Meromictic Lakes.....

 No week should go by without learning something new.  So this week I learned about the Green Lakes of New York at Green Lake State Park.  I'd heard of them, but never seen them, and had no idea why they were green.  For those who are interested in a day trip, they are located in Manlius, NY, near Syracuse.  There is an $8/car day-entry fee, that includes use of the beach. No boating is allowed at this time due to Covid regulations. 

This picture has nothing specific to do wiht the story. It's just nice to see Babygirl having a good time.

The waters of the lakes (Green Lake and Round Lake) at Green lake state park are not the typical freshwater lake color we see in the Finger Lakes or local ponds, typically brownish green, or simply reflecive of the sky's current shade.  These lakes have their own tint, that even under the cloudy skies we had that day, tended toward green-turquoise.  

 The color becomes more vivid depending on perspective....

.....or shadowing......

.....or object placement AND shadowing....

The intense green-blue in the center of this photo is the WATER behind the trees. It's the trippiest photo I think I've ever taken. 

The lakes were formed due to a glacial effect that left behind a geologic phenomenon combining a high calcium carbonate content (which is what you see in the water that collects in quarries, resulting in similar coloration), in the top layer, with 2 additional deeper layers of different chemical content and different temperatures that never mix (definining the term "meromictic").  I read the entire explanation a handful of times, and I still don't have a good grip on it and I'm a scientist.  

I will say, we arrived after a sizeable storm, with plenty of evidence of rapid water entry into the lake.  It was VERY still.

Another very interesting thing about the lakes is that they have coral.  I had NO idea that there was such a thing as freshwater coral. 

We hiked the circumference of Green Lake between storms.  We missed Round Lake entirely.

You can't entirely see it, but my T-shirt says, "I run a tight shipwreck."

2020 in a nutshell.

In between the section of the woods below and the one above, Babygirl observed that we had switched from "Narnia" to "The Wizard of Oz."

It was not a complement to the change in ambiance.

Despite the grey skies it was a lovely park to visit.  On a warmer day, the beach would have been inviting.

DeeDee

PS And what were we doing exploring the Syracuse area?  One of the Princess's childhood friend bought her first home in the neighborhood and we had to check it out!

Congrats!  What a find!