Greece · Central Macedonia

Lake Koroneia

Directions

Λίμνη Κορώνεια

Lake Koroneia, also called Lake Agios Vasileios or Lake Langadas, is a shallow lake in the Mygdonian basin about 14 km east of the centre of Thessaloniki. About a million years ago it formed one great lake with Volvi. With Volvi it is a Ramsar wetland of international importance, listed since 1975, and part of the Natura 2000 network.

History

In the 1950s it was among the most productive fishing lakes in Greece, and in the 1970s it was still about five metres deep. Pumping for intensive farming, pollution and lack of management have since brought it close to collapse. People could walk across it in summer 2009, and in 2019 thousands of dead fish lay along its shores, while the European Commission referred Greece to the Court of Justice over its failure to protect it.

The lake’s surface fell from about 43 km² in 1984 to 18 km² in 2025, and to under 3 km² in 2026.

Nature

Even in its reduced state the lake draws birds: together with Volvi and the Rentina gorge it is an Important Bird Area for Dalmatian pelicans and pochards, with greater flamingos, white storks, pygmy cormorants, pied avocets and black-winged stilts also recorded. Its reed beds are drying out, and wildlife is declining.

Visit

Swimming

No reliable information

Tips

The Egnatia motorway runs along the north side and the old national road along the south, with roadside pull-outs and small hides around the lake for watching birds. Spring and autumn are the times to come. In summer it is hot and dry and there may be little or no water, so ask in Langadas about access. Lake Volvi lies just to the east.