Global Warming is one of those things we tend to think about as slowly happening over time in the background; well, at least until a lake just disappears. That is what happened in the Chilean Patagonia recently. A lake fed by a Glacier, suddenly just dried up over about a month. We have reported on the big picture of Global Warming in South America and Southern Chile before, but this is one of those events everyone is perhaps a little to quick to blame on Global warming. Well the lake is now returning. So was this a case of Global Warming in Southern Chile?

The missing lake in Southern Chile was a about 4 to 5 hectares in size and was located in the Bernardo O'Higgins National Park. Park rangers pass the lake about every month. In May, on a regular check they simply found a mud hole where they Lake once was.


There are two competing theories about what happened to the lake. First, and everyone's favorite these days, is Global Warming some how effected the Glacier that feeds the Lake. This theory has been for the most part dismissed by the experts as something that would take longer than a month.

The second theory is that recent earthquakes in southern Chile opened cracks in the bottom of the lake that allowed the lake to drain. Problem with this theory is that no one can find any evidence of the cracks forming.

Well, it seems the lake is now filling up again. What is believed to of happened is a crack formed that drained the water from the lake to a reservoir under the Glacier. The lake water in turn has now melted the Glacier more and is starting to fill the lake once again. So, mas o menos the mystery is solved.

The Chilean government is dispatching a team of experts to investigate. We will report back on their progress in the case of the great disappearing lake in Southern Chile.