Where is the only National Park that is completely submerged by water for about 2 months a year and can only be visited by canoe?
The strange case of the PARK that is SUBMERGED by WATER every year
If there are four seasons in the rest of the world, there is a nation where even this certainty is lacking … there are five seasons. It is precisely at this time of the year that one of the largest national parks is completely submerged by water and the only way to visit it is by canoe, paddling among the tops of the trees that emerge from the waters. But how is it possible that an entire national park is submerged and then empties again every year like a large bathtub? And where is it possible to observe this more unique than rare natural phenomenon?
# The fifth Estonian season that floods an entire national park
All meteoropaths like me will think it’s crazy but those who live near Soomaa National Park can’t wait for the rainy season to arrive. We are located in southwestern Estonia and here every year, after winter and before spring, there is an unpredictable season called the “fifth season”. In this period of the year, raging floods give a new face to the national park, which is filled like a bathtub in which flowers and leaves float instead of ducks, and entire houses and trees are submerged by the water.
# How can this strange natural phenomenon be explained?
Soomaa in Estonian means precisely the land of swamps and in fact the Park is nothing more than a large alluvial plain. The “fifth season” is the incredible result of the fusion of unlikely factors; first of all there is the melting of snow on Mount Sakala and it is precisely on its slopes that the Somaa park develops. After the winter thaw the snow flows into the Navesti, Halliste, Raudna, Kopu, Toramaa and Lemmjogi rivers, and these all head towards Somaa … but there is a problem: the only one of these rivers to flow towards the Baltic Sea is the Navesti. The consequence of this river problem is the creation of the flood zone of Riisa, the largest in Northern Europe. Although this is a more than valid reason to explain the strange phenomenon, it is not the only one, there is also a geological factor. Imagine walking on a large natural sponge here, Soomaa is exactly that and currently remains the largest bog system in all of Europe.
# A paradise for paddlers. Is a “sixth season” on the way?
The result of these factors is a National Park which, after the snow melts, is flooded with water that rivers do not carry to the sea. Jana Põldnurk, head of hydrology at the Estonian Environment Agency, explained in an interview with the BBC that “In summer, the average flow of water per second through Soomaa is 5-10 cubic meters. But in the fifth season it is 10 times higher and the stream rises up to 100 cubic meters per second. Add to this the fact that an astounding 70% of the annual outflow is in this period and the figures are overwhelming ”.
Once upon a time, the inhabitants built rafts for livestock and stored bread for weeks to avoid starvation. Even today, the only safe way to get around is by canoe and inside the park there are about 70 people who have decided to stay and continue living here despite the annual floods. But for those who remained the “fifth season” it is not a burden to bear, but an element of identity that increases the sense of belonging to the community. But that is not all. It is Põldnurk herself who hypothesizes the arrival of a “sixth season”: “Climate change means that floods can occur at more unusual times, so it is possible that, in the future, Estonia may one day have a sixth season“.
During the traditional seasons, many animal species live in the park – lynxes, wolves and brown bears are just a few examples – and, as if they had a premonition, they all leave the park before the floods arrive, leaving room for adventurous canoeists.
ROSITA GIULIANO
