Viverone lake
Viverone lake is situated in 3 provinces (Biella for the biggest part, Torino for 1/6 and Vercelli for the littlest part). It is the biggest lacustrine basin of Ivrea, a vast territory that during the quaternary glaciation were the last part of Balteo glacier that ended here.
It is a real natural jewel situated at 230 m of altitude and with an elliptical form with a surface of 55,78 square kilometres and a middle deepness of 20 m. The maximum deepness is of 80 m, normally it doesn't exceed the 50 m. The perimeter is around 10 km and the water volume is around 30 millions of cube meters.
Viverone lake doesn't have external tributaries that could feed it; water arrives from springs that came from the lacustrine bottom. It has only 1 effluent on West bank that conveys all the surplus waters to Dora Baltea river.
Aquatic fauna
Viverone lake was already famous in the last century for copious fauna. After the constitution from 1970 of a fauna protective oasis on all the surface, the lake is again populated of very interesting aquatic species, interesting for the diversity of the species and the quantity.
Viverone lake and its close marsh areas, is a very important complex from the ornithology point of view. Every year thousand of aquatic birds pause over its waters and they nest on its banks.
From autumn to spring it is possible to see a birds concentration that you can found in just a few other places in Italy. Between these birds you can see "anatidi", "germani reali", great crested, coots and black-headed gull.
The importance of this lacustrine environment is not limited to the wintering period. The close lacustrine zones are unique in Piemonte, they are the places where kind of birds very rare nest: "tarabusi" for example or dark kites or "carmorani".
