#potidea

A huge flock of pink flamingos appeared in the wetland of Agios Mamas, next to the  Potidea canal, in Halkidiki, which is marked as a special protection area, while it is part of the Natura 2000 network.

In this particular wetland, one can find aquatic creatures and reedbeds, as well as a wide variety of predators and ducks, while in winter one can see flamingos, which remain there until spring.

Strike Slip?

This photograph was taken by Astronaut Jeff Williams from the International Space Station and shared through his twitter feed. It shows the Isthmus of Potidea, which connects the Kassandra Peninsula to the rest of Greece. The isthmus is clearly cut by a fault showing a left-lateral strike slip fault, showing the complicated tectonics of this area. Right?

Actually, the planet has fooled us here. There is no fault at the offset point in this isthmus. The Potidea Canal, a feature first dug over 2000 years ago, cuts the Isthmus of Potidea. The canal sits at the exact point of the offset in the two shorelines and thus it is the main cause of the offset. The canal has changed water flow paths and currents along the shoreline and, over the last 2000 years, these changed current flows have eroded the coastlines in such a way as to offset them right at the point of the canal.

The canal was built in the first century BCE and still allows traffic today, after several historic repairs.

-JBB

Image credit: Jeff Williams/NASA http://bit.ly/1R1isPn