The ardous drought in Dalmatia left the wider Imotski area in a very serious condition. Apart from the withering crops and the natural water resources drastically decreasing, news of another consequence comes from Imotski, where the stunning Blue Lake officially dried up.
On Sunday, the water level of the karst lake lowered for another 50 centimetres, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on September 4, 2017. At this moment, the remaining body of water is so shallow, the distance between two sides of the bottom of the lake can be walked on foot. Once it comes to that, the lake is officially pronounced dried up.
The natural gem of Imotski thus didn’t manage to live through the horrible drought that ravaged the area. Possible issues with the natural inflow of water were predicted back in June, and the lake didn’t see a single drop of rain in multiple months. Unless the weather conditions change rapidly and the area gets at least ten days of continuous heavy rainfall, the lake will dry up completely.
However, the worrying condition might present the opportunity for a very peculiar event: once the last drop of water in the lake dries up, the locals gather at the bottom for a traditional football match between two teams from Imotski, Vilenjaci and Vukodlaci (Elves and Werewolves). As the lake fortunately doesn’t dry up each year, the match is a rare occasion: it was first played in 1943, followed by a total of nine matches in the following 70 years, the most recent taking place in 2014. All of them finished with a draw. Just a couple of sunny weeks more, and we might be headed for another sports spectacle in the most extraordinary venue you can imagine.
Photo credit: Apoliticni.hr
