Lake Karla () is a lake that sits at above sea level making it the only one in the plain of Thessaly. The lake is located at the northern end of the Magnesia regional unit in the Pineios basin, adjacent to Pelion and the Maurovouni mountains. On the eastern part of the lake the lies the town of Kanalia. Name Its first name was Boibeis (, modern translitteration Voivis) and was taken from the nearby ancient city of Boibe which today is located at Kanalia. Restoration of the lake Lake Karla, some north of Athens, was a 180 km2 lake that was completely drained in 1962 to gain land for agriculture. The lake was part of ancient Greek mythology (the god Apollo was married on its shores). Before its drainage, it was the site of a unique fishing culture, with the fishermen spending some nine months of the year in reed huts that they built on the lake. The lake fisheries were an important tradition and to some extent a significant economic activity. For these reasons, and because agriculture was never successful in the saline soils of the former lake bed, the local population supported an ambitious project to restore the lake. The restoration was intended to reflood only 50 of the original 180 km2 of the former lake. Initially, the project represented a 100 million ECU investment that was financed with the support of the European Commission. Some technical aspects still required further elaboration in order to ensure that it is environmentally sound, but the project had so much popular and political support that it went ahead. It represents one of the most ambitious wetland restoration projects and a good case study for the Ramsar Convention. The lake was "inaugurated" in October 2018 and now contains even more water than planned. This project is unique to the Balkans and Europe and has been nominated for the EU-Council Prize. Other notable facts After draining, site included Mavrovouni Mountain, two water reservoirs in former Lake Karla and the spring Kefalovryso in Velestino. Mavrovouni (, max elevation ) extends between Ossa and Pilio mountains and was restored totally in Magnesia. It mainly consists of schist and, in less extent, of limestone. The marine area covered 2% of the site, the terrestrial area covered 96% and the reservoirs covered 2%. Its northeast side ends in steep cliffs in the Aegean Sea. At the