Oregon’s Aptly Named Lost Lake Drains Through Collapsed Lava Tunnel
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SPRINGFIELD, Ore., May 6 (UPI) — Officials with Oregon’s Willamette National Forest said a collapsed lava tube is to blame for the aptly-named Lost Lake’s annual disappearance.
Jude McHugh, a spokeswoman for the Willamette National Forest, said a lava tube — a tunnel-like structure created to drain lava during a volcanic eruption — collapsed under Lost Lake, causing the body of water to drain and became a meadow after each winter.
“In Lost Lake, this particular lava tube collapsed and became the drain hole for that lake,” McHugh told ABC News.
The Bend Bulletin created a YouTube video showing the process of the lake’s annual draning.
Officials said the lake is constantly draining through the 6-foot-wide hole, but the phenomenon is more apparent during drier months, when the lake is not being filled by precipitation.