LAKE OHRID - A TREASURE OF ANCIENT PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE

Observing Lake Ohrid, illuminated by the sun at any time of the year, one gets the impression that it has just been born, no matter that it came into being million of years ago. In its blue waters there is a plant and animal kingdom known today only through fossils.

The single condition that has made possible the preservation of the remains of the ancient flora and fauna and its further evolution is the long continuity of Lake Ohrid’s existence. In fact Lake Ohrid began its life even before man’s appearance. Lake Ohrid came into being about four million years ago - according to Dr. Sinisa Stankovic, a long - year researcher of this lake. Lake Ohrid

came into existence in remote geological ages as a result of tectonic shifts.

There are only a few lakes in the world today whose antiquity can be compared with that of Lake Ohrid. It is possible that only Tanganyika in Africa and Titicaca in South America came into being in the same geological period.