VANISHING LAKE MYSTERY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12814, 13 July 1912, Page 2 (Supplement)

VANISHING LAKE MYSTERY.

MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER LOST. LONDON, June 1. A lake called Dunkirk at Northwich, which was formed many years ago, began early m the morning to empty itself, many millions of gallons of water disappearing, presumably into some old salt workings hundreds of feet below. Rumbling noises like thunder were heard during the night.. The lake covers an area of two acres, and the water, has already sunk. 20ft. The lake" is fed- by a brook. The Maerjelen Lake, at the foot of the great Aletsch Glacier, m the Canton of Wallis, Switzerland, temporarily vanishes about the end of August every three or four years. The water returns during the following winter and spring. Scientists state that the phenomenon is due to meteorological causes. Owing to the melting of, -the* glacier wall the lako attains a maximum level once m three or four years. The pressure of the great volume of water causes fissures to appear m the wall until it becomes as porous as a sponge. '.'•■---'.

Most of- the' water eventually, flows into the Rhone, and disastruos are caused m the Rhone Valley m consequence.

The man who first arrives m r the valley with the news that the lake is emptying itself is rewarded with a pair of shoes.