VANISHING LAKE.

Evening Star, Issue 14931, 18 July 1912, Page 6

VANISHING LAKE.

A XORTHWICH .MYSTERY. A lake called Dunkirk, at Xortbwich, which iras formed many years ago, began early on the morning of Mav 19 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 2 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, in 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 ia due to meteorological causes. Owing to the melting of the glacier wall, the lake attains a maximum level once in three or four years. The pressure of the great volume of water causes fissures to appear in the wall, until it becomes as porous as a sponge. Most of the water eventually flows into the Rhone, and disastrous floods are caused in the Rhone Valley in consequence. The man who first arrives in the valley with the news that the Jake is emptying itself is rewarded with a pair of shoes.