Lake Nahuel Huapi has changed color

 

Pale color on lake Nahuel Huapi (usual color is navy blue). From [2].

Nahuel Huapi, the lake where Nahuelito the most famous of Patagonia's cryptids lives, has changed its color.

According to an article published today, [1] the lake changed color, after an earthquake shook the Bio Bio region in Chile last Sunday afternoon (it had an intensity of 6.9).

The color has shifted the lake's deep blue waters to a paler tone, and the unusual phenomenon began in front of the city of San Carlos de Bariloche and spread out across the eastern (shallower) tip of the lake.

Scientists believe that the lake's shelf, which have sediments and even ancient volcanic ash, were shaken by the quake and they, being unstable on the shelf's slope, slid and mixed with the water, where they became suspended. It may take some time for them to decant and sediment on the lake's bed.

This is very similar to what happened at Lake Huechulafquen, a few hundred kilometers north of Nahuel Huapi, which also changed color last year.

Update 01.02.2011: The cause was excess sediments flowing into the lake due to heavy rains. (See my post on it: Nahuel Huapi back to its usual color)

Sources.

[1] Cambio el Color del lago Nahuel Huapi y lo atribuyen al terremoto en Chile. Clarin. 04.01.2011.
[2] El lago Nahuel Huapi cambió de color y dicen que podría ser por un sismo. Diario Jornada. 04.01.2011.

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Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia

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