Nisyros
F9f10f8
The Greek island of Nisyros (Greek Νίσυρος ( f sg ) ), together with several uninhabited islands a municipality ( δήμος, Dimos ) within the South Aegean region.
According to the last census in 2011 counted 1008 inhabitants of Nisyros. The island area is 41.263 km ².
- 5.1 traffic
- 5.2 Water supply
- 5.3 Energy Supply
Location and geography
The Dodecanese island of Nisyros lies in the southeastern Aegean Sea, about 17.5 km to the west of Asia Minor Datça Peninsula. Distance to the next large island of Kos is about 16.5 km to the north, Tilos is located approximately 17 km south-east. In the vicinity are some smaller uninhabited islands, counter-clockwise from the north to the southwest Stongyli, Agios Andonios, Gyali, Pergousa, Pachia and Kandelioussa.
The nearly circular island has a diameter of eight kilometers. The terrain on the west and south coasts is relatively steep. Small coves and bluffs alternate in the south. The north and east coasts are interspersed with several small shallow sandy bays.
The center of the island is dominated by a caldera with a diameter of 3.8 km. The caldera rim reaches heights of over 250 m, the highest elevation is 588 m. The west and northwest of the caldera is occupied by five Lavadomen of which represents the Prophet Elias ( Προφήτης Ηλίας ) with 698 m the highest elevation of the island. In the southeastern caldera of Stefanos crater 300 m in diameter characterizes a 0.9 km ² large geothermal area with mud craters and fumaroles.
Outside the caldera is in the southwest of the lava dome Karaviotis ( Καραβιώτης ) with 539 m the highest elevation.
The individual islands:
Geology
Nisyros is a volcanic island purely formed which is much younger than the adjacent Kos. The oldest lavas are found in the north- west of the island, near Mandraki. There are undersea formed basaltic pillow lava, which were raised by tectonic activity to the extent that they now lie on the sea surface. The submarine base of Nisyros consists of rocks of the Mesozoic ( limestone ). In part, one can discover these rocks as ejecta of eruptions. Some of these rocks are metamorphosed by contact with the magma changed ( skarn ). The overseas rocks of Nisyros are andesite - dacite - up lava flows alternating with pyroclastic ash and slag similar composition. Relatively late in the history of the island there were two enormous Plinian eruptions of pumice, in consequence of which the central caldera collapsed, which now dominates the center of Nisyros. Deposits of ash and pumices of Nisyros can be found on the island of Tilos in the south of Nisyros. The most recent "real" volcanic activity was forced upon the very viscous dacite dome in the western half of the caldera, which now form the highest elevations of the island. The exact age of this dome is unknown, but is probably in the range of several tens of thou years. The current volcanic activity is limited to hot sulfur-rich vapors inside the Stefanos crater at the southern end of the caldera. The crater Polyvotis goes back to a historically traditional steam explosion in the late Middle Ages. In addition to Santorini (1950 ), Milos (about 200 AD) and Methana (270 BC and 1700 AD) belongs to Nisyros was considered the active volcanic islands of the Cyclades in Greece arc. The last hydrothermal explosions there were 1871-1873 and 1887. Nisyros intensive research since 1980 and monitored geophysical since 2000, after there had been significant changes in the composition of exhaled gases 1996/1997. For the future holds volcanic eruptions possible.
In the 19th and 20th centuries sulfur has been mined in the mud crater in the southwest of the caldera and shipped on the south coast with a small harbor ( at Agia Irini ); in the 20th century, the pumice was mined in the north of the island and shipped via a charging station near Pali as a building material. Towards the end of the 20th century, efforts were made to use a geothermal well for energy recovery, but this proved not to be feasible. In the future, one would like to use the geothermal energy at Agia Irini with more modern means.
On 21 June 2008, the first Volcanological Museum of Greece was founded in the village of Nikia.
Minerals
Due to the volcanic activity and phreatic eruptions in particular ( Avlaki, Lies beach ) were transported together with pumice rare skarn rocks to the surface in some places. These are limestones from the non-volcanic, sedimentary base, rising on the Nisyros. These limestones have been altered chemically and structurally by contact metamorphism at temperatures of about 600 to 800 ° C. In and on these grained, sandstone -like lumps are found red-brown garnet ( grossular ), deep green pyroxene, wollastonite white, Diopsit and extremely rare bright bluish to green spinel crystals.
Community structure
The community Nisyros was left unchanged in the administrative reform of 2010. The three municipal districts were renamed in local communities ( Ez gr topiki kinotita ). The population figures are from the censuses of 2001 and 2011.
Villages
The main town of Mandraki is located on the north coast of the island. Above Mandraki is located in the 14th century, built on site of ancient predecessors of St John castle with the cave monastery of Panagia Spiliani. To the south west the ancient Acropolis Paliokastro lies with its walls of basalt, one of the best preserved fortresses from the time of the 4th century BC The plant was reconstructed between 2003 and 2008 and is now freely accessible visitors. In the center Mandrakis the Archaeological Museum exhibits finds that cover the period from the Neolithic to the post-Byzantine period.
About two kilometers east of Mandraki away is the fishing village of Pali with about 239 inhabitants.
On the eastern edge of the crater at about 250 m above sea level lies the small village Emborios, which is being renovated in recent years, with EU assistance. There also inaugurated 22 June 2008 Volcano Observatory is located overlooking the caldera.
The village of Nikia, which lies at an altitude of 400 m is also built on the crater rim. There is since 2008 the volcano museum Nisyros with descriptive material for volcanism (not only) of the island.
Community partnership
The main town of Mandraki maintains since 1996 a twin city relationship with the North Cyprus village Lapithos.
Infrastructure
Traffic
Nisyros is accessible only by ferry via Rhodes or Kos. Connections with Piraeus exist once a week during the summer months and twice in the winter months. Excursion boats from Kardamena on the south coast of Kos Island operate daily during the summer months. Especially in the winter months, the passenger and freight transport is not guaranteed in adverse weather conditions.
Despite its rough topography with fast rising heights, the island has an adequate network of roads, nearly every part of the island is easily accessible. The total length of road and trail network is nearly 100 km, half falling on rural roads. The island's main street has including the branches in the villages of Pali and Emborios a total length of 20 km, of which the distance from the port of Mandraki the almost 400 m high village of Nikia is about 15 km. First, the road runs along the north coast and turns shortly before Pali south curvaceous high to a saddle on the caldera. Only slightly uphill leads to the caldera outside until Nikia. The proportion of secondary roads is 28 km, inter alia, in the abandoned fishing village Avlaki on the south coast.
The municipally owned bus runs several times daily and is first aligned to the needs of school children and the local population, is used in the summer months as well as public transport.
About the airports in Kos and Rhodes, the connection to the national and international air traffic. South of Mandraki above is for emergency helipad.
Water supply
Nisyros is a water- poor island due to lack of groundwater resources and low precipitation. The annual water demand is about 100,000 m³. The bulk of the only source of drinking water in the east of the island at Kyra Panagia monastery is insignificant. The problem has been solved in the past with cisterns for the storage of rainfall, also currently have many households cisterns. Water transport by tankers from the Greek mainland or from Rhodes cause permanent high costs, In 1991 the construction of a plant for seawater desalination. To improve the situation led in 2002 the commissioning of a reverse osmosis system for seawater desalination with a daily capacity of 340 m³.
Energy supply
Although the island of Nisyros has the potential of renewable energy to meet its own energy needs and the surrounding islands, the electricity is powered by fossil fuels. The use of solar energy in the southeastern Aegean Sea, with more than 3000 hours of sunshine per year, one of the sunniest areas in Europe, does not matter. The development of the second largest geothermal reservoir Greece has failed so far to reservations and the resistance of the population. First exploration drilling from 1982 to 1983 by the Institute of Geological and Mining Research ( IGME ΙΓΜΕ ) took place in the southern Lakki level under the leadership of the Greek public utility DEI ( ΔΕΗ ). The geothermal potential of the area is about 50 MW and would be sufficient for the power supply neighboring islands like Kos, Tilos, Kalymnos and Leros for ten years. In a referendum on 11 May 1997, the population ruled against the use of geothermal energy. After new negotiations between the power company DEI and the community a 5 MW geothermal power plant is built and operated by the subsidiary PPC Renewables S. A.. However, the reservations of the population could not be resolved. At present, the power of Nisyros is via an underwater cable from the oil power plant on Kos.
Mythology
In Greek mythology, it is said that the sea god Poseidon defeated in gigantomachy, the great battle of the gods with the giants, the giants Polybotes by throwing the island of Nisyros on him.