Interesting Facts
Name: Lake Tar
Location: Luzon, Philippines
Coordinates: 14.010735479473858, 121.00071271847021
Why it’s intriguing: Lake Taal features an island that hosts a lake which itself has an island.
Lake Taal is a volcanic crater lake situated in the Philippines, renowned for its extraordinary geology characterized by nested islands and water bodies. Researchers posit that the craters emerged from a series of eruptions between 140,000 and 5,380 BC, but the landscape has evolved significantly since then.
This lake occupies the Taal Volcanic Caldera, a bowl-shaped depression created when the Taal Volcano erupted violently in ancient times. The water originates from the sea, flowing from Balayan Bay through the Panshipit River. Early volcanic eruptions produced an island within Lake Taal, recognized as a volcanic island.
These volcanic islands lie within lakes that are themselves part of larger maritime bodies. Notably, the Main Crater Lake, located here, contains its own island called Balkan Point. According to UNESCO, shaped by primitive volcanic activity, this geology features “islands in lakes within islands.” This intricate system comprises Vulcan Point, Main Crater Lake, Volcanic Island, Lake Taal, and Luzon.
Initially, Lake Taal was a saltwater lake linked to the Western Philippine Sea. As UNESCO notes, a substantial eruption of Taal Volcano in 1754 caused significant material displacement in the Pansipit River, transforming Lake Tar into a rainwater catchment and gradually converting it to a freshwater lake, according to the University of the Philippines.
Related: Kawah Ijen: Volcanoes in Indonesia
UNESCO reports that species trapped in the lake after the 1754 eruption adapted to the freshwater ecosystem and evolved into unique species. For instance, Taal Lake is the only habitat for the freshwater sardine (Sardinella Tawilis) as well as home to the endemic Lake Tar snake (Hydrophis semperi), a venomous sea snake not found elsewhere on the planet.
“The shift of Lake Tar from saline to freshwater conditions fosters continuous evolutionary change in flora and fauna in response to geological events, providing opportunities for ongoing scientific exploration,” UNESCO stated on its website.
Researchers have documented 38 eruptions of the Taal Volcano in the past 450 years. The most recent eruption took place in 2020, prompting evacuations in nearby towns after 43 years of dormancy, covering the volcanic island with ash.
Currently, due to its geological characteristics, Lake Taal ranks as the third-largest lake in the Philippines. While it is designated as part of the Taal Volcano Conservation area, the ecosystem faces threats from overfishing, tourism, and water extraction. According to the World Lake Database.
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Source: www.livescience.com