Sørvágsvatn Lake (Optical Illusion Lake), Kingdom of Denmark

Sørvágsvatn is the largest lake in the Faroe Islands. It is situated on the island of Vágar between the municipalities of Sørvágur and Vágar. Its area is 3.4 km2, more than three times the size of Fjallavatn, the second largest lake, also located on Vágar. 

 

 

The lake is located very close to the ocean, but its surface is about 40 meters above the level of sea. It is surrounded by a higher cliff which prevents it from emptying fully into the ocean, the waterfall Bøsdalafossur being the outlet. The greater height of the cliffs on either side of Bøsdalafossur can give the illusion from certain perspectives that the lake is higher above sea level than it is.

When viewed from afar, its seems that the lake is tilted towards the ocean, but only spills over in one small waterfall. This optical illusion also creates the impression that the reservoir is located hundreds of feet above sea level. In actuality, the elevation difference between the lake and the ocean is only about 40 meters, however, steep and significant elevation changes in the surrounding hills give the lake its seemingly impossible look. The lake is situated in a deep depression, and its towering headland on the 252 and 376 meters on the left and right sides.

There is also some controversy regarding the lake’s name since the people of Sørvágsvatn village take pride in naming the body of water after their home, while the citizens of some of the other nearby towns would rather call the lake, “Leitisvatn” since some of its waters intersect with their towns as well. Yet regardless of what the waters are called, the illusion they create is nothing less than nature pulling a big prank on all of us.