The underground lake “The Lost Sea”, in Tennessee, was discovered in 1905 by a teenager named Ben Sands while playing in a huge cave. At the lake, he found a cave so huge that it was impossible to see the end with his lantern. When he told of his discovery to his parents, they did not believe him at first and when they finally decided to go there, the water level had risen and made the entrance to the cave invisible. It was rediscovered several years later.
“The Lost Sea” has long been considered the largest underground lake in the world. Today it is the second largest underground lake in the world after the Dragon Breath Chasm located in Namibia. At its highest capacity, the lake has a visible surface of 1.8 hectares. In the 1970s, specialists cave divers have explored several rooms completely immersed without ever reaching the end of the cave.
Today, “The Lost Sea” is one of the US top attractions. The site is open every day of the year except Christmas. Guided tours are organized with the high point, the tour on a glass bottom boat that starts at the bottom of the cave and can see the depths of the lake through the walls of the vessel. The tour lasts approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. Located 42 meters below ground level, the temperature remains pleasant, around 14 ° C.
On the course of the cave leading to the underground lake, it is possible to admire geological formations made of rare crystal structures of screens called “anthodites”. Commonly called “cave flowers”, these clusters form of sharp structures are fragile and only exist in some caves in the world.
In 2007-2008, during a severe drought, the lake level fell by 8.5 meters, which has significantly reduced the area. It was then possible to see a cave above the lake level which, under normal circumstances, is completely submerged.