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THE
MATESE LAKE
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| Lake
Matese with Mount Miletto |
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| Lake
Gallo Matese |
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| Lake
Matese seen from top of Gallinola |
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| "lontro",
traditional Lake Matese boat. |
The
basin in which it is formed the Matese lake and the course of
the rivers Sava and Lete are the most considerable examples
about the carsism. Lake Matese is the most spacious mirror of
water. The lake is in a long and green valley, up to 1011 m.
It is at the base of San Michele Mountain, a spur of mount
Miletto, the upper top of the massif. But the
lake is, in truth, encircled also by two others tops, the mount
Gallinola and mount Porco. These contribute to make the large
rocky backdrop for the calm waters of the lake. The
carsic valley in which it is formed is a larger
area than that of the water. It is long about 8 km. with a width
of about 2 compared to about 6 square kilometers of the lake
(seasonally variable).
In 1923 the lake was organized for a hydroelectric use. To accomplish
this, obstructions had to be created in order to hinder the
overflow of lateral waters (presently above on the south side
of the river basin). This keeps the water at useful levels.
At the completion of these endeavors, the middle surface of
the reservoir was doubled to what it is now. The maximum depth
of the lake is around 10 meters.
The sweet water fauna is undisturbed, mostly because there is
no pollution from drainage. It grows undisturbed and it is perfectly
healthy. At a little more than ten kilometers,
towards the west there are also two artificial lakes that were
formed. Lake
Gallo nears the small village of Gallo, and Lake
Letino, a little to the south of the village of Letino. Lake
Gallo is formed from the barrier of the Sava River (it has a
surface of 2,5 square km), while Lake Letino is the result of
the River Lete (half the size of Lake Gallo). Both lakes serve
electrical purposes. Lake Gallo serves a local power plant directly.
Lake Letino runs through a conduit that is so forced that it
runs for approximately a kilometer to the power plant in Prata.
Once their hydroelectric purpose is used, the rivers flow towards
the mountains. The Sava follows a nearly unknown route, until
reappearing in the Gorge of Saint Bartolomeo, a ravine of very
environmental suggestion. The Lete instead, is a whimsical river.
In the past centuries it followed a precise route, then this
was progressively abandoned, in order to dig itself an alternative
route.
The fossil tunnel (with all the precautions, and care that the
place demands) shows what occurred before. One enters through
the homonymous caves, where you are in "contact" with
a fascinating opportunity to see life in the belly of the mountain.
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The Bojanos