Yes, you read that right. A lake has indeed gone missing. Park Rangers at Chile’s Bernard O’Higgins National Park are bewildered by the accelerated disappearance of a 100-foot deep lake in the high-altitude Andes park. Due to the immense temperatures and altitude in the area, the site was conducive to glacial formations and the forming of ice chunks on the lake’s surface. Interestingly, when rangers returned to the remote lake last May, all they saw were the fragments of ice that used to float on top of the lake. The main tributary was also reduced to a trickle.
Given the mind-blowing remoteness of the location, geologists have had a hard time in inspecting the site. The former-lake-turned-crater is two thousand kilometers south of the Chilean capital of Santiago City. The event has now gotten meterologists and geologists talking. Five hectare lakes don’t suddenly vanish without a trace, right?
In one of the currently entertained hypotheses for the event, scientists are considering seismic activity to be the culprit. Due to cracks and breaks in glacial surface, the lake water could just gush and drain the lake before anyone sees what happened. The other theory is that global warming had something to do with. Regardless of what theory is right, isn’t it amazing that a body of water that big could go missing without anyone noticing.
So if you’ve seen a 5 hectare lake somewhere, please alert the Chilean authorities. If you happen to have a lake, keep an eye on it. Now you know how easy it is to lose one.