Lake Burtnieks (Latvian: Burtnieka ezers, Estonian: Asti järv) is the fourth largest lake in Latvia. It is shallow with an average depth of 2.9 m. The lake bed is mainly sandy, in places a little muddy. In the southeast part of the lake there is Devonian sandstone rock. The lake has 17 species of fish, such as minnows, salmon, chubs, eels, and pike, and there are areas for duck hunting. The banks are shallow and sandy, but along the southern coast, waves have carved sandstone cliffs. After the regulation of the Salaca river in 1929, the lake level dropped by a metre, and many of the exposed shallows grew covered with reeds and algae. The lake contains three islands with a total area of 14,000 m². The lake lies entirely within the Northern Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve. Small streams from Latvi