Lake log that controls the weather (6 photos)

The Klamath Indians call him “the old man of the lake” and are afraid to approach the lake when his owner is swimming nearby. For scientists, a strange object represents a mystery of a completely different kind - they are trying to understand how for 170 years a vertical 9-meter log has been floating in Crater Lake and not sinking.





The beauty who rejected God

The Klamath people have their own legend about the epic confrontation between the god of the underworld Llao and the god of the upper world Skell. They lived in peace, without interfering with each other, and it was a man who was to blame for their clash. More precisely, the daughter of the leader of an Indian tribe named Lohu is a girl of extraordinary beauty. The terrible ugly Llao noticed her and wanted to marry her. He was very angry when the beauty rejected him and the entire gloomy underworld. God cursed the Klamath people and rained down earthquakes and fiery lava on them. Then the Indians turned to the god Skell for help. He descended from the sky and a fierce battle began.

It ended with the victory of the upper deity. Skell locked Llao in his kingdom, and for safety, covered the hole to the underworld with Mount Mazama. Finally, the god filled the dark hole at the top of the mountain with water so that nothing around would remind him of the battle. Since then, peace and tranquility have come to earth.



This is how Crater Lake was formed in the state of Oregon in the west of America. Scientists, of course, are far from the version of divine intervention, and based on the analysis of rocks they can say with certainty that the eruption of Mount Mazama occurred in the 6th millennium BC. Its result was a caldera, which over the centuries was filled with rain and melt water. Currently, Crater is the deepest lake in the United States (597 meters) and the eighth deepest in the world. It is completely drainless and is filled exclusively with sediment. At the same time, the water surface evaporates, and thanks to such natural regulators, the Crater level remains approximately the same.





Crater Lake Guardian

This concerns the nature of the lake itself. There is no mystery in it - beautiful, bewitching, but absolutely ordinary. The secret here is different. Namely, in a mysterious log that has been floating on the lake for one and a half hundred years. Typically, a tree that falls into water will drown over time. Wood is destroyed by water and sun, and is finally finished off by temperature changes. But not in the case of a local landmark. Not only does the lake log not even think about sinking, but it also floats strictly vertically like a giant float.

The lake water is clean and clear, so the underwater part of the log is clearly visible. The measurements showed that the entire tree is about 9 meters long, and its surface part rises above the water by a little over a meter. The diameter of the stump is small - only 70 centimeters - and a person can fit on it. And even with increased load, the log continues to float.



It was first seen by European settler John Hillman in 1853. The unusual stump did not attract his attention at first, but the Klamath Indians told him that it was not just a log, but the guardian of the lake and the faithful guardian of the god Llao, whom he released to the surface to watch over people. As soon as an opportunity presents itself, the “old man of the lake” will give a signal, and the underground deity will emerge from his prison to wreak terror and destruction.

But 170 years have passed, and the opportunity, according to the “old man,” still has not come. During this time, biologists studied it up and down to understand how the tree manages to float vertically for almost two centuries and not sink. Radiocarbon dating showed that the “old man” of Crater Lake is 480 years old. This is a Canadian hemlock that was probably brought into the lake by a landslide. At the same time, its roots remained unharmed and stones were stuck in them, which held the lower part of the log under water. Gradually, the upper part dried out, and the lower part, on the contrary, became denser from constant exposure to water. And when the stones from the roots fell to the bottom, the log still retained its vertical position.

Lord of Storms and Snowfalls



But this is the answer to only one question. But no one knows why the “old man of the lake” moves quite actively around the lake. Moreover, this happens even in absolutely windless weather, when the surfaceThe Kreiter's surface is perfectly even and smooth as silk. There are no underwater currents in the lake, and it is not clear what force makes the log travel chaotically across the reservoir. During three months of observations over it (July-September 1938), the stump floated as much as 100 kilometers.

And the third riddle of the “old man” is perhaps the most mystical. The Klamath Indians said that the guardian of the lake controlled the weather. The scientists just chuckled. But when they decided to put the “old man” on hold, they learned the hard way that the Indians were right.

In 1985, it was necessary to survey the lake. The chaotically floating “old man” interfered with the boats, and it was decided to temporarily “anchor” him near the shore of the Magic Island. When the log was tied, at the same moment clouds rolled in and a storm began, and after a while it started snowing, which was abnormal for August. As soon as the “guardian of the lake” was released for the sake of the experiment, nature immediately calmed down, and the storm was replaced by absolute calm.



Coincidence? Who knows, but after this incident no more experiments were carried out with the log and it continues to float freely on the surface of the crater lake. Currently, no one is bothering him, and the log itself does not pose a threat. This is because the Crater water area is part of a national natural park and boating is prohibited here.

So the only owner of the surrounding water remains a 500-year-old old man, who vigilantly observes the behavior of people and is only waiting for an opportunity to send a signal to his master in the underground kingdom. Legends are legends, but geologists note that hydrothermal activity in the lake has increased over the past 50 years, which suggests the possibility of a new eruption of the Mazama volcano.