This is how the locals call Lake Sobolkho (Sobolka among the common people), which is located, as they say, in one of the forgotten corners of Buryatia (Yeravninsky district, near the village of Domny), because too often people and livestock disappear here in an inexplicable way … Official data on there are no missing numbers, but there are tragic stories from residents of the surrounding settlements. Perhaps the rumors, as often happens, are somewhat exaggerated, but the facts also indicate that people on the lake really disappear, as well as the cattle that wandered here. At the same time, it is impossible to find anyone at the bottom, and the bottom itself, too … By the way, in translation the word "sable" literally means "bottomless."
According to eyewitnesses, even good swimmers begin to suddenly fall into the depths of the reservoir, as if someone grabbed them by the leg and pulled them. Often the unfortunate people do not even have time to call for help, so events develop with lightning speed … Sobolkho is distinguished by another feature, which is confirmed by the researchers: in the dark, pink light spills over the water. Local residents believe that in this way the spirits of the drowned are warning of the danger of the living. Or the mermaids play with mermaids, who are also suspected of treachery here, attributing to them the death of people and animals …
However, scientists explain this phenomenon by refraction in the atmosphere of light and humidity: the lake water contains a luminescent substance, which, reflected in the smallest drops of air, colors it in such a specific way … The mystical depth of Sobolkho attracts researchers and divers to the reservoir. Most likely, the lake has a bottom, but it has not yet been found. In general, scientific research is very dangerous here. According to rumors, one diver was pulled into an underground funnel by a water stream and then thrown from another similar funnel onto the bank … of the Vitim River, which is located a few hundred meters from Sobolka. The man survived because he had a supply of oxygen, but his experience shows how people practically drown in the lake without a trace …
All of these mysterious events provide scientists with rich food for thought. Many of them believe, for example, that the lake is through and through canals is connected with other bodies of water. Sobolkho is essentially a karst sinkhole, the depth of which is several times the diameter of the lake. Regular water exchange between the canals and the temperature difference on the surface and in the depth lead to the formation of strong underwater currents in Sobolkho. People and animals caught in such a course are practically doomed, they are drawn to a depth that, according to some scientists, can exceed three hundred meters.
However, a diver with a life-saving supply of oxygen is not the only exception to this rule. So, the local residents say that they came across the lucky ones who were "spat out" by the river flowing near Sobolkho. And therefore, rumors about the through lake have long been circulating in these places, as usual, acquiring "mystical details." From these gloomy touches, a general ominous picture called "The Lake of Fear" is formed …
By the way, Buryat scientists every year are going to thoroughly investigate Lake Sobolkho in order, as they say, to dot all the i's, but something seems to interfere with this scientific research. Isn't the mysterious body of water itself?..