Diving in Austria: Grüner See

September 14, 2012 9:57 AM

About 800 meters (a half mile) above sea level is Grüner See (Google maps), or Green Lake, fairly centrally located in Austria. Named for the emerald green color of the lake, which is the setting for nice hiking trails, camping and fishing in the fall and early spring when the water is lowest (Google auto-translate, original Austrian site), and a popular cold water diving location in the late spring through summer as snow melts and increases the water depth up to 12 meters (~ 40 ft), submerging trees for a few months, allowing you to swim around park benches, over hiking trails and past fish (Vimeo | more videos).
posted by filthy light thief (10 comments total)

Ooh! I think I've been there! it is indeed lovely.
posted by Artw at 10:04 AM on September 14, 2012

Beautiful. I've seen stills of this, but not video. Thanks.
posted by jquinby at 10:05 AM on September 14, 2012

If you click on nothing else in this post, click the video.
posted by vacapinta at 10:07 AM on September 14, 2012

How does that work? The plants, I mean? FLowers? Do they just take oxygen out of the water?
posted by notsnot at 10:14 AM on September 14, 2012

Quite near me there are lakes of extraordinary color (scroll down). Though perhaps not as interesting as the Gruner See, they are meromictic, which is pretty cool.
posted by kinnakeet at 10:16 AM on September 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

There are many lakes like this in the Salzkammergut region of Austria, including Mondsee, Wolfgangsee, and Attersee. The region is quite nice for all sorts of outdoor activities.
posted by moonbiter at 10:42 AM on September 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Breathtaking video. Thank you.
posted by PercussivePaul at 11:31 AM on September 14, 2012

I love Austria. I thought the people would be all 'That's not a knife', but they're actually quite normal.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 4:44 PM on September 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Do the plants and the flowers stay like that during the whole flood period, or do they waterlog and drown after a few days?
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:01 PM on September 14, 2012

This is just speculation on my behalf and a very brief bit of research, but it looks like plants can grow underwater, if the water is clear and still enough. An extreme example of this is the moss that lives deep in Crater Lake. Given that Grüner See fills up with snow melt, the water level slowly rises and is "crystal clear," which could allow for plants to continue to grow. I'd also guess that because this is a natural occurrence that has happened for thousands of years or more, that the plants that usually get submerged would now be the sort that survive under water for months.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:39 PM on September 14, 2012