Lake Kaindy aka, the “birch tree lake”, is a 400-meter-long (1,300 ft) lake in Kazakhstan that reaches depths near 30 meters (98 ft) in some areas. It is located 129 kilometers (80 mi) east-southeast of the city of Almaty and is 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) above sea level. The lake was created as the result of an enormous limestone landslide, triggered by the 1911 Kebin earthquake.
The track to Lake Kaindy has many scenic views to the Saty Gorge, the Chilik Valley, and the Kaindy Gorge. But most fascinating of all, dried-out trunks of submerged Picea schrenkiana trees rise above the surface to this day i.e, after a 100 years.
Lake Kaindy (pronounce it Kah-yindi) in its colorful glory. The sunken forest has survived thus far, thanks to the water that is barely above freezing. The tree leaves underneath are actually quite well preserved.
Whichever way they fell, the top part dried out while the rest underwater stayed intact giving the impression that they all turned upside down before resting.
The clean blue water, the scenic view around and the history make for a compelling reason to visit the place in this Central Asian, former Soviet nation of Kazakhstan.
Images: 500px.com