Here’s a firsthand look at the water escaping down a lava tube at Oregon’s Lost Lake. But where it goes, nobody knows.
For as long as anyone can remember, the waters of the lake have grown in the springtime and then slipped down a lava tube in the summer until the former lake is just a prairie. Now thanks to the fact that everything in the world is caught on video, we have a first-hand look at the water escaping before our very eyes.
The Bend Bulletin’s Ryan Brenneke has the video from the lake located in the Willamette National Forest. Because of low snow levels this year, the water flowing into Lost Lake is not enough to make up for the rate of escape.
Throughout the Cascade Range and Central Oregon, volcanic formations have created similar lava tubes. They are formed when a flowing lava tube hardens at the top but continues flowing underneath creating a tunnel. They can be the size of a manhole or as large as a subway tunnel.
While the science behind the tunnel at Lost Lake is well understand, just exactly where the water goes is still a mystery.
Photo credit: Youtube screenshot
