UNUSUAL LAKES AROUND 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. 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

8. 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

7. 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

6. 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

5.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

4. 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

3.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

2.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

1.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.