Lasithi Plateau
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Oropedio Lasithiou Οροπέδιο Λασιθίου |
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Panorama of the Lasithi Plateau
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 Oropedio Lasithiou
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Location within the region
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| Coordinates: 35°11′N 25°28′E / 35.183°N 25.467°ECoordinates: 35°11′N 25°28′E / 35.183°N 25.467°E | ||
| Country | Greece | |
| Administrative region | Crete | |
| Regional unit | Lasithi | |
| Area | ||
| • Municipality | 130.0 km2 (50.2 sq mi) | |
| Population (2011) | ||
| • Municipality | 2,387 | |
| • Municipality density | 18/km2 (48/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | |
| Vehicle registration | AN | |
| Website | http://www.oropedio.gr/en/ | |
The Lasithi Plateau (Greek: Οροπέδιο Λασιθίου, Oropedio Lasithiou), sometimes spelt Lassithi Plateau is a high endorheic plateau, located in the Lasithi regional unit in eastern Crete, Greece. Since the 1997 Kapodistrias reform, it is a municipality whose seat is its largest village, Tzermiado. The municipality has an area of 129.976 km2 (50.184 sq mi).
The Lasithi Plateau stretches 11 km (6.8 mi) in the E-W direction and 6 km (3.7 mi) in the N-S direction. It is approximately 70 km (43 mi) east from Heraklion and lies at an average altitude of 840 m (2,760 ft). Winters can be harsh and snow on the plain and surrounding mountains can persist until mid-spring. The plateau is famous for its white-sailed windmills, (more accurately, wind-pumps), made to a local design, that have been used for two centuries to irrigate the land. Despite their being around 10,000, in the past, most of them have been abandoned nowadays in favour of modern diesel and electric pumps. Because the water table is close to the surface of the ground, all burials in cemeteries are above ground, in a stone mausoleum, or a stone box with decorations. This is because the plateau is endorheic, and there is impermeable rock just below the surface of the ground.
The fertile soil of the plateau, due to alluvial run-off from melting snow, has attracted inhabitants since Neolithic times (6000 BC).Minoans and Dorians followed and the plateau has been continuously inhabited since then, except a period that started in 1293 and lasted for over two centuries during the Venetian occupation of Crete. During that time and due to frequent rebellions and strong resistance, villages were demolished, cultivation prohibited, and natives were forced to leave and forbidden to return under a penalty of death. A Venetian manuscript of the thirteenth century describes the troublesome plateau of Lasithi as spina nel cuore (di Venezia) - a thorn in the heart of Venice. Later, in the early 15th century, Venetian rulers allowed refugees from the Greek mainland (eastern Peloponnese) to settle in the plain and cultivate the land again. To ensure good crops, Venetians designed a large system of drainage ditches (linies, Greek: λίνιες) that were constructed between 1514 - 1560 and are still in use. The ditches transfer the water to Honos (Greek: Χώνος), a sinkhole in the west edge of the plateau, that feeds the river Aposelemis.
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Wikipedia