The lake is 1.5 km long and nearly runs out of water due to the death pit

The water in Slade Lake recedes to the death pits below, revealing a large area of ​​arid lake bed.

Slade Lake is located near the town of Oxford in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia Province, nearly out of water due to geological activity underground, Chronicle Herald reported on June 19. This lake is about 1.5 km long and 200m wide.

Picture 1 of The lake is 1.5 km long and nearly runs out of water due to the death pit
Lake Slade lost a great deal of water due to the death pit. (Photo: Chronicle Herald).

"The most obvious cause is the water receding into the death pits at the bottom of the lake . It is possible that the underlying plaster has decayed, the sediment or the plants in the lake have dropped. We cannot confirm it because we have not been able to observe the bottom." ", explains Amy Tizzard, a geologist at the Nova Scotia Energy and Mining Department. Points of great depth inside the lake still contain water.

Slade is one of many lakes located along a 5km long strip of karst terrain southwest of Oxford town. Karst contains plaster, salt and other minerals that can be dissolved in water. At that time, the underground cave may collapse, creating sinkholes. Slade, like other lakes here, actually consists of a series of connected sinkholes. A geology study of this area published in 2019 also warns of the risk of further subsidence.

Picture 2 of The lake is 1.5 km long and nearly runs out of water due to the death pit
Satellite image of Lake Slade on June 17, 2020. (Photo: Copernicus EU / Sentinel-2).

Since the beginning of May, when the water level has been lowered, Tizzard visits Slade Lake every week. She also wants to remind people that some research is underway in the lake and that terrain vehicles can affect passing.

This may not be the end for Slade Lake yet. Some people call Slade Ho Can because it used to run out of water before. "However, Lake Slade has not run out of water this much since the 1970s," Tizzard said.