Imagine
a deep, wilderness valley, heavy with evergreen forest. Picture yourself
strolling past an evergreen that towers above almost beyond sight, its heavy
green branches sprawling out in all directions. You move down the slope on
which the tree stands and take a few steps deeper into the woods. Dozens more
trees begin to appear in the mist.
Now
imagine this entire beautiful place was completely submerged in water.
It
turns out Mother Nature has left some of her best stuff in some of the most
unexpected parts of the world. This one happens to be in Kazakhstan. This is a
fair-sized country sitting directly South of Russia, and not too far away from
China.
Nestled
among the mountains and forests of that country is a most unusual lake. They
call it Lake Kaindy, which translates into “Falling Rocks” or “Landslide Lake”.
An unsettling name, yes, but there’s a reason for it.
A
little more than a hundred years ago, there was a wild valley, heavy with
forest and alive with wild creatures and plant life and all that good
forest-related stuff we all love so dearly. Then, one day, there came a rumble.
Then a roaring, crashing and horrible tumult. It was a powerful and terrifying
earthquake that destroyed most of the city of Almaty, which is about 80 miles (129
km) away from this tranquil little valley.
But
this wilderness did not escape the earthquake, either. The seismic activity
caused a huge landslide, resulting in huge amounts of limestone tumbling down a
nearby mountainside and into the valley, forming a kind of natural dam, blocking the river. Water pooled in
the valley and, with time, it became a full-fledged, brand new lake. Not only was
the tranquil little valley not so tranquil anymore, but it wasn’t even a
valley!
In
spite of these rather formidable challenges, however, the trees made up their
minds that they weren’t going anywhere. And there they stand to this day,
exactly where they were a century ago, but now submerged in as much as 98 feet
(30 meters) of water! Of course they’re quite deceased by now, so above water,
all branches are long gone and all that remains are the dry, naked tree tops,
looking like so many giant toothpicks sticking out of the water, and creating a
bit of an obstacle course for a worthy canoeist.
But if
you happen to have some scuba gear, and if you are trained to safely and
properly use that gear, you’re in for quite an experience. The view is quite
different below the water line.
The
trees still stand spread around just as they were when the sun shone down on
them and deer and rabbits wandered among them. Because they’re protected from
the weather down there, the branches are still on the trees, reaching out in
all directions. And the algae and lake plants draped over all the branches look
startlingly like living, green needles! It’s as if the forest were as alive as
ever!
The
entire effect is a little eerie and very unusual. It’s a forest, frozen in
time, and completely submerged on the lake bed. Where grass once grew, it’s now
all sand. Where birds once fluttered in the branches, fish may now peek out.
But otherwise, it looks just like any other forest. It just happens to be
underwater!
It’s
another one of Mother Nature’s amazing treasures.
Photo by Jonas Satkauskas
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