Zakhyntos: Land of earthquakes
28/06/2013
A few years ago we had the pleasure of studying deeply the Aeolian islands, Lipari, following the steps of the Archduke. It was very interesting to analyze a volcanic area. From that visit we came back very impressed by the relative differences to other non-volcanic areas, both in the geological evolution and associated flora.
This year we ventured into earthquakes territory; Zakhyntos is the Ionian island that has undergone a more intense earthquakes activity in this recent centuries. In Zakhyntos, and always with respect to the drawings we left the Archduke, in fact we have seen many more changes than elsewhere. These changes may be due to wind erosion, rain, sea, earthquakes, or a combination of multiple factors. In this blog we want to record some of those changes.
First we have seen that part of Cap Gerakas has a deep cleft that was not seen in the drawing of the Archduke.
Right next to Gerakas, on the island of Peluso, we were surprised by the significant erosion suffered by the beach on which were the houses who drew the Archduke.
On the beach of Kalamaki the Archduke showed some rocks that identified with Ypsolito. We've been on that site and we saw a hill gradually falling over the sea. The rock that mentioned the Archduke is not there, but other rocks are.
In Mysithres have observed that attachment to the cliff of the largest of the islands has changed considerably.
In the northeastern part of the island, where the Sti Colonnes are, we have seen that there are no rocks and other submerged rocks are observed in the area.
Not far from Sti Colonnes, in Katerga cave, we see that the rocks inside of it are different and also are situated in different places.
In Spiridionas Ayos area near Zakhyntos, we found the rock called Kefalli. We see rocks here and there, rather low, but not that head-shaped rock.
And finally, perhaps the most striking change, due to the visual-landscape impact, is the virtual disappearance of Voidi islet.
As we mentioned before, we cannot know for certain what degree of impact the earthquakes had in these changes, but we found that the number and level of changes in Zakhyntos are significantly higher than in other places like Tunisia, the Adriatic or Balearic Islands.
