The "Big Thirst" - Summer 2022 - Lake Cerknica/Cerkniško Jezero Embanked Part; Internal Karst-Dinaric Region, Notranjska, Slovenija
13-August-2022
The lake, in its natural vastness 25/30km2 (up to 38km2), disappeared during the summer of 2021, with water remaining in the channels dug by the tributaries (in the middle of the empty wide basin) and in the small part dammed by man (less than 1% of its "normal" surface), which is the deepest part and therefore the one in which the water never disappears, at least until it disappears.
The owners of the modest boats, mostly used for fishing, in the course of 2021 (some already since 2003, indeed), seeing that the lake no longer filled up, "temporary" moved their mooring along the "new" banks, or those corresponding to the perennial part of the lake, precisely the embanked one.
In the past there have been several episodes of emptying, but they were shorter and this part of the lake was always full of water up to the edge of the embankment, with a constant level, also because the tributaries have always carried a bit of water up to here.
For the first time, starting from June 2022, the tributaries dried up, the pools in the parts dug by them dried up in July (as seen in the previous photos) and, during this period, the emptying of this part also began, for the first time, not more fed, mainly due to evaporation, which in summer is very intense.
The "constant" part of the lake, artificially dammed, for the first time has decreased its water level and we are now about 5 meters below the standard, a standard level that is already 2 or 3 meters below the average of the full lake.
The "Big Thirst" - Summer 2022 - Lake Cerknica/Cerkniško Jezero Embanked Part; Internal Karst-Dinaric Region, Notranjska, Slovenija
13-August-2022
The lake, in its natural vastness 25/30km2 (up to 38km2), disappeared during the summer of 2021, with water remaining in the channels dug by the tributaries (in the middle of the empty wide basin) and in the small part dammed by man (less than 1% of its "normal" surface), which is the deepest part and therefore the one in which the water never disappears, at least until it disappears.
The owners of the modest boats, mostly used for fishing, in the course of 2021 (some already since 2003, indeed), seeing that the lake no longer filled up, "temporary" moved their mooring along the "new" banks, or those corresponding to the perennial part of the lake, precisely the embanked one.
In the past there have been several episodes of emptying, but they were shorter and this part of the lake was always full of water up to the edge of the embankment, with a constant level, also because the tributaries have always carried a bit of water up to here.
For the first time, starting from June 2022, the tributaries dried up, the pools in the parts dug by them dried up in July (as seen in the previous photos) and, during this period, the emptying of this part also began, for the first time, not more fed, mainly due to evaporation, which in summer is very intense.
The "constant" part of the lake, artificially dammed, for the first time has decreased its water level and we are now about 5 meters below the standard, a standard level that is already 2 or 3 meters below the average of the full lake.