The Lake That Disappears Every Summer

This lake vanishes on purpose. Send this to a friend who loses things all the time. In Slovenia there is a lake that is not always there. In winter it is one of the biggest lakes in the country. In summer it is gone.

Ziwa hili hutoweka kwa makusudi. Tuma hii kwa rafiki anayepoteza vitu mara kwa mara. Nchini Slovenia kuna ziwa ambalo halipo daima. Wakati wa baridi ni moja ya maziwa makubwa zaidi nchini. Wakati wa kiangazi linatoweka.

The ground under the valley is full of holes and tunnels in the rock. In autumn, water drains down through these holes until the valley is dry. In winter, rain and melting snow push back up through the same holes, and the lake fills again, sometimes in just a few days.

Ardhi chini ya bonde imejaa mashimo na vichuguu ndani ya mwamba. Wakati wa vuli, maji hushuka kupitia mashimo hayo mpaka bonde likawa kavu. Wakati wa baridi, mvua na theluji inayoyeyuka husukuma juu tena kupitia mashimo hayo hayo, na ziwa hujaa tena, wakati mwingine kwa siku chache tu.

When the water is high, people row boats and watch birds on the lake. When the water is low, farmers walk out and cut hay on the same ground. Old writers wrote about this strange lake two thousand years ago, and it still confuses visitors today.

Maji yanapokuwa juu, watu hupiga makasia na kutazama ndege ziwani. Maji yanapokuwa chini, wakulima hutembea kwenye ardhi hiyo na kukata majani makavu. Waandishi wa zamani waliandika kuhusu ziwa hili la ajabu miaka elfu mbili iliyopita, na bado linawachanganya wageni leo.