Astronaut Jeff Williams used Twitter to share a fascinating image from space of a peninsula in northern Greece with a canal and the effects of the earth’s erosion have taken over thousands of years.
The image features the Potidea Canal which cuts across one of the three “fingers” that jet out from the mainland near Thessaloniki.
The canal was first dug over 2,000 years ago and today serves as an important connection between the two sides of the sea.
The astronaut’s photo from space shows the effects of erosion which have effectively shifted the two land masses several meters apart.
Potidea Canal. Coastal currents and erosion over 2000 years appear to have displaced the two sides of this isthmus. pic.twitter.com/zx50ZtEO3R
— Jeff Williams (@Astro_Jeff) May 13, 2016
1 comment
The displacement is due to a transform fault not erosion. The tectonic plates are moving parallel to each other but in different directions.