The Mushyl lake ( chm, Мӱшыл йер, ''Müšyl Jer''), nicknamed the Sea Eye (russian: Морской Глаз, Morskoy Glaz) is a minor
karst lake
Karst lakes are formed as the result of a collapse of caves, especially in water-soluble rocks such as limestone, gypsum and dolomite. This process is known as karstification. They can cover areas of several 100 square kilometres. Their shallow l ...
in
Shariboksad,
Volzhsky District,
Mari El,
Russia. Located at the foot of the hill its bright green water is extremely deep (38.5 m) compared to the surface area (45x50 m).
In 2022 the water level has dropped, leaving the lake nearly dried.
Etymology
Müšyl ([], chm, Мӱшыл) means crater (disambiguation), crater in the Mari language. In early documents it was known only by its Mari name, written in the Russian text with Mari diacritics. Later, Russian-speaking tourists were inspired by the sea-like colour of the water to give it the more poetic Russian name.
Popular culture
According to Mari legend, a wedding procession fell into the Sea Eye and died when it suddenly appeared in an eruption.
The lake has become popular with tourists.
References
{{reflist
Lakes of Mari El
Sinkholes of Europe