Krokų Lanka is a lake wrapped in legends. It is a lagoon lake of marine origin, formed when sediment of the Nemunas river cut off part of the Curonian Lagoon. The lake stretches for 4 kilometres, and at its widest point it is more than 3 kilometres across. Krokų Lanka is quite shallow, however – its deepest point is not even 3 metres. The northern part of the lake is considerably overgrown and boggy, and most of its banks are covered with bulrushes and reeds. Krokų Lanka, which was once much larger and a bay of the Curonian Lagoon, is very rich in fish. In the 17th century it even had its own fishing overseer, who made sure that fishing rules were observed, that fishermen did not fell timber from the royal forest to sell and that they did not use prohibited fishing gear. Two legends explain the origin of the name Krokų Lanka. According to the first, on Midsummer young girls and lads were raking hay when they heard a great roar and saw a black cloud approaching. They all ran to a hill, and at that moment, amid thunder and lightning, a voice rang out from the cloud: "My name! My name! Or else you will perish!" The young people called out many names but did not guess the right one; then an old man raised his head and shouted: "Krokų lanka!" The cloud fell right where they had been raking. The second legend tells that one day livestock were grazing in a meadow. Black clouds slowly drew nearer, and it began to pour. The meadow flooded more and more, and the animals began to drown. They cried "krio krio". The animals drowned, and the lake was named Krokų Lanka after their bellowing.