The 'Lost Lake' off Oregon's Highway 20 has a deep, dark secret.
Most of the year, it looks like any other lake; peaceful and still.
But come winter, and a mysterious hole begins draining it of all its water, leaving a barren landscape that has baffled scientists for centuries.
Jude McHugh, spokeswoman with the Willamette National Forest, told the Bulletin, that the hole has been there as long as anyone can remember.
There appears to be a relatively simple explanation to how the water is being lost.
Geologists claim the area's volcanic landscape is to blame for the lake's rapid drainage.
They believe a lava tube beneath the lake formed when flowing lava hardened near the surface and flowed downwards.
As the eruption cooled, the hardened pipes emptied, leaving behind tubes in the form of vast tunnels.
Similar lava tube drain holes have been found at Fish Lake, only a few miles from Lost Lake near the junction of U.S. Highway 20 and state Highway, according to the Bulletin.
But what has stumped researchers is where exactly all this water goes.
McHugh claims it may seep into the porous subsurface underground, refilling the aquifer that feeds springs on of the Cascades. However, this has never been confirmed.
Now and again, locals will find strange objects in the lake, such as car parts, engines and other types of debris.
McHugh believes these are attempts to try and 'plug the leak', but warns this may simply lead to flooding of the local area.
'If anyone was ever successful at plugging it, which we're not sure they could do, it would just result in the lake flooding, and the road. It's an important part of how the road was designed,' she said.
WHAT IS DRAINING THE LAKE?
Geologists claim the area's volcanic landscape is to blame for the lake's rapid drainage.
They believe a lava tube beneath the lake formed when flowing lava hardened near the surface and flowed downwards.
As the eruption cooled, the hardened pipes emptied, leaving behind tubes in the form of vast tunnels.
One of these tunnels is responsible for draining the lake, but where this water goes is still a mystery.
Source:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
"It's a tube! That's what it is...you pour pornography, drugs and guns in one end, and the poop of society comes out the other! Why, in my day..." -Old man being wheeled back to his room by the attendants
ReplyDeleteinteresting...the underwater volcano is 300 miles off the coast and this area has been
ReplyDeleteactive for a long long time.
But why does it only drain in winter? The article says nothing about that.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it will wash some gems out.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to California! Mua ha ha ha
ReplyDeletemannymoe, check out the Newberry National Volcanic Monument which is in that area. It's maybe 25 miles away (rather than the one you mention 300 miles off the coast). The volcano itself covers 1200 square miles, with a footprint (lava tubes below ground as well as sibling volcanoes) much, much bigger.
ReplyDeleteMost likely, its actually draining all year round. But the lake gets filled up by its source (rain runoff from higher in mountain) faster that it drains. So fast, that it looks like a normal lake most of the time.
ReplyDeleteBut as winter sets in, the source for the lake ends up staying high up in the mountains as snow and ice. Then, as the water level gets low, the hole become visible. Even to the point shown in the pictures where you see water falling in.
That sounds possible. Thanks. But you would think the writer of this article would have dealt with that question.
ReplyDelete