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| | Lake Balaton, Hungary |
 | | Measuring 77km (48mi.) in length and up to 14km (9mi.) in width, and fed mainly with water from the Zala river and the karst springs in the Tapolca region, the lake was formed at the end of the Pleistocene period, some 20,000-22,000 years ago, as the result of structural sinking of the earth's crust. |
 | | With an average depth of 3-4m (10-13ft), the bed of the lake is comparatively flat (measuring only 12.4m (41ft) at its deepest point, near the Tihany peninsula, in the Tihany Spring), has dried out completely twice during its existence, mainly because of the relatively small amount of water it contains, i.e. |
 | | Nature reserve At the mouth of the Zala river, in the southwest of the Balaton region, lies Little Balaton (Kis-Balaton), a humid area covering 40sq.km (16sqmi.), with many rare plants and animals. |
| www.planetware.com /hungary/lake-balaton-h-zl-bal.htm (520 words) |
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