Grüner See: The lake that turns into underwater park from the snowmelt in spring

Nature never stops surprising us with her masterpieces like the Green Lake.Green lake or Grüner See is a lake with emerald-green water located in Styria, Austria in the village Tragöß.

Surrounded by the Hochsachwab Mountains and forests, the Green Lake has been an attraction for tourists all over the World because of its clean and clear water. The water comes from the snowmelt from the mountains and has a temperature of 6-7 C.

Grüner See (Green Lake) against Meßnerin in May 2007. Photo Credit

 

Grüner See. Photo Credit

During winter, the lake is only 1-2 m deep and the surrounding area is used as a county park. However, the emerald-green water from which the name ‘Green Lake’ originated, isn’t the only reason why tourists want to visit this place.

In spring, when the temperature rises and snow melts, the basin of land below the mountains fills up with water. The lake reaches its maximum depth of around 12 m from mid-May to June and is claimed to look the most beautiful at this time.

What’s most interesting about this lake is that the county park is totally underwater during this period. The park fills up with ice-cold crystal water which gets its distinctive green coloring from the grass and foliage beneath. A bridge, bench, trails and trees can be seen and photographed while exploring the depths of this underwater world, with its variety of fauna such as snails, water fleas, flies, larvae, small crabs, and different spices of trout.

A bench in the underwater park. Photo Credit

 

A diver exploring the depths of the Green Lake. Photo Credit

The lake was also popular among divers who could observe the green meadows in the edge zone of the lake, particularly in June when the water is at its highest.

Unfortunately, the underwater park is no longer open for tourist visits because of the unexpected damage that took place to this sensitive environment. The use of the lake for all water sports has also been prohibited since 1 January 2016.

The Green Lake in spring. Photo Credit

The more people hear about this lake, the more they want to visit it, but respecting nature is far more important than fulfilling traveling wishes. Let’s not forget that nature is the one giving the Earth and us these beautiful places so we can admire and protect them, but she can also take them away if we disrespect her.

Read another story from us: Russian photographer captures stunning images of frozen Lake Baikal, the oldest and deepest lake in the world

Let’s not forget that nature is the one giving the Earth and us these beautiful places so we can admire and protect them, but she can also take them away if we disrespect her.