The Small Osturnian Lakes are an area of European importance. They are located in the Pieniny National Park, north-west of the village of Osturňa at an altitude of 885 m above sea level.
As a result of creeping slope deformations, a wall 20-30 m high was formed in the eastern slope of the back of Polianka, from the state border with Poland, and below it a depression about 400 m long with an elongated mound, which enclosed the Small Lakes.
The depth of the Small Lakes does not exceed 1 m and the lakes do not have a continuous water surface. Only the eastern part of the lake basin is filled with water for most of the year. The western part has a marshy character. The lake has no surface outlet.
From the flora there are several endangered and rare species of transitional peatland plants, such as Carex diandra and Pedicularis palustris. Among the protected species, Menyanthes trifoliata and Soldanella carpatica grow in the surrounding spruce forests.
The main objective of protection the territory of the Small Lakes is to maintain the favourable condition of rare biotopes and speciesthat occur here.
Source: www.pieniny.sk, www.obec-osturna.sk
Cover photo: Wikipedia - by Jerzy Opioła - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://lnk.sk/sBGP
