CBBH Photo Challenge: Souvenir from the Ice Age

Remains of the last Ice Age live on in New York City!

When the glaciers retreated from North America 15,000 to 17,000 years ago, they left depressions, called kettle ponds, where ice sat and melted. The ice was heavy so the ponds were often deep, and many remain to this day. One of them is Oakland Lake, in the residential northeastern portion of the city. The lake sits at the bottom of a ravine that is lush with vegetation. Of course, all I noticed was poison ivy so I steered clear of that foliage.

The lake is fed by underwater springs. Until fairly recently the lake was thought to be so deep that there was a deadly underwater current. We really believed in the undertow. Apparently, so did many other people: A 1969 diving expedition debunked the myths and discovered that the lake was only about twenty feet deep. It still scares me, though.

It’s a pretty oasis, with geese, swans and catch-and-release fishing. The areas immediately around the lake are nicely landscaped. With all the history behind it, what is physically behind Oakland Lake shakes you back into modern reality: a paved street, a ballfield, and the low roar of nearby highway traffic.

(The lake is part of Alley Pond Park)

(And this post is for the Conejo Blanco Photo Challenge! It’s a blog hop, so here are two blogs that you might like. They have beautiful photography:

An American in Norway, A Citizen of the World

Uncle Spike’s Adventures