Unique and Mysterious Lake Zhurovlyne

Karpaty.Rocks23 July 20262 min read 208

Unique and Mysterious Lake Zhurovlyne — 2

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Журавлине – унікальне та водночас таємниче озеро, яке надзвичайно багате на сірководень. Навколо нього розкинулась болотиста місцевість, а в самому центрі – знаходиться рухомий невеличкий острівець, який сформувався зі сплетених коренів, моху та гілля. Ця місцина досить специфічна, чимось лячна, але на свій лад і прекрасна. Тож якщо хочете дізнатися, як насправді виглядає моторошна краса, тоді вам саме сюди!

However, it should be noted right away that you should not expect the spectacle from Zhurovlyne as you would from Baikal. Here, no one will offer you to ride water skis, a catamaran, or a jet ski, and swimming in these waters is not even worth considering…

Lake Zhurovlyne is located in NPP "Skole Beskydy" near the Kam'yanyets Waterfall. The body of water has an irregular oval shape; the water, although dark, is clear. The lake is surrounded on all sides by a marshy area, which adds its own "oppressive charm". On the shores, there are characteristic plants for such a locality, including aspen and bog cranberry. Zhurovlyne is surrounded by a dense spruce-fir forest on all sides.

The lake also has another name – the Dead Lake. This is how the body of water is called because its waters are saturated with hydrogen sulfide, which means that higher living organisms do not survive here. No one knows exactly how Zhurovlyne was formed, just as no one knows the actual depth of the water body (it is impossible to measure it due to the large number of fallen trees in the water).

Local residents say that once there was a ravine in this area, into which melted water flowed from the hills. Over time, leaves, coniferous branches, rotten twigs, and trees that had fallen due to storms or snow began to accumulate here, resulting in the formation of a small pond with stagnant "rotten" water, from which hydrogen sulfide is constantly released (due to the decay of accumulated debris).

Due to the strange properties of Zhurovlyne, the local population avoided it for a long time, giving quite mystical explanations for the processes of strange "bubbling" on the surface of the lake and the abnormally dark waters. It is rumored that travelers disappear without a trace in the local swamps after winter or a rainy summer… Well, anything could happen here, as the area is only a few dozen meters from the tourist trail and is actually very sticky and marshy.

However, today the road to the Dead Lake from Skole (8.5 km from the city center to the water body) is completely safe, as the paths are marked and there are signs everywhere, so getting lost in the dark forest full of all sorts of wonders is unlikely.