Heaven Lake

Where is Heaven Lake?

Countries on its shores: China, North Korea.

Middle of the lake: 42.01° N, 128.06° E

The story behind it

Heaven Lake fills a giant hollow at the top of a volcano. This hollow is called a caldera, and it was made by a huge eruption in the year 946. The volcano has erupted again since then, for example in 1597, 1668 and 1702. The lake is up to 384 metres deep, and one river, the Erdaobai, flows out of it. Two hot springs feed the water, but the lake is still one of the coldest lakes in the world, because it lies so high. From mid-October to mid-June it is usually frozen. Some people tell stories about the Lake Tianchi Monster, a mysterious creature that visitors say they have seen. The lake is shared roughly half and half by China and North Korea. Most lakes in Korea are man-made reservoirs, and the natural ones are small, so Heaven Lake is the largest natural lake in North Korea. A walk around the whole shore is 12 to 14 kilometres long.

Find it on the globe

Heaven Lake is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.