Dominica's Boiling Lake
The Boiling Lake is located in the heart of Morne Trois Pitons Nationa Park. The
first recorded sighting of the Lake was in 1870 by Mr. Watt and Dr. Nicholls,
two Englishmen working in Dominica at that time. The water temperature ranges
from 180 to 197 degrees Fahrenheit (82-91.5 Celsius) along the edges. The temperature
at the center of lake which is actively boiling could not be measured. The depth
of the lake is greater that 195ft(59m).
The Lake appears like a cauldron of bubbling greyish-blue water that is usually
enveloped in a cloud of vapour. The lake is approximately 200ft(63m) across and
its present depth is unknown. The side of the lake are a mixture of clay, purmice
and small stones. It is believed that the Lake is actually a flooded fumarole, a
crake through which gases escape from the molten lava below, rather than a
volcanic crater. The natural basin of the Boiling Lake collects the rainfall from
the surrounding hills and from two small streams which empty into the lake. The
water seeps through the porous bottom to the hot lava below where it is trapped
and heated to boiling point. The Boiling Lake is one of the largest in the world.
