Abstract
Blidinje lake, or more commonly just Blidinje, is the biggest mountain lake in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in Herzegovina, between the mountains Vran and Čvrsnica, at an altitude of approximately 1,180 m. Some publications refer to it as a glacial lake. Although undoubtedly there is evidence of the prior existence of glaciers and glacial relief in the area around the lake, the morphology of the lake’s bottom and shores, changeability of the surface, and a number of records on the lake’s origin challenge the theory of the lake’s glacial origin. The aim of this paper is to use cartographic sources of spatial data, historical records, geomorphological analysis, existing literature and interviews with the local population in order to determine how and when Blidinje lake was formed. The methods used in the paper are the analysis of the available written and oral sources, geomorphological analysis, the analysis of old maps, and the analysis of toponymy. The existing historical and contemporary maps were used to perform lake surface measuring in GIS environment. All data acquired were used to disprove the glacial origin theory and to provide evidence that the lake was formed artificially by the end of the 19th century.
Highlights
Mountain Blidinje lake in Herzegovina takes up the southern part of the depression between the mountains Vran and Čvrsnica, called Polja
Neobično je da na prvoj modernoj topografskoj karti na kojoj se pojavljuje jezero
It is difficult to follow the evolution of the lake continuously from its occurrence until today due to a lack of sources, some basic facts about its origin and development were reconstructed
Summary
Mountain Blidinje lake in Herzegovina takes up the southern part of the depression between the mountains Vran and Čvrsnica, called Polja. Geoadria 22/1 (2017) 1-40 dijelu godine svoja stada premještaju iz sušnijih dijelova Hercegovine na pašnjake okolnih planina. Takvo transhumantno stočarstvo i povremena naseljenost ovih krajeva korijene imaju daleko u prošlosti. S obzirom na to da na području Polja nije bilo trajnih naselja (iako neki izvori tvrde suprotno, ali za to nema dokaza) (Jolić, 2008.), teško je pratiti brojnost ljudi i stoke koji su u ljetnim mjesecima boravili na tom području. Osim nekoliko slabo izdašnih krških vrela i povremenih bujica koje se u proljetnom ili jesenskom dijelu godine spuštaju s okolnih planina i stvaraju plitka blatišta, na području Polja nije bilo veće vodene površine koja je mogla služiti za napajanje stoke. Ona vjerojatno potječe od nekadašnjega postpleistocenskog jezera koje je postojalo na najnižem dijelu ove međugorske depresije, no ne može se dovoditi u vezu s današnjim jezerom. Velike varijacije u površini jezera te činjenica da je presušivalo više puta, i to dva puta prije 1916., zatim 1917., 1924., 1928., 1940. i 1990. (Mihić, 1973.; Spahić, 2001.; Marić, 2005.; Šimunović, Bognar, 2005.), kao i nepostojanje jezerske morfologije i formirane obale upućuju na to da je današnje jezero puno mlađe od pleistocenske ili postpleistocenske
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