Lake Żabińskie (54°07’54.5’’ N; 21°59’01.1’’ E; 120 m a. s. l.;Google Maps) is situated in NE Poland in the northern part of the Masurian Lakeland. The catchment surface is dominated by glacial and fluvioglacial sediments deposited during the maximum stage of the Vistulian glaciation. The most common landforms in the catchment are moraine plateau, outwash plain and kame terraces (Szumański 2000). The depressions, including the vicinity of Lake Purwin, are filled with peat bogs.

The climate of the Masurian Lakeland is characterized by distinct continentality (cold winters and warm summers), in comparison to other regions of Poland. Mean annual air temperature (1971-2005) is about 6.5°C, with the lowest air temperature in January and highest in July. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 550 to 600 mm (Lorenc 2005). The snow cover occurs from 1.5 to 3 months in winter.

Lake Żabińskie has one major and several minor inflows. The main inflow comes from Lake Purwin in the north-eastern part. The outflow that connects Lake Żabińskie to the much larger Lake Gołdopiwo is in the south-western part. There is also another lake in the catchment, Lake Łękuk, which receives water from eastern part of the catchment, characterized by diversified relief and the highest elevation (more than 200 m a. s. l.). Therefore, sediments eroded in eastern part of the catchment are mostly deposited in Lake Łękuk and from central/northern part are deposited in Lake Purwin and surrounding wetlands. The direct sediment supply from Lake Purwin is also limited due to confined connection between the lakes, especially in the vegetation period. The real catchment of Lake Żabińskie is thus limited to south-western part of the total catchment.

Lorenc H. (ed.), 2005, Atlas klimatu Polski, Instytut Meteorologii i Gospodarki Wodnej, Warszawa: 1-110.

Szumański A., 2000, Objaśnienia do Szczegółowej Mapy Geologicznej Polski, Arkusz Giżycko (104), Państwowy Instytut Geologiczny, Warszawa: 1-33.