MOST UNUSUAL Lakes in the World

Lakes they're a common sight around the world providing breathtaking scenery and valuable resources however some Lakes stand out for their unique features and unusual characteristics from lakes that change color to those with underwater waterfalls join me on a journey to discover the top 15 most unusual Lakes on planet Earth number 15 Abraham Lake Canada Abraham lake is a man-made Reservoir in the western province of Alberta Canada located along the northern Saskatchewan River it was created in 1972 as a result of the construction of the Bighorn Dam and now it stretches over an area of around 20 square miles or about 53 square kilometers as well as being an unusually large artificial Lake that has a deep blue coloration it's become renowned for a strange phenomenon that sees bubbles become trapped when it's covered in ice these ice bubbles are formed during the winter months when the lake freezes over and are formed when the plant matter and organic materials at the bottom of the lake decompose and methane gas is released and Rises to the surface this happens throughout the year but during the winter the gas gets trapped under the ice and forms pockets and Bubbles that get Frozen in place as the temperature drops these Frozen bubbles create an incredible display especially because the Clear Water of the lake turns into virtually transparent ice and it almost appears as if the bubbles have been trapped in time unsurprisingly this phenomenon has meant that between mid January and mid-February the lake has become one of the most popular visitor destinations in the region with people traveling from around the world to see it for themselves number 14 Laguna Colorado Bolivia Laguna Colorado which translates to mean red Lagoon is a stunning Salt Lake located in the southwestern part of Bolivia near to the border with Chile the lake which covers an area of around 23 square miles or 60 square kilometers is surprisingly shallow with an average depth of just about a foot or about 35 centimeters and it gets its name because of its striking red color which is caused by the presence of red algae that grow in the Salt Flats surrounding the lake the lake also has high concentrations of borax and other minerals which form into milky white islands that adds to its mystical appearance a highly salty lake like this which is at an altitude of more than fourteen thousand feet or 4200 meters above sea level would normally not support much Wildlife but the red colored algae supports huge populations of flamingos with thousands of James's flamingos as well as Andean and Chilean flamingos too the Lake's color the presence of so many flamingos and the species that roam the shores to prey on them mean that not only is this a popular tourist site today but look Colorado has long been an important place for local culture it's within the Eduardo everroa and the infauna national reserve and around it are a number of important archaeological sites such as ancient ruins and rock paintings that give a fascinating insight into the lives of the pre-colombian civilizations that live there number 13. Pitch Lake Trinidad found in Southwestern Trinidad in the village of La Brea Pitch Lake isn't exactly what you'd normally expect from a lake because instead of being full of water it's the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world covering an area of around 0.15 square miles or 0.4 square kilometers it's thought to be up to 250 feet or 76 meters deep and contains an estimated 10 million tons of liquid asphalt the lake is believed to have formed over 10 000 years ago at a time when the Caribbean tectonic plate shifted and created a fault line beneath where the lake is now this has allowed oil from a deep deposit to be forced up towards the surface where the heat of the sun evaporates the lighter elements to leave the heavier asphalt behind used throughout the centuries to coat ships and even line many of the first asphalt roads in New York City and Washington DC it's still an active site for asphalt mining today and is a vital part of the local economy it's also become a popular tourist destination too because of how strange the lake is and its surroundings are visitors are able to see bubbling Tar Pits which are created by the movement of the pit under the surface and natural asphalt sculptures that have been formed as the pitch solidifies with cones arches and columns that are in some cases up to 10 feet or 3 meters high number 12. Lake van Turkey Lake van is a unique place that's in Eastern Turkey that covering an area of around 1450 square miles or 3 700 square kilometers reaches a maximum depth of 490 feet or about 150 meters and it's an important source of water in the region it's one of the largest lakes in the world that doesn't have an outlet which means that minerals become trapped in the water that as a result has a salinity of more than three times that of the ocean this means that despite being at an altitude of 5300 feet or about 1600 meters above sea level ice rarely forms on it like it does on other water sources in the area the lake has a vivid turquoise color which is due to the presence of algae and this food source has allowed several endemic species of fish to develop such as the Pearl mullet and a type of stone Loach in many ways though the features that truly make the lake unique are human-made ones and the area is one of turkey's most important archaeological sites in 2017 researchers discovered a submerged ancient city within the Lake's Waters that's believed to date around 3 years ago known locally as the vanishing City it's not yet clear who once lived there but it's hoped that among the remains of the walls structures and perhaps even a castle there will be Clues to what life was like before as historians suspect the site was destroyed by an earthquake on akadamar island which is in the lake there's also the stunning Armenian Holy Cross Cathedral that dates back to the 10th century and is famous for its intricate Stone carvings and beautiful frescoes while other smaller buildings around the lake still stand as memories of the rich cultural heritage of the region over many centuries number 11. Lake pukake New Zealand Lake pukake which is in the Mackenzie Basin of the south island of New Zealand is a stunning place that's well known for its vibrant blue color and its unique location near the base of the Southern Alps it's this location that's resulted in its incredible coloration because the water that flows into it comes from the Tasman and hooker glaciers as these large mounds of ice move through the mountains they grind rock into a fine powder that's known as glacial flower and is then carried by the Melt water into the lake where it creates the Milky blue-green color that's unique to this region on a clear day it's amazing to see and the effect is magnified by the sheer size of the lake that has a surface area of 69 square miles or almost 179 square kilometers and is the largest of the three glacial lakes in the region with a maximum depth of 230 feet or about 70 meters it's long been a famous national landmark with an island on the lake once featuring on New Zealand's currency but it looks very different today than it did just a few decades ago that's because with its elevation around 1700 feet or 518 meters above sea level it was seen as the ideal place to build a hydroelectric plant especially as it only had one outflow at the southern end this was dammed up and replaced with a series of canals and actually allowed for the level of the lake to be increased by about 150 feet or 46 meters controversially this has meant that the famous island was submerged and a number of natural habitats were destroyed but this is meant that the vast majority of the Region's power is generated at the lake instead of relying on fossil fuels number 10. Lake Michigan United States Lake Michigan is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world and it's the only great lake that is entirely within the United States located on the border of Illinois Wisconsin Michigan and Indiana Lake Michigan is a popular destination for visitors with plenty of things to do both on the water and around it it's a huge body of fresh water with a surface area of over 22 000 square miles or 58 000 square kilometers and it makes it the fifth largest lake on the planet and unsurprisingly a hugely important feature of the region several major cities including Chicago Milwaukee and Green Bay are located on its Shores and it's connected to the rest of the Great Lakes system through a series of locks and canals the lake is also home to various ports and harbors and these facilitate shipping and commerce throughout the entire Midwest with more than 1600 miles or about 2500 kilometers of Shoreline featuring sandy beaches towering sand dunes rugged Cliffs and Rocky outcrops the diverse landscape hasn't just been crucial to Modern development but has been a lifelong for people for thousands of years the earliest inhabitants here are believed to have been the Hopewell culture who first settled there more than 2 000 years ago and since then successive groups have relied on the fresh water the fish and the fertile land around the lake to survive many have argued that without Lake Michigan in particular it would have been far trickier for humans to migrate across the continent and that has been one of the most vital resources in the establishment of the country that we know today Number Nine Dead Sea Jordan Israel the Dead Sea is a saltwater lake located on the border between Jordan and Israel it's one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world with a salinity level that's nearly 10 times that of the ocean and it's this high salt content that's led to several unusual properties that make it a unique and fascinating place the lake which is 1412 feet or about 430 meters below sea level is fed by several Rivers but it has no Outlet which means that the water evaporates and leaves behind a high concentration of minerals and salts as a result the water is incredibly buoyant and allows people to float effortlessly on the surface in fact it's nearly impossible to sink in the Dead Sea due to the water's high density another valued property of the Dead Sea is its mud as the sediment at the bottom of the lake is rich in minerals and other beneficial substances that have been used for centuries for their healing properties visitors to the Dead Sea can cover themselves in mud which is believed to help alleviate skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema as well as reducing inflammation and promoting relaxation so it has for a long time been used as a spa resort records of people traveling there for its health benefits date back thousands of years it's mentioned in the Bible and it's believed that King David and King Herod both use the lake for their own purposes unfortunately though human activity in recent times has meant that the Dead Sea is shrinking at an alarming rate so much more water is being taken from the rivers that feed the lake that has lost nearly one third of its surface area in the last 50 years and it's expected to continue shrinking in the coming years efforts are underway to address this issue and preserve it for future Generations but whether these attempts will be successful or not is yet to be seen number eight Lake candy Kazakhstan Lake candy is a natural wonder located in the tianshan mountains of Kazakhstan and is known for its beautiful clear turquoise blue water and a strange site that's visible beneath the surface it's only a recently formed Lake as it was created following an earthquake in 1911 that triggered a landslide that blocked The Gorge of the candy River and in the following years water from snowmelt and Mountain Streams began to build up behind this blockade with the lake developing in a natural dip in the landscape it's because of the way this happened that the lake has become such a popular and unusual place to visit because the water is so clear you're able to see a submerged Spruce Forest which had originally grown on dry land rising from its depths the Trunks and branches of some of the trees still reach above the Lake's surface and create a surreal and haunting atmosphere that's unlike any other lake in the world despite having low oxygen levels the water so cold that it's actually preserved the tree trunks so they're able to continue growing and act as a host for various types of algae that further add to the mystical feel of the play with a large population of rainbow trout in the lake as well as a pristine forest habitat around it with animals like deer foxes and bears it truly is a one-of-a-kind Lake to visit number seven Lake vostok Antarctica now you'd normally expect that there would be images of the 16th largest lake in the world but lake vostok is one of the least explored places on the planet that's because it's a sub-glacial lake in Antarctica and lies 13 000 feet or 4 000 meters beneath the East antarctic ice sheet it's one of the largest known sub-glacial lakes in the world with a surface area of around 4 800 square miles or 12 000 square kilometers it's got a maximum depth of more than 2 600 feet or 800 meters it was first discovered in 1957 by a team of Soviet scientists who were conducting research on the Frozen continent and noticed an anomaly in their readings beneath the ice since it was found the lake has been the subject of intense scientific interest and it's believed to contain some of the oldest and most pristine water anywhere on the planet amazingly the water that it contains is thought to be more than a million years old and it's been isolated from the surface for hundreds of thousands of years unusually you'd expect this water to have Frozen because the temperatures are well below freezing but the pressure that's exerted on it by the ice sheet means that it remains liquid the few tests that have been conducted from drill samples have shown this water to contain high levels of oxygen and other gases as well as a range of microorganisms including bacteria that have adapted to the extreme conditions in the lake as well as providing a valuable insight into what the world was like so long ago it's possible that continued study of this Lake could help scientists learn more about the origins of life on Earth and perhaps even the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe number six Lake nakuru Kenya lake nakuru is a shallow alkaline Lake that's located in the rift valley region of Kenya it's believed to have been formed around 3 million years ago during a particularly violent geological time in the region when tectonic plates were shifting and is located in a Depression known as the greybin which was formed by the rift valley activity it's fed by several rivers and streams including the Enduro River and these bring nutrient-rich waters from The Mao escarpment with no natural outflow and continual hot temperatures the only way for water to leave the lake is usually through evaporation and because of very strict wet and dry seasons in the region this means the water level fluctuates dramatically it has an average depth of about a foot or about a third of a meter and this can increase by as much as almost 10 feet or 3 meters with the influx of water during the rainy season this floods the surrounding grasslands and deposits nutrients which means the land is wonderfully fertile and supports a thriving ecosystem of thousands of different species while the water's pH levels range between 7.5 and 9.5 depending on the time of the year it supports algae and fish as well as flamingos pelicans and other various water Birds and the land around it is just as impressive so much so that it's been turned into a national park to act as a sanctuary for a number of rare animals such as giraffes and one of the largest populations of both black and white rhinos in this part of Africa number five boiling Lake Dominica boiling Lake on the island of Dominica in the Caribbean is as the name would suggest full of water that's constantly boiling and steaming and is one of the hottest and most geologically active bodies of water in the world formed as a result of volcanic activity in the area which is technically described as a flooded fumeral and it's within the crater of a volcano where the water is heated by the underlying magma chamber this can cause the water temperature to reach up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit or 100 degrees Celsius so it is actually boiling and is definitely not somewhere that you'd want to swim in or attempt any other recreational activities it is though a popular tourist attraction because the site of it is truly bizarre and it's also an important site for scientific research because of its unique geology and chemistry and the presence of several unique species of plants and animals that have adapted to the extreme conditions around it thought to be up to 195 feet or 59 meters deep the water level and volatility of the lake have been seen to change substantially since it was first scientifically documented in 1870 often in line with volcanic events that happen nearby this is a reminder that it's still a geologically active region and anyone hiking there needs to be cautious of potential landslides in the area around the lake or even of course an eruption taking place through the lake itself that could happen at any time without any warning number four Lake Titicaca Bolivia Peru Lake Titicaca is a large deep lake that's located on the border between Bolivia and Peru in South America it's the highest navigable lake in the world with an elevation of more than 12 500 feet or 3 800 meters above sea level and it covers a surface area of approximately 3 200 square miles from about 8 300 square kilometers it's fed by five major rivers and at least 20 smaller streams and has 41 Islands some of which have been inhabited for hundreds of years it's a vital source of water and food in the area with more than 530 known aquatic species that live there and evidence has been found that shows communities first settled by the lake many thousands of years ago it's believed for example to have been a sacred site for the Incas who considered the lake to be the birthplace of the Sun and around its Shoreline there are a number of ancient ruins and archaeological sites including the remains of the ancient city of tiwanaku which dates back more than 2 000 years to this day large communities rely on the lake for their livelihoods mainly from fishing and agriculture but it's also an extremely popular tourist attraction with people traveling from around the world to see the ancient sites and also visit the unique artificial islands that are built by the uros people to take full advantage of the resources that the lake has to offer number three Lake Natron Tanzania found in the angorogoro district of Tanzania like Natron is found in a geological Rift and as a result has developed several unusual attributes measuring up to 35 miles or 57 kilometers long and 14 miles or 22 kilometers wide it's just 9.8 feet or under 3 meters at its deepest something that's a result of the extreme temperatures in the region and consequently high levels of evaporation it's fed mainly by the southern iwassan Giro River along with a number of hot springs in the surrounding area that release mineral-rich water so the effects of the evaporation rate are magnified whereby large quantities of salt-based minerals mainly natural and Trona are left behind and it can at times cause the pH of the water to rise above 12 which is around the same as ammonia or bleach this is inhospitable for most animals but is the perfect environment for a certain algae that turn the water red and for flamingos that feed on the algae it's actually home to the largest breeding flock of flamingos in East Africa who benefit from the caustic water as it acts as a natural protective barrier from predators that would otherwise Target their nests during the breeding season several fish species are endemic to the perimeter of the lake where the water is less salty and have adapted to the extreme environment but apart from these the area surprisingly bereft of wildlife the surrounding land too is Barren with very little plant life and the only animals you'll see there are the herds of cattle passing through number two kalamutu Indonesia elemutu is a volcanic crater lake located on the island of Flores in Indonesia and is undoubtedly one of the most unusual natural formations in the world because it's actually made up of three independent lakes that change colors at seemingly random intervals these Three Lakes are known asapolo and each will be a shade of blue green or red depending on various conditions and it's such a strange occurrence that the Lakes have become a central part of the local belief system with these colors said to represent the spirits of the Dead they formed over thousands of years as water accumulated within the Caldera of what's now considered to be a dormant volcano but it's the gas and elements like iron and manganese that are still released that create this wonderful display when present in the right quantities they'll trigger chemical reactions and due to something called oxidation reduction chemical Dynamics the color will change it's not a regular event with the most active time in recent years being in 2016 when the color shifted six different times within 10 months but this relative Rarity just makes it all spectacular if you're lucky enough to be there when it happens number one Lake NEOS Cameroon most lakes are a vital source of water and food for local communities to help them Thrive but like NEOS and Cameroon is the complete opposite and is the deadliest lake in the world formed within a volcanic crater and with a beautiful deep blue color it's mostly known for an event that took place in 1986 that resulted in the deaths of more than 1700 people as well as many thousands of livestock in the surrounding villages on that fateful day a limnic eruption happened which is when carbon dioxide and other gases that had accumulated at the bottom of the lake suddenly Rose to the surface this created a huge plume of toxic gas that engulfed the surrounding area and because the cloud was Heavy it flowed downhill and suffocated every living thing on its path frighteningly the exact cause of the eruption is still not fully understood but it's believed to be related to volcanic activity in the area since This Disaster measures have been taken to prevent similar events from happening again with pipes being installed at the bottom of the lake to release the gas buildup slowly and safely and regular testing of the Lake's chemistry and gas levels it's also become an important site of scientific interest in the hope that it might help determine if any other lakes in the world is at risk of something similar so that steps can be taken before that happens I'll see you next time watch our nature playlist for more top 15 videos about beautiful nature sit back relax and binge watch all of our best nature videos the top 5 show has launched Channel memberships thank you to our channel members

Channel: Top Fives

Views: 34,796

Keywords: lake, lakes

Id: Q9ndnRqNNpM

Length: 20min 36sec (1236 seconds)

Published: Fri May 26 2023