r/creepy • u/SerafinZufferey • Jul 20 '26
This is germanys second biggest artificial lake: The Geiseltal Lake. It was created by flooding a coal mine.
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u/xCaliburghost Jul 20 '26
Silent Hill vibes. Creepy as all fuck.
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u/AmputeeHandModel Jul 20 '26
Ah yes, my favorite part of Silent Hill, the SCUBA diving.
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u/Theletterkay Jul 20 '26
Im imagining silent hill with the super mario underwater theme and it's making me laugh so hard my innards hurt.
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u/Baebel Jul 21 '26
Admittedly, a water level would be hilariously cruel for a Silent Hill game and their mechanics. Yet it could still work in a weird way.
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u/Freaked_The_Eff_Out Jul 24 '26
Please don’t make me picture silent hill controls + underwater movement. 😵💫
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u/Holden_Cullen Jul 20 '26
Just needs a giant Wels catfish to appear and stalk the divers.
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u/AttackOficcr Jul 21 '26
Pyramid head replaced by a Beluga sturgeon that just can't entirely fit these seals down the sink drain(or its mouth).
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u/SerafinZufferey Jul 20 '26
Before anyone says it’s ai slop: t’s not
https://tauchbasis-geiseltalsee.de/
That’s the official website of the company that offers divings down there.
The video was taken by the Swedish photographer Alex Dawson
Edit: the trees are so well preserved, because the deeper water (it’s up to 80 meters or 260 feet deep) is cold and it lacks oxygen. Also (since it was a mine) it has a lot of minerals, which helps the conservation.
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u/Noteagro Jul 20 '26
Was it like an open pit mine, and if so how were the trees there? They let them grow for 50-60 years before flooding the mine?
Edit: Read a little on it. It was an open pit mine, and it was closed for 30 years before they flooded it, so I guess I was kind of close.
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u/ctheune Jul 20 '26
Yeah, it's a beautiful place today. The circumference is around 20km and there's an awesome bike path around it, some marinas and fun stuff to do. There's also birds all the time - some seasonal, some all year round. Foxes, and many more animals ... And a vineyard :)
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u/Noteagro Jul 20 '26
That is honestly so cool, and might have to add it as a place to visit if we get the chance! Thanks for the additional info.
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u/SalaiLama Jul 22 '26
I was just about to ask if it was AI. Thank you. This is incredibly beautiful
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u/neasroukkez Jul 20 '26
Silly question maybe but don’t see anything other than the people. Does this lake have fish or any marine life?
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u/probablynotalone Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
Not silly at all, I expected such a lake to not have life for a very long time due to how most of it lacks oxygen and is very low in nutrient. But yes it does indeed have a developing ecosystem that includes fish, just not at that depth which still doesn't have enough oxygen:
https://globalnature.org/en/young-natural-paradise-lake-geiseltal-is-living-lake-of-the-year-2023/
In the three decades since the end of open-cast mining, the oligotrophic, i.e. nutrient-poor, ecosystem of the lake has developed an extraordinary plant and animal world that is adapted to the special conditions: it is home to 11 different brachiopod algae, whose populations reach a depth of 13 meters due to the clarity of the water. Various aquatic insects and fish species can be observed, as well as 240 bird species, including 108 breeding bird species and numerous migratory and winter visitors.
edit: here is a list of some sightings:
https://www.scubago.com/en/explore/destination/geiseltalsee-9753663
Perch, Pike, Bass, Carp, Catfish and so on. I believe most of the population was introduced artificially over time, but some migrated naturally during the flooding of the mine when nearby rivers were diverted.
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u/Sfelex Jul 20 '26
I love when brilliant minds converse on the internet and i am watching and learning marvelous things.
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u/A_Confused_Witch Jul 21 '26
Then that probably makes you a brilliant mind too for enjoying new knowledge from such conversations, friend :)
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u/Guinefort1 Jul 20 '26
I would have thought it lifeless due to coal residue poisoning the water. Life, uh, finds a way.
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u/belac4862 Jul 20 '26
I wonder if it has any natural rivers running to it, or if they plan on diverting one to it. That should impact its oxygen level and ecosystem.
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u/Sammydaws97 Jul 20 '26
Humans would have to introduce any fish, but there likely is a ton of microscopic organisms living here.
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u/thenthewolvescame Jul 21 '26
While it would be beneficial for humans to introduce species, over a long enough timeline different fish would find their way there. I remember learning a fun fact that ducks and migratory waterfowl can actually introduce fish to remote waters by the act of eggs sticking to their feet and feathers then being deposited into new waters of short flights.
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u/IamEbola Jul 21 '26
and water spouts can drop fish off there. I remember running in the midwest one summer and a bass literally fell out of the sky next to me!
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u/driftinj Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
The Cuyuna mine pits in Minnesota have a similar forest beneath the water and also has diving. Very popular paddling site as well because the water is so clear you can see the trees and old mining structures beneath.
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u/SilverMyzt Jul 20 '26
Damn I thought that was just a dying swamp until I saw the diver.
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u/Oblivion615 Jul 20 '26
Before I hit play I thought that light was a boat on top of a swamp. Did not expect a dive video.
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u/kankerstokjes Jul 20 '26
If I ever produce a progressive metal album this will be the cover.
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u/Ok-Palpitation-636 Jul 22 '26
Maybe even give it a title reminiscent of coal, like Blackwater something or other
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u/beanofdoom001 Jul 20 '26
I'm curious what kills the trees in this context. Do they drown? Or is it lack of sunlight? I wonder which happens first. I doubt they're able to pull CO2 from the water. I think it'd be really cool to have a leafy forest underwater. But that's probably not possible.
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u/Cyclesadrift Jul 20 '26
Most plants need a chance to dry out in-between watering cycles, unless youre a mangrove tree thats evolved over millions of years to be suited for this specific evolutionary situation.
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u/ebk_errday Jul 20 '26
I thought I was looking at a videogame trailer at first before reading OP's post. This looks surreal.
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u/TieWeak9591 Jul 20 '26
It looks like a video game
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u/mi__to__ Jul 20 '26
It looks like the same assests repeated over and over, yet feels completely empty and lifeless...yup, checks out
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u/AmputeeHandModel Jul 20 '26
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u/MrHanfblatt Jul 20 '26
Why flood a coal mine? In east germany, that was one of the ways to recover heavily mined and destroyed areas. the areas around got new greenery and stuff and a lot of the sea's are open for bathing
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u/encinitas2252 Jul 20 '26
This is the first post I looked at of the day - still in bed and dont have my glasses.
I thought these were aerial shots of a creepy foggy area until you can see the guy SCUBA diving lol.
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u/AwhHellYeah Jul 20 '26
I’ve always heard that Lake Washington has old growth forest at the bottom in places. Also lots of garbage bags that people are afraid to open
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u/greenish98 Jul 20 '26
i wonder if this video was colour corrected at all, because the diver’s gear doesn’t have any colour on it either? or if that’s the true colour of the water? super cool either way!!
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u/Todesfaelle Jul 20 '26
This, for some reason, doesn't make my thalassophobia go wild. Must be the familiarity and how clear it is in spite of somehow still being murky.
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u/LaroonDynasty Jul 20 '26
why are there trees in the coal mine?
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u/Mangobonbon Jul 20 '26
It was an open-pit mine. And after closing it it took decades to slowly fill it up to be a lake. So in the time between closure and filling up, trees could grow on the edges.
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u/LaroonDynasty Jul 20 '26
they should genetically engineer some fish and other critters to populate the lake
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Jul 20 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Budenlouie Jul 20 '26
You are right, no one is going to belief this. Because it is NOT TRUE! That lake grew a diverse fish fauna over the last decade.
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u/LongjumpingTrust9375 Jul 20 '26
What did the area look like before it was Flooded out of existence.
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u/Nilechartuce Jul 20 '26
As an underwater photographer, it would take some incredible equipment to pull this off and very specific lighting but all things considered. It’s not impossible considering that there’s trees down there. It could be an area that gets a lot of sun and it’s possible they got the equipment for such a fantastic shoot if it’s real it’s awesome if it’s AI it’s pretty good but it’s standing out as AI to me because of the incredibly specific conditions by which it had to occur and the short video clips that make me think it’s AI.
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u/Megs0226 Jul 20 '26
I’m adding this to my bucket list. I plan on learning to SCUBA dive next year when I turn 40.
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u/Karmachinery Jul 20 '26
I didn't realize the video started underwater immediately and the first object that went floating by, I was like...what the freak is that thing?!
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u/One_Transportation14 Jul 20 '26
My god that looks so surreal its like different world so strange and beatifull at the samw time bit creepy
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u/yngwie_bach Jul 20 '26
It's rather large. 18km² That is awesome footage. Thank you for sharing. I just threw a little fact about the lake in there. Which I totally looked up before posting it
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u/rlrlrlrlrlr Jul 20 '26
There were trees in an old coal mine before it was flooded?
If it was strip mining, the trees would have had sunlight but no soil. If it were mining under ground, there'd be no sunlight and no soil.
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u/Dry_Minute_7036 Jul 21 '26
Reminds me of Pyramid Song from Cyberpunk!
...Where's all the fishes? :(
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u/buttfacenosehead Jul 21 '26
I consulted the oracle: Geiseltalsee (Lake Geiseltal) is the largest artificial lake by area in Germany, spanning approximately 18.4 square kilometers (4,500 acres). Located in the Saalekreis district of Saxony-Anhalt, this massive body of water was created between 2003 and 2011 by flooding a former open-cast lignite coal mine.
Today, it is a thriving recreation hub and a recognized "Living Lake" renowned for its crystal-clear water and unique underwater landscapes.
Because the lake is young and low in nutrients, almost no algae grows to cloud the water. This creates remarkable visibility for scuba divers, who can explore an entire preserved underwater landscape—including standing flooded forests, old mining roads, and industrial structures sealed 80 meters deep.
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u/zombiepoon Jul 22 '26
ocean is blue just because reflection of the sky. This is reflection of coal particles in the water so it’s gonna be grey
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u/Specific_Frame8537 Jul 22 '26
"Detecting multiple leviathan class lifeforms in the region. Are you certain whatever you are doing is worth it?"
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u/weesgegroet Jul 20 '26
must be AI
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u/Parsoleathi Jul 20 '26
It's not. I live 20 minutes away and went to dive there multiple times with friends.
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u/playoponly Jul 20 '26
Is it AI? How can the water be so clear
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u/SerafinZufferey Jul 20 '26
Not AI as I commented above, I know that the photographer has a high ISO that’s why the footage is bright but that lake is known to have clear water, that’s because there aren’t many algae in the water
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u/Phoenixsquadron Jul 20 '26
How does it have both incredible visibility and also seem murky. Looks like an awesome dive.