Alaska-Some of Our Lakes Explode!
In this photo we are flying out of the small coastal community of Cordova. Cordova is a beautiful fishing community that sits east of Valdez and ESE of Anchorage about 150 air miles. It's best to get to Cordova by one of our ferries the State operates. You can load your pickup, drive on the ferry with your truck and gear then head upstairs for a beer during the 4 hour ride(maybe 6, it depends on the ocean-not always the way to go for those that are apt to get seasick).
The gravel road you see out the airplane window(DeHaviland Beaver) is the end of the line. All our gear is headed to the Bering River about another 100 miles to the east. This is some of the most demanding and "mean" country in Alaska, second only to my adventures on the Alaska Peninsula. We'll be landing on Kushtaka Lake. The early natives gave this Lake its name- it means devil's lake. That was their early take on it anyway. It would explode they said!
Truth be told, in the winter this land and all it's Lakes freeze up. When you fly over these Lakes they are covered with snow and are generally considered big flat spots, great place to land on ski's if needed. I made a flight over this Lake one winter and on the way out saw Kushtaka all covered with snow and frozen.
We went on without thinking any more of it.
When we flew back over Kushtaka several days later it was wide open with chunks of ice in it everywhere. You could see the dark blue water???
As time went by and I did a little research I came to understand what happened that day and why the natives called it a devil's lake. In this photo background you can see the southern tip of the Wrangell Mt's. and Copper River lies just out of sight here. Point being, this is copper and coal country. Coal beds produce methane gas and when it is released in a lake bed and the winter ice freezes over the top, something is eventually going to give- "It Explodes"
There are so many unique things about Alaska... been here 35 years and expect to discover more!
