Lake Vizzock

Lake Vizzock is a meromictic lake in the Lovian State of Oceana. The lake is situated in the lower areas of the That Pitte depression, which formed as a sinkhole in the karst landscape. The lake is endorheic, which means that it does not have any significant outflows. The lake also lakes any inlets, and instead is formed by groundwater, as the groundwater level is approximately at 25 meters (with may vary five meters on both sides because of seasonal differences). This also causes the lake to be meromictic (having different layers of water which do not intermix), as there is no circulation caused by the influx of water, and no circulation caused by winds, as the area is located in a depression, surrounded by hills. The surface of the lake is located at approximately 25 meters above sea level, but as it forms the center of a sinkhole, the deepest layers, and thus the bottom of the lake, are at approximately 55 meters below sea level. The basin is extremely steep-sided, even though the areas near the lake side are shallow and not as steep. Because of that, it is advised not to swim in the lake. The average depth of the lake is 38 meters.

The bottom layer of the lake, the monimolimnion, is poor in oxygen and therefore lacks life, the central layer, or chemocline, has some occasional visitors, such as bacteria and small water insects, but is not very lively as well. Only the top layer, or mixolimnion, is rich in life, though bigger life forms permanently living in the lake, such as fish, are rare. The only vertebrates that are common in the lake are small reptiles and amphibians, as well as occasionally visiting birds and mammals.