- [Narrator] It might seem unlikely, but the world's many lakes are in fact some of the most unusual, unexplained, and deadly natural
phenomena on the planet. From unheard-of yet natural events to countless human disappearances
and even bodies of water which suddenly vanish and reappear again, here are 10 of the most
mysterious lakes out there. (calm upbeat music)
(water whooshing) (rubber squeaking)
- Amazing! (gentle suspenseful music)
- Number 10, Dead Lake. The name of this one alone
should be enough to tell you that this lake in Kazakhstan is far from your ordinary body of water. Otherwise known as Lake Kaindy,
this 1,300 foot-long lake near the southern city of Almaty is steeped in a long history of mystery, including human deaths, most of which were
unlucky tourist drownings. The corpses which lurk beneath its depths aren't the only reason
for its haunting name and reputation, though,
as the waters are believed to be totally incapable
of sustaining any life, from small fish to frogs
and other native amphibians. The water, which maintains
its vibrant cobalt hue due to the copious limestone deposits and algae at its depths, remains cold even throughout the warmest of seasons and isn't known to
evaporate at a normal rate. The lake isn't just a
human graveyard, either, because the earthquake
which created it in 1911 also submerged the nearby
spruce forest in water, drowning the roots but
preserving the existing trees which now sprout from all over the surface like ghostly ship masts. Number nine, Lake Tahoe. This lake in America neighboring
Nevada and California might not look particularly threatening, in fact, it is a hugely
popular place for holidaymakers to spend a summer's afternoon. But this lake hides some sinister
secrets below its surface. For starters, Lake Tahoe is notorious for its own answer to
the Loch Ness monster, an elusive beast uniquely named Tessie which reportedly stalks the waters here and has been sighted many times, but never caught on camera, duh. Tessie might not be the only reason people lost their lives here, though, as it was supposedly also
a popular dumping ground for mafia victims during the 1920s, a theory which even featured
in "The Godfather Part Two." Bodies are well-preserved in
the near-freezing temperatures at the lakes deepest points,
and have been known to turn up years later in the
neighboring Pyramid Lake which is connected by an
underwater tunnel system, such as the tragic
discovery of a diver in 2011 who had been missing for 17 years. French explorer Jacques
Cousteau did a deep-water dive in the lake back in the 1970s
and returned to the surface claiming that "The world isn't ready for what was down there,"
so I guess we'll never know what really lurks beneath. Number eight, Blue Lake. Known as the Blue Lake, this body of water in
Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia leaves more questions than answers. The water itself doesn't
originate from the ocean or nearby rivers but the
world's biggest system of underground caves, and it never loses its bright-blue color as
a result of a great amount of lazurite and hydrogen
sulfide at the bottom, which also gives it
its charming local name Tserik-Kel or Stinky Lake. Besides smelling like rotten eggs, it is also believed to be one
of the world's deepest lakes at a staggering estimated
depth of 846 feet, which is only increasing due to erosion and caves deep below. But that's not all, the water reportedly stays at 9.3 degrees throughout all seasons and is so clear that visibility can reach 131 feet. The lake is still largely unexplored because of its hazardous
depths, and an Israeli diver who attempted to explore
its vastness in 2012 was tragically only
recovered a week later, his scuba diving gear mysteriously
still in full operation. Number seven, Lake Brosno. If Lake Tahoe's Tessie wasn't enough, another mysterious sea-monster reportedly lurks beneath the surface of this unsuspecting
lake near Moscow, Russia. The Brosno Dragon or
Brosnya is talked about in Russian folklore as
inhabiting this lake as early as the 13th century, and many witnesses still
claim to have seen the beast with their own eyes. Of course, there have been attempts to explain all the hysteria using science, which proposes that the creature could just be an unusually
large beaver or mutant pike, while a more likely alternatively suggests that hydrogen
sulfide bubbling up from below could resemble a dragon head, and might even carry enough force to overturn a small fishing boat. Number six, Lost Lake. The Lost Lake in Oregon, US,
has earned its unique name because it is quite literally impossible to locate during the summer months. What was a standard 85
acre, 9-foot-deep lake for half of the year completely
vanishes periodically leaving only a lush green meadow with no traces of its former watery bliss. At first it might seem like the
whole thing just evaporates, but that would take some serious heat, instead, researchers have
discovered that the secret behind this lakes'
miraculous disappearing act were two lava tubes which drained the lake as if pulling out a giant bath plug. Left in the wake of
ancient volcanic flows, these holes continuously
empty the lake of water and in the warm season
when the nearby streams which run into it completely dry up, their draining power is actually enough to swallow up the lake entirely
until the next rainy season. Number five, Lake Nicaragua. What's so special about this lake besides it being the
largest freshwater lake in central America? It isn't any mysterious chemical qualities or unexplored depths which
give it a place on this list but rather its unusual inhabitants, and I'm not talking about
another Nessie spin-off. Lake Nicaragua is actually
the only lake in the world which is home to a native
population of sharks, specifically bull sharks,
alongside a whole host of other marine species,
like sawfish and tarpon. As it is so unusual for
sharks to live comfortably in a freshwater environment like this one, scientists trying to get to the bottom of this shark-infested
lake originally assumed that the species were
introduced by humans, or were different species
of shark entirely. This is because, although only 12 miles from the Pacific Ocean at some points, the lake doesn't connect to
its surrounding seawater. An experiment which tagged
some of the bull sharks in Lake Nicaragua and later
located those same sharks in the Caribbean Ocean
eventually solved the mystery by revealing that the
sharks were able to make the 120-mile trip through
the nearby San Juan River to reach the lake instead. Number four, Jellyfish Lake. If a shark-infested lake
wasn't enough to prove that some places just
aren't worth a risky dip then take a look at
Pulau's Jellyfish Lake, which, as its name suggests, is home to a whopping
population of over a million of these little stingers. Surprisingly, the
world-renowned jellyfish lake is a popular destination,
and hundreds of tourists are brave enough to enter
the water every year to swim alongside these
fascinating creatures. Thankfully, the various
species in this lake, including the Golden Jellyfish
and the Moon Jellyfish, are not reported to have
strong enough stinging cells to seriously harm a human,
so swimming is permitted, but special care and a $100
pass is still required. In 1998, though, there
was a mysterious decline in the jellyfish in the lake,
and by the end of that year the medusa species had
completely vanished altogether. Baffled scientists were
eventually able to identify this rapid decline as a direct result of the El Niño weather event which dramatically raised
the water's temperature, a healthy annual increase
in jellyfish population has been identified under
moderate weather conditions. Number three, Katwe Explosion Crater. Explosion crater lakes, which sound pretty damn
terrifying to me, are located all over Queen Elizabeth
National Park in Uganda, the biggest and baddest
of which can be found within an area known as
the Katwe explosion crater just north of the Mweya Peninsular. Acting as the number one
salt distributor in Uganda, this horrifying lake is 3,265-foot-deep and is unable to support
any animal or plant life due to its incredibly high salt contents. The name explosion crater lakes itself originates from a long
history of volcanic eruptions dating back between 8 and 10,000 years ago which caused huge damage
when the craters spewed fire and brimstone into neighboring areas. Although dormant for many years now, Lake Katwe and other
explosion crater lakes still contain sulfuric residue and often emit gas clouds
from their surface, and it is possible that the water's unusually dark appearance is a result of the way the craters
would discharge ash and rock during their most active periods. It goes without saying
that swimming in this lake is not permitted, but the
Katwe Explosion crater tour is still a hugely popular
safari destination, and offers tourists a glimpse
of the native flamingo, monkey, and even elephant populations. Number two, Lake Berryessa. Lake Berryessa reservoir, located 75 miles north of San Francisco, was a pretty unremarkable
lake up until 2017 when a 72-foot-wide
hole seemingly opened up out of nowhere, dramatically
sucking in the contents of the surrounding lake
with surprising power. Word of this giant
unexplained potential sinkhole began to spread, and
locals rushed to the site of the reservoir to look on in horror at this bizarre phenomenon. While many worried about the origins of this huge inverted fountain and what potential seismic
activity below the surface could have caused it to open
up, it turned out the hole is actually just a manmade glory hole designed to drain the reservoir and keep it from overflowing, while also acting as a
spillway to the nearby dam. The reason behind its sudden appearance was actually a result of
a huge amount of rainfall following a long ten-year
period of drought which had rendered the glory
hole useless up until 2017. In fact, images which show the lake during this long dry spell
clearly show the huge hole, it just wasn't quite as noticeable until it was turned into
a lake-guzzling vortex. Number one, Lac de Gafsa. So, the great Berryessa super hole might've had a pretty logical explanation, but no one was quite prepared for the miraculous overnight
arrival of this lake in the scorching hot deserts of Tunisia when it hit the headlines
back in August 2014. A local man claimed to
have first spotted the lake in the desert canyon 25
kilometers from the city of Gafsa on his way back from
the north of the country and thought he must've been hallucinating as a lake this size is unheard
of in the 40-degree desert. Soon, hundreds were heading to the lake, now named Lac de Gafsa, to
see if this miracle lake was truly a mistaken mirage after all. Although many jumped
straight into the water and lounged around at
its beach-like shores, warnings soon came in that the water was most likely contaminated
with carcinogenic chemicals, or even large deposits of phosphate which would leave behind
radioactive residue in its wake. The vast turquoise expanse
quickly turned a sludgy green due a sudden build-up
of algae in the lake, proving that there were no
natural means of replenishment and thus rendering its waters
highly conductive to disease. Scientists have since
concluded that the lake was likely created when seismic activity disrupted the underground water table, filling the expanse above with liquid, and if these large cracks did exist, they might also possess the
ability to suck people under, so perhaps this miracle lake
was more of a curse after all. (calm upbeat music)
Did you know that any of these
mysterious lakes existed? And would you be willing to
visit any of them in the future? Let me know down in the comments below, and, as always, thanks for watching.
