For just a stopover I think I was spending way too much time here at Lago di Santa Caterina. I was on a three hour drive through the Italian Alps when I happened across this scenic little town. The lake is artificial but at least for the most part you don’t see it as long as you keep looking north. One will still have to remember that this is still a dam and as you know, dams are used to store water as well as provide hydroelectric power if so desired. This dam isn’t very large but there is still a large amount of water held back by the dam. There is a crest where visitors can walk across to look around the dam.

It is possible to walk across the dam but I don’t think it is possible for vehicles, besides, there isn’t much to see on the other side. At this point in the day, the sun is already behind the mountains and it is making photography very difficult with the lighting conditions. From the crest of the dam, you can also see two contrasting views. On one side, you have beautiful turquoise mountain water that fills up the dam. On the other side, you have where there water of the dam is released, which compared to the dam, isn’t a lot of water. I don’t normally talk about the environment that much but a lot has been said about the impact of dams on the environment both upstream and downstream. I don’t know if there is a right answer here since we all know that humans need that dam for various needs.

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