On a breezy summer day, enjoy the wildlife and the atmosphere of flowing river with chirping birds.
Merkys is the largest river in southeastern Lithuania. The entire length of the river is 203 km, of which 197.8 km is in Lithuania. Flows through the municipal territories of Šalčininkai, Varėna districts and the territory of Belarus (Ašmena district). The Merkys basin occupies 4415.7 km², of which 3781 km² is in Lithuania. The pool is sandy, wooded, marshy. The river is abundantly fed by underground water, which accounts for more than half of the annual runoff, so the water is colder in summer than most other Lithuanian rivers. Merkys is one of the cleanest and richest rivers of biological diversity in Lithuania. Merkys is characterized by a very diverse and valuable fish fauna, primarily brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) and grayling (Thymallus thymallus). In the past, about 40% of Lithuania's salmon (Salmo salar) and smolt (Salmo trutta trutta), bream (Vimba vimba) and even sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) spawned in the rivers of the Merkys basin.
The section of Merkys from the Cirvija river to the Nemunas belongs to the Merkys reserve, protected salmon spawning grounds. In the lower part, from Purpliai to the mouth, the Merkys stream is the territory of the Dzūkija National Park. 4 hydrographic reserves (Šalčia, Visinčia, Spengla and Grūda) have been established in the Merkys basin, as well as the Merkys landscape reserve. The entire Merkys River belongs to the Natura 2000 network of protected areas of European Community importance.
#river #riversounds #birdsounds #forest #wildlife #naturesounds #relaxingsounds #nature #Lithuaniannature, #Merkys