The Pivka seasonal lakes are a group of 17 seasonal lakes; the best-known are Lake Petelinje and Lake Palčje, which is the biggest of them at about . They are all located in Pivka Basin, Inner Carniola, Slovenia. Lake Jeredovce, the northernmost lake, is in Municipality of Postojna, 10 of them (Krajnikov dol, Lake Petelinje, Lake Radohovo, Lake Klenik, Lake Palčje, Lake Parje, Big and Little Lake Drskovče, and Big and Little Lake Zagorje) are in Municipality of Pivka and the southernmost 6 (Kljun Pond, Lake Kalec, Lake behind Kalec (Veliki dol), Lake Bač, Lake Lan, and Lake Šembije) are in the Municipality of Ilirska Bistrica, all of them are located at elevations between and . There are also two areas (polje) that are only inundated during intense floods, so they are not officially considered among the Pivka seasonal lakes.
The lakes are located on a rocky terrace in the Upper Pivka Basin at the foothills of the Javornik Hills, rising above the Pivka riverbed. The terrace is dotted with a number of depressions with flat bottoms and sharp transitions at the banks, deep enough to reach the level of groundwater fluctuation. Thus, they are inundated after periods of stronger precipitation (late autumn and spring).
List of lakes There are total of 19 seasonal lakes, of which 17 are officially recognized. They are all listed from north to south in the table below: Name Elevation (m) Area (m2) Volume (m³) Frequency of inundation Coordinates Image Bottom Average area Max area Average Max Average Max Lake Jeredovce 537.5 54290,197113,428 Krajnikov dol 537 54021,51318,849 Lake Petelinje 532.2 541 545647,157736,3414,128,7126,891,976 Lake Palčje 542.3 555 5661,027,8121,904,7847,144,85422,983,817 Lake Klenik (Klenski dol) 544 545 547.53,68936,8301,33057,565 Lake Radohovo 534.2 535.6 5367,45515,51914,22122,434 Lake Parje 538 540 54229,79837,23146,060114,594 Little Lake Drskovče 539.2 540 54441,12082,65752,593327,782 Big Lake Drskoče 541.7 545 549186,334207,547441,4271,247,611 Big Lake Zagorje 549 550 55116,55223,47919,92039,085 Little Lake Zagorje 544.2 548 548.539,42544,55283,100103,768 Lake behind Kalec (Veliki dol za kalcem) 553.8 555 55615,00118,49626,72942,125 Kljun Pond 549.5 551 5517847848080 Lake Bač 560.4 562.5 56832,53186,25064,648392,551 Lake Lan 570.2 57212,38419,308 Čičko poljeLake because of very rare activity, officially is not a seasonal lake568.5576.5591,419591,417 Lake Kalec 553.8 555average water level was measured before the build of a drain canal which drastically decreased water level 554.556,36816,28026,8136,937 Nariče571.157378,09282,966 Lake Šembije 558.8 560 569.912,38193,561 11,274549,971
Protection The first attempts to protect the seasonal lakes date back to 1960s, but even after declaring Lake Petelinje and Lake Palčje living natural monuments (class II) of national significance, they were still used for military purposes. In 1984, the Municipality of Postojna issued a decree declaring Lake Palčje, Lake Petelinje, and Little and Big Lake Drskovče natural monuments and a decade later it expanded to 13 lakes. Despite this, the army still used Lake Palčje and Lake Petelinje, and other areas were becoming overgrown due to discontinuation of farming, so the area continued to degrade. Now, Lake Palčje and Lake Petelinje are protected as natural values of national significance, and other lakes as natural values of local significance. The lakes are also part of the Snežnik–Pivka Ecologically Important Area, the Snežnik–Pivka Special Protection Area, and the Javorniki–Snežnik Conditionally Special Protection Area.
In 2014, Pivka Seasonal Lakes Regional Park was established, encompassing all lakes in the Municipality of Pivka.
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