Alaska is known for its many lakes. One of the largest is Lake Iliamna - a lake of glacial-tectonic origin. It is now a popular tourist destination. Lake Iliamna is known to be home to the world's largest population of sockeye salmon. In total, there are 28 species of fish, 5 of which are salmon.
However, a special interest in the lake is based on the possibility of living in its waters of a huge animal unknown to science. It's about creating a fish-like creature, but gigantic in size. The monster with an elongated body and a fish tail reaches a length of 9-10 m. The color resembles dull aluminum, and on the giant's back there is a fin with a white longitudinal stripe.
According to one version, the illis, as this giant is called, is a giant sturgeon.
The aborigines - Aleuts and other indigenous peoples tell stories about the mysterious creature. The Aleuts did not hunt this animal, considering it a serious threat to lonely fishermen in small boats. Sightings of a strange creature in the lake were also reported by white settlers and travelers. Until the 1940s, these reports were largely ignored. The situation changed when pilots of aircraft flying over the lake began to notice shadows too large for ordinary fish in the water column. Details of the descriptions of the giant by the pilots coincided with the descriptions of an unknown animal from the tales of local residents.
There are three known cases of attempts to find and even catch a large lake inhabitant. In 1950, athlete Gil Paust, along with three companions, tried to fish a monster using moose meat bait. According to Post, it was necessary to take a stronger fishing line - the steel cable was broken.
Evidence of encounters with the lake giant came in 1960, 1968, and 1977. In 1988, four people saw the creature at once. And one was on the shore, three in the boat. One of the witnesses observed that the creature had a fin with a white longitudinal stripe on its back.
In 1979, an Anchorage Diary offered a $ 100,000 reward to anyone who presents credible proof of the existence of a mysterious creature in Iliamna Lake. So far, no one has received the award, which means that either no one even saw the creature, or if they did, they could not collect evidence. But there were applicants for the prize.