Large lake in Chile goes missing

[Raph's Girl]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070620/sc_nm/chile_lake_dc_1

A lake in southern Chile has mysteriously disappeared, prompting speculation the ground has simply opened up and swallowed it whole.

The lake was situated in the Magallanes region in Patagonia and was fed by water, mostly from melting glaciers.

It had a surface area of between 4 and 5 hectares (10-12 acres) -- about the size of 10 soccer pitches.

"In March we patrolled the area and everything was normal ... we went again in May and to our surprise we found the lake had completely disappeared," said Juan Jose Romero, regional director of Chile's National Forestry Corporation CONAF.

"The only things left were chunks of ice on the dry lake-bed and an enormous fissure," he told Reuters.

CONAF is investigating the disappearance.

One theory is that the area was hit by an earth tremor that opened a crack in the ground which acted like a drain.

Southern Chile has been shaken by thousands of minor earth tremors this year.

This is what's left of the lake:
http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20070621/2007_06_20t184358_450x338_us_chile_lake.jpg

Raph's Girl note: Jimmony cricket! :o

[Demented Utrom]

A oil company, was pumping out the water.Oil companies, use lake water pump into the hole they drill to bring the oil up.Well it looks like they finally destroyed a lake doing this.Earthquake nice cover up. How I know, this a lake I live 20 minutes away has hardly any water anymore.

[Revan]

Galactus is coming! Head for the hills. Destroy the surfer!

[Leogeddon]

wow, interesting, i have a friend who lives in chile, i must report this to him!!
but im sure he already knows... how on earth can that happen? Seems as though the end of the world is coming... I wonder if we can find gold down there...

[Scandia]

My first thought- not to mention fear- was that it had evaporated due to a drought.

[Swany]

Well, so much for there always being a constant volume if water in earth. (I paid attention in geography :))

It'll turn up...eventally. Probably not as a lake again.

[RaphistheBest]

That's pretty niffty when you think about it. I mean one month there's a lake and the next time you visit it's gone? Interesting. Yea, it sucks but that's still really crazy how something like that happens. Whether it be earthquakes or oil companies, either way... wow.