Glacial lake in the context of "Rila"

The Seven Rila Lakes (Bulgarian: Седемте рилски езера, romanized: Sedemte rilski ezera, pronounced [sɛdɛmˈtɛ ˈriɫski ɛzɛˈra]) are a group of glacial lakes, situated in the northwestern Rila Mountain in Bulgaria. Situated between 2,100 and 2,500 metres elevation above sea level, they are the most visited group of lakes in Bulgaria.

Each lake carries a name associated with its most characteristic feature. The highest one is called Salzata ("The Tear") due to its clear waters that allow visibility in depth. The next one in height carries the name Okoto ("The Eye") after its almost perfectly oval form. Okoto is the deepest cirque lake in Bulgaria, with a depth of 37.5 m. Babreka ("The Kidney") is the lake with the steepest shores of the entire group. Bliznaka ("The Twin") is the largest one by area. Trilistnika ("The Trefoil") has an irregular shape and low shores. The shallowest lake is Ribnoto Ezero ("The Fish Lake") and the lowest one is Dolnoto Ezero ("The Lower Lake"), where the waters that flow out of the other lakes are gathered to form the Dzherman River.

The mountains of Kosovo mainly consist of the Accursed Mountains in the west, the Šar Mountains in the south and the Kopaonik Mountains in the northeast. The Accursed Mountains and the Šar Mountains both are home to the highest peaks in Kosovo rising well over 2,500 m (8,202 ft), while Kopaonik mountains raise to a maximum of 2,017 m (6,617 ft).

The mountains have some special landscapes like the Rugova Canyon and the Kaçanik Gorge. There are alpine and glacial lakes located in most of the mountains.

An alpine lake is a high-altitude lake in a mountainous area, usually near or above the tree line, with extended periods of ice cover. These lakes are commonly glacial lakes formed from glacial activity (either current or in the past) but can also be formed from geological processes such as volcanic activity (volcanogenic lakes) or landslides (barrier lakes). Many alpine lakes that are fed from glacial meltwater have the characteristic bright turquoise green color as a result of glacial flour, suspended minerals derived from a glacier scouring the bedrock. When active glaciers are not supplying water to the lake, such as a majority of Rocky Mountains alpine lakes in the United States, the lakes may still be bright blue due to the lack of algal growth resulting from cold temperatures, lack of nutrient run-off from surrounding land, and lack of sediment input. The coloration and mountain locations of alpine lakes attract lots of recreational activity.

Alpine lakes are some of the most abundant types of lakes on Earth. In the Swiss Alps alone, there are nearly 1,000 alpine lakes, most of which formed after the Little Ice Age. As global temperatures continue to rise, more alpine lakes will be formed as glaciers recede and provide more run-off to surrounding areas, and existing lakes will see more biogeochemical changes and ecosystem shifts. An alpine lake's trophic state (i.e., level of biological productivity) progresses with age (e.g., low productivity after formation and increased productivity with vegetation and soil maturity in the surrounding watershed), but anthropogenic effects such as agriculture and climate change are rapidly affecting productivity levels in some lakes. These lakes are sensitive ecosystems and are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to the highly pronounced changes to ice and snow cover. Due to the importance of alpine lakes as sources of freshwater for agricultural and human use, the physical, chemical, and biological responses to climate change are being extensively studied.

The Italian Lakes (Italian: Grandi laghi prealpini, lit. "great pre-alpine lakes") are a group of large lakes lying on the south side of the Alps, in the basin of the river Po and the Mediterranean Sea. As their name suggests, they are essentially located in northern Italy; however, they are also partly located in southern Switzerland. They are all glacial lakes that formed after the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the last ice age. The group is composed of (from west to east): Lake Orta, Lake Maggiore, Lake Varese, Lake Lugano, Lake Como, Lake Iseo, Lake Idro and Lake Garda. The three largest are all well over 100 km; they are: Lake Garda (largest in Italy), Lake Maggiore (largest in southern Switzerland) and Lake Como (deepest in Italy).

The lakes are located in the Italian regions of Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, and in the Swiss canton of Ticino. They are all located at least partly in Italy, while two of them (Maggiore and Lugano) are partly in Switzerland.

The Sharr Mountains National Park (Albanian: Parku Kombëtar Malet e Sharrit; Serbian: Национални парк Шар-планина, romanized: Nacionalni park Šar-planina) is a national park in southern Kosovo. It covers 53,272 hectares (532.72 km), centered on the northern Sharr Mountains, a mountain range which also extends into northeastern Albania and northwestern North Macedonia. It was declared a national park in 1986, and re-established in 2012 by the new Kosovan Government. The park encompasses various terrains, including glacial lakes, alpine and periglacial landscapes.

Shebenik National Park (Albanian: Parku Kombëtar i Shebenikut) is a national park in eastern Albania adjacent to the border with North Macedonia. It encompasses 34,507.9 hectares (345.079 km) and is specifically marked by a mountainous landscape supplied with glacial lakes, valleys, dense coniferous and deciduous forests and alpine meadows and pastures. Elevations in the park vary from 300 metres to over 2,200 metres above the Adriatic at the peak of Shebenik and Jabllanica, hence the name. It dwells a number of endangered species that are fast becoming rare in Southern Europe, including the brown bear, gray wolf and Balkan lynx. The abundance in wildlife can in part be explained by the variety of vegetation types and remote location.

The park offers some of the most rugged scenery in the eastern section of country that were carved into their present shapes by the glaciers of the last ice age. It is home to 14 glacial lakes, the highest situated between 1,500 and 1,900 metres elevation above the Adriatic. Small cirque glaciers are fairly common in the mountain ranges, situated in depressions on the side of many mountains. Two rivers flow and multiple smaller water sources flow through the park's area including the rivers of Qarrishte and Bushtrice, both of which are 22 km long. The park area is thought to contain one of the primary remaining ranges of the Balkan lynx, a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx.