Melissani-Lake EarthCache
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This unique lake-grotto is 160m long and 40m wide. The depth of the waters reaches 39m and the grotto stalactitis are between 16000 and 20000 years old. An imposing atmosphere is created by the color formations on the lake surface that change as the sun peeks in from the roof which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1953.
Excavations within the grotto have revealed findings dating to the 3rd and 4th centuries B.C..
The caves are also known as the Nymphs-Caves because of a legend.The cave was named after the nymph Melissanthi who committed suicide because of her unreturned love for God Panas and the dolphins having been used by the nymph to deliver her messages turned into stone after her death. The stalactites inside the cave have the shape of dolphins.
Lake Melissani has an absolute invisible specialty, which sounds pretty strange. The lake water is brackish, a mixture of sea water and sweet water. The cave is about 500m from the sea, and the water level is a meter higher than sea level, and the brackish water rises from a 30m deep cave system on one side of the cave and flows silently to the other end of the cave, flowing through narrow crevices into the sea.Here the water from the other side of the island reappears. This was discovered by experiments in 1959.
The cavern, once two big chambers, caved in several thousand years ago. Today the cave has the shape of a B, with two big water filled halls and an island in the middle. The first hall has a big oval opening to the surface, where the sunlight shines in. When the sun is directly overhead, its rays strike the ultramarine water, lighting the cave with blue light. The boats seem to hover on a lake of blue light.
The caves are open every day from 9am till late afternoon.
Please take a photo of you in front of the information board at the coordinates. Than uploade the image to your log or send it to me with your answers.
Also you have to answer this question for the log permission: "Which experiments have been done in 1959 to retrace the way of the water running through the island?"
Please e-mail me the answer. You can log your visit immediately. If the answers are wrong, I will contact you.
Enjoy your stay at this fantastic piece of earth!
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