Lake Merzbacher is a
moraine glacier lake located in east
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
between the north and south
Engilchek Glacier
Engilchek Glacier ( ky, Эңилчек, russian: Энильчек - ''Enilchek'', also Иныльчек - ''Inylchek'') is a glacier in the Central Tian Shan Mountains of Issyk-Kul Region, northeastern Kyrgyzstan. Its snout is 50 km east o ...
s in the
Tien Shan Mountains
The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
.
It is often called the "Disappearing Lake" because it drains every year as the ice melts, often causing a
glacial lake outburst flood
A glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) is a type of outburst flood caused by the failure of a dam containing a glacial lake. An event similar to a GLOF, where a body of water contained by a glacier melts or overflows the glacier, is called a j ...
.
The lake was named after a German explorer, Gottfried Merzbacher, who led an expedition in the area in 1903.
An ice dam prevents the lake from draining through the majority of the year however when a hole finally melts through the dam the lake drains within three days.
When this happens, the lake's discharge can be up to 1000 m
3 a second which causes destruction of infrastructure and creates major flooding downstream.
It goes through this cycle of appearing, expanding and then draining annually.
References
Merzbacher
Issyk-Kul Region
Merzbacher
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