For years Oregon’s aptly named Lost Lake has remained something of an enigma. Covering an area of 85 acres, this otherwise unremarkable expanse of water remains much the same as any other lake during the cold and wet winter months.
When the warmer weather arrives however something very strange happens – the lake’s water slowly begins to disappear until nothing remains but a lush green meadow. The whole cycle then repeats itself over and over again on an annual basis.
The explanation, as it turns out, lies in two hollow lava tubes at the bottom of the waterhole that are continuously draining its water away through tunnels under the ground.
“The lakebed begins to fill in the late fall, when the amount of rain coming in starts exceeding the ability of the lava tubes to drain off the water,” said spokeswoman Jude McHugh.
“And it continues to fill all winter long in a series of rain or snowstorms.”
At the peak of the wet season the water level of the lake reaches around 9 ft, but once summer comes and the rain stops the entire thing drains out through the holes, leaving it completely empty.
