Cavechat.org

A friend of mine owns a 100 acre lake in south Georgia. Every year during the dry season the lake drains through a cave. It is amazing to see a 100 acre lake drain in several hours. As far as I know I am the first person to venture past the entrance of the cave. It is fairly big ( it has not been surveyed yet) and unique, especially for the area. Has anyone ever seen anything like this?

Why does the lake drain? On purpose?

There's probably a nearby water way that the cave drains into when the water table lowers. The lake's not very deep, is it?

This happens near Tallahassee every few years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpbczFIKH8I

The lake drains naturally. There is a river about 2 miles away and the lake probably averages 20 ft deep and is 70 ft deep over the cave.

Google "Turlough" for more examples.

That's pretty wild. PM sent...

There is also a turlough in a small village on the Gulf of Trieste in Italy I think. I can't remember the name of it. I actually just watched a documentary a couple of days ago called "The Karst Between Heaven and Hell" It talks a little about the cave system there that I seem to remember it saying was the second largest in the world, but I could be wrong. It was very interesting. The lake will just drain for no reason at all and the locals have to run out and salvage as many of the fish as they can to put in special tanks. Then for no explainable reason at all the water fills back up after a rain. Nobody knows why or when either will happen. I highly suggest the program for those of you that enjoy documentaries.

chynabear wrote:I actually just watched a documentary a couple of days ago called "The Karst Between Heaven and Hell" It talks a little about the cave system there that I seem to remember it saying was the second largest in the world, but I could be wrong.

FYI, this doc is hosted on Hulu.

This sinkhole formed in the last month. A month ago this lake was completely full and emptied in a matter of minutes! It is a different lake than the one I mentioned before, but about a mile away.

any opening in the bottom?

Yes. But it is blocked by trees and roots. And since the ground still looks very unstable, I am going to wait until I check it out.

There is a large, disappearing lake in Presque Isle county, Michigan. When the lake drains into the karst below, it does so rapidly, and often forms a whirlpool.

http://www.caves.org/conservancy/mkc/preserve_mv.html

Very interesting phenomenon, wild pictures too.

--Bryant

can I reclaim that cypress for you. Worth $1,000's.