Moricsala

Moricsala

 

a preserve in the northwestern Latvian SSR (Ventspils Raion). It occupies the island of Moritz (83 hectares [ha]) and the western part of Lake Usmas-Luzikerte. Total area, 835 ha. The preserve was founded in 1912; the water area was made part of the preserve in 1957. The vegetation is rich and varied. Broad-leaved trees predominate: there are pure linden forests and oak groves with birch, aspen, black alder, spruce, and pine. The preserve also has some grasses that are rarely encountered in the Latvian SSR and many species of mosses, lichens, fungi, and algae. Hares, foxes, and various singing birds live in the preserve; aquatic birds rest on the lake during their migrations.