Old Man of the Lake
As Old Man of the Lake (to German Old Man of the Sea ) is called an approximately nine-meter long tree stump that maintains at least since 1896 in the Crater Lake in Crater Lake National Park in Oregon floats (USA).
The diameter of the trunk is about 60 centimeters and it protrudes about 120 centimeters from the water. The age of the trunk, which is believed to have come from a hemlock , is estimated to be over 400 years. On it grows moss of the genus Fontinalis , which is normally only found underwater. The trunk always swims upright; Attempts to make it tip over - for example by placing a person on it - failed. He moves in the lake, driven by the wind.
Research history
The stump was first observed in 1896 by the geologist Joseph Diller (1850-1928). In 1902 Diller published a first study on it. He described the stump as stable enough to support the weight of a man and reported that the tree was floating around in the lake: the previous year he had seen it about 400 meters from the site observed in 1896. In-depth studies followed in 1938, according to which the tribe covered a distance of 99.9 kilometers in three months; On a particularly windy day alone it was 6 kilometers (3.8 miles).
The upright swimming of the trunk, which is unusual for wood, has not been conclusively explained scientifically. The most likely theory assumes that the tree had enclosed a heavy stone in its roots when it fell into the water. This stone pulled the trunk vertically downwards for a long time, until the roots had rotted so far that the stone could loosen. During this long time the part above the surface of the water dried out and lost weight, the lower part swelled and retained its stability even after the stone had disappeared. The partly dry trunk is kept on the surface by the buoyancy of the water . The occurrence of spring moss at the upper end suggests that this was also earlier below the surface of the water. The exceptionally good water quality of the lake is seen as a possible reason for the longevity of the trunk, thanks to which the wood decomposes extremely slowly.
Web links
- Katrin Klaus: This tree has been floating vertically in the water for over 120 years - and nobody knows why. Retrieved October 13, 2016 .
- Kevin Grange: The Old Man of the Lake on the website of the National Parks Conservation Association (English)
- Anna Norris: The Mystery behind Oregon's 'Old Man of the Lake'. Retrieved June 24, 2017 .
- John Salinas: The Old Man of the Lake . ( Memento from November 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) In: Nature Notes from Crater Lake National Park , Volume XXVII, No. 5, 1996. (English)
- Wayne E. Kartchner, John E. Doerr, Jr .: Wind Currents In Crater Lake As Revealed By The Old Man Of The Lake . ( Memento from June 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) In: Nature Notes from Crater Lake National Park , Volume XI, No. 3, 1938. (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mike Dash: The Old Man of the Lake. In: A Blast From The Past. Retrieved November 6, 2016 (blog).