic lake in Romania. (Photo source - click on the number to get to the photo 102502882 / Lake © Calin Stan | Dreamstime.com)
Situated at an approximate altitude of 950 meters, the lake lies in the crater of an extinct volcano, called Ciomatu Mare in the Puciosu volcanic massif - the most recent volcanic eruption in the Carpathians, which occurred many thousands of years ago.
Since the lake is not connected to any springs, its only sources of water are the surface runoff of ice from the inner slope of the crater and rainwater. Due to this characteristic, in the cold season, a compact layer of ice quickly forms on its surface. Additionally, the concentration of minerals in the water is close to that which is found in pure distilled water.
Another interesting natural phenomenon that takes place here is one described by instatravel.ro: at the lake, one is able to tell the upcoming weather forecast by means of an empirical method provided by the fissures in the volcanic mountain. When the atmospheric pressure drops, gases such as carbon dioxide and sulfur rise to the surface and flood these cracks with a pungent smell, a sign that a storm is brewing. The locals know that "If fumes sting the nose, it's going to rain, and if not, it will be a sunny day, just right for hiking".
Every year, St. Ana Lake is visited by thousands of tourists who come to experience its unique beauty, see the impressive wildlife and vegetation of the natural reserve, practice various seasonal outdoor sports, and hike the mountain trails.
The most interesting mountain trails, according to Libertatea, are: the Balvanyos Baths to the Balvanyos Fortress (an easy trail that takes 1 hour to hike), Țușnad Baths to the Apor Bastion (an easy trail that takes about 30 minutes), Țușnad Baths to Bixad (a medium difficulty trail that takes 4-5 hours to hike), Țușnad Baths to Șoimești Stone (a medium difficulty trail that takes 1 hour to hike), and Țușnad Baths to the St. Ana Cabin (a medium difficulty trail that takes about 2 hours).
