Vanishing lake baffles Russians "IT'S GONE"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4566355.stm

Vanishing lake baffles Russians
The hole left by the disappeared lake
There have long been rumours about the lake
Residents of a village in central Russia are trying to solve the mystery of a lake that disappeared overnight.

Russia's NTV channel showed a huge, muddy basin where the lake once was, in the village of Bolotnikovo.

"It looks like somebody has pulled the plug out of a gigantic bath," said the TV's correspondent, next to a deep debris-filled hole.

Local officials in Nizhny Novgorod region say the lake was probably sucked into an underground cave.

The name of the village - which lies about 250 km (155 miles) east of Moscow - roughly translates as "boggy".

No water

The discovery was made by local fishermen when they arrived at the lake early in the morning.

"I looked and there was no water. I thought: Oh my God, what's going on?" one of them told the TV.

Rescuers were called out to search the uncovered lake bed to see if anybody could have been sucked under, but it is thought no-one was on the lake when the waters vanished.

"It's very dangerous. If somebody is caught by such a calamity, the chances of survival are practically nil," fireman Dmitry Zaitsev said, pointing out that lakeside trees appeared to have been dragged down with the water.

The lake's disappearance may have been caused by subsidence allowing the water to drain into a cave system or underground river, local official Dmitry Klyuev said.

According to Mr Klyuev, several houses were swallowed up in similar circumstances 70 years ago.

'Dark mystery'

But more supernatural explanations were circulating among the villagers, including the influence of dark forces.

Village youngsters said the lake had appeared during the reign of the feared Tsar Ivan the Terrible and had been "shrouded in dark mystery" ever since.

"We used to go swimming there, but we were rather afraid of its depth, and there were various rumours. For instance people said there used to be a church there underwater," one girl told the TV.

But one elderly villager sitting outside her house had another kind of force in mind.

"I thought the Americans had got here," she said, laughing.

or was it some sinister plot?

eom

Karstic.
As a caver, sniiff, sniff: CAVE TO EXPLORE!

<http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/97/385/15506_lake.html>

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,2763,1489031,00.html?gusrc=rss>

I couldn't find the name of the lake, to look it up.

Copyrights: Do not copy-and-paste entire articles onto this discussion forum. When referencing copyrighted work, post a short excerpt (not exceeding 4 paragraphs) with a link back to the original.

Maybe a couple or three years ago, possibly in the U.S.

A google, and here it is:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5191079/

Woe! Lake begone!
23-acre body of water disappears in St. Louis suburbThe Associated Press
Updated: 4:42 p.m. ET June 11, 2004WILDWOOD, Mo. - To folks around Wildwood, it is nothing but freaky: an entire 23-acre lake vanished in a matter of days, as if someone pulled the plug on a bathtub.

advertisement

Lake Chesterfield went down a sinkhole this week, leaving homeowners in this affluent St. Louis suburb wondering if their property values disappeared along with their lakeside views.

more at the link

in russia they wonder if any one got sucked down with the lake, note that the trees also disappeared with the lake, and worry about "mysterious forces."

in the US they wonder about property values.

Underground coal mining had caused the Cataract River near Sydney to disappear into the ground. It became the Cataract stream! However Methane gas released by the coal mining started to force the water back up under high pressure. The Cataract stream started filling up again with the extra added bonus that it could be ignited if you threw a flame on it. We really do have a "River of Fire" near Sydney. I have ignited the river myself with a lighter. It is becoming a bit of a secret tourist destination off the beaten trail. Tourists seem to like the idea of setting a river on fire!!

In 1970, when Earth Day was created, most Americans were in agreement that when the Cayahoga River caught fire, it was a sign of just how far America had let chemical pollution get out of control.

http://www.getecosmart.com/extras/earthday.asp?GESSID=5C71HQ94K0235-144374

And Randy Newman wrote a song about it

BURN ON

There’s a red moon rising
On the Cuyahoga river
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake
There’s a red moon rising
On the Cuyahoga river
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake

There’s an oil barge winding
Down the Cuyahoga river
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake
There’s an oil barge winding
Down the Cuyahoga river
Rolling into cleveland to the lake

Cleveland, city of light, city of magic
Cleveland, city of light, you’re calling me
Cleveland, even now I can remember
’cause the Cuyahoga river
Goes smokin’ through my dreams

Burn on, big river, burn on
Burn on, big river, burn on
Now the lord can make you tumble
And the lord can make you turn
And the lord can make you overflow
But the lord can’t make you burn
Burn on, big river, burn on
Burn on, big river, burn on

only in australia!

If this happens in Wyoming, I'll be looking at the methane gas companies first!

discussion here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=3293725