"Magical" whirlpool
“Squirt” pulled into the sea: suction deadly strong
The long-awaited rain has finally come to California. So much of it, in fact, that a lake 100 kilometers northeast of San Francisco has become a tourist attraction. The reason is an unusual overflow protection for Lake Berryessa. This creates a vortex of water that looks as if a plug has been pulled out of a bathtub.
The lake was artificially created in 1957 with the help of a dam. It is fed by Putah Creek, which became a raging river thanks to the winter storms. This caused the water level of Lake Berryessa to rise so dramatically that the Morning Glory Spillway had to be opened.
This is a funnel-shaped opening in the lake bed with a diameter of 23 meters.
When the "plug" is pulled, the water flows out through an underground concrete pipe and shoots out on the other side of the Monticello Dam.
Tourists besiege the lake
According to Peter Kilkus, publisher of the Lake Berryessa News newspaper, this has only happened four times in the last three decades - most recently six years ago: "There's almost nowhere else in the world like this. We are attracting more tourists right now than in the entire summer months."
Warning from the authorities
The authorities warn onlookers not to get the idea of approaching the whirlpool by boat. Because the suction is deadly.
In 1997, eyewitnesses saw a woman named Emily Schwalek swimming in the lake and being pulled into the depths by the undertow. The 41-year-old's body was recovered several miles away from the exit of the emergency drain in Putah Creek.
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