Glacial lakes of the Pyrenees in the Basque Country

2000/10/01 Estonba Mintxero, Mikel Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ekologia

The only example of this type of wetland in the Basque Country is located in the northeast of Navarre, in the Ezkaurre calcareous mountain range, at 1,700 high. However, this small wetland, located south of the top of the Ezkaurre, features both glacial lagoons and karst wetlands that we will study next month. It seems that these two factors influenced their origin, so this small shallow lake cannot be considered totally of glacial or karstic origin.

At present, the Ezkaurre River has a high degree of filling and a depth of few centimeters on the visible side of the water sheet.

Like most lakes in the high mountains of the Pyrenees, heavy livestock pressure and forest loss have accelerated the filling process. In this lake there are no vegetable belts and their small size makes the vegetable communities and aquatic animals very scarce. However, it plays an important role in the reproduction of certain amphibians and insects, since in this limestone saw it is quite difficult to find the water wells necessary for its reproduction.