Voulismeni: The True Story

By Tony Cross

Voulismeni is a near circular in the centre of the town of Agios Nikolaos on the Greek island of Crete. Known locally simply as 'the lake' it is one of the principal attractions in the town, yet few residents understand how it formed or why it's here. What most local people believe they know about the lake is based on misinformation, half-truths, and legends.

This book is the true story of how the lake was formed and why it was formed here. It's based on evidence that can be seen at the surface today, on a recent and detailed underwater survey of the lake, and on what is already known about the general geology of this part of Crete.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tony Cross
• Release date: Aug 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463987421

Book preview

VOULISMENI The True Story

by Tony Cross

published by Smashwords

ISBN: 978-0-463987-42-1

Copyright Information

The photograph of Captain Spratt and the book Travels and Researches in Crete by T.A.B. Spratt are both in the public domain.

The 1852 chart of Eastern Crete by Captain Spratt is in the public domain, the copy reproduced here was kindly provided from the collection at the American Geographical Society Library, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries.

The underwater lake survey is copyright ©Mikhalis Farsaris et al 2000. It is reproduced here with permission. 

The text and all other photographs and illustrations are copyright ©Tony Cross 2019, all rights are reserved. 

Although this publication is free of charge it must always be kept intact. No license is granted to use selections of the text, photographs, or illustrations, in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of Tony Cross or of the respective copyright owners.

Navigation Information

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You can also use the Table Of Contents to navigate directly to any chapter, clicking on the chapter title will return you to the Table Of Contents.

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Table of Contents

Preface

The Geological Setting

The Anomaly

In The Beginning

The Freshwater Lake

An Unexpected Visitor

The Catastrophe

The Saltwater Lake

The Lake Today

Appendix

References

About the author

Acknowledgements

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Preface

Voulismeni is a near circular seawater lagoon in the centre of the town of Agios Nikolaos on the Greek island of Crete. The name Voulismeni (Βουλισμένη) loosely translates as 'clogged, or stuck', perhaps because it was once a freshwater lake close to the sea, but not connected to it. However, it may also be a miss-pronunciation of Vouthismeni (Βουθισμένη) which means 'sunken'. This may be because of the lake's impressively large depth compared to its diameter?

In Agios Nikolaos however, it's known simply as 'the lake', and it's one of the principal tourist attractions in the town. It's also used by the residents of Agios Nikolaos as the focal point for most celebrations and events in the town. Orthodox Easter for example, is always celebrated at the lake, when the entire town gathers around it. Yet few residents or visitors understand how the lake formed or why it's here.

The most popular explanation for the lake is that it's the drowned crater of an extinct volcano. In part this is probably because the funnel-shaped profile of the lake loosely resembles a magma pipe and crater. It may also be because there are active volcanoes on Santorini and Nisiros to the north and north-east of Crete, so why not one here? There is also a firm belief in the town that the volcano at the lake is connected via underground pipework to the volcano at Santorini (Nea Kameni). This myth is related to a supposed eruption of Nea Kameni (Santorini) on 9th July 1956, when bubbles and dead fish were seen in the lake at the same time. None of that is true however.

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