A Guy Flew His Drone Over A Strange Hole In A Lake – And It Left Him Floored

Astonishing Sight

Californian local David Burgman captured these awe-inspiring images while flying his drone over the majestic Lake Berryessa, Napa County’s largest lake.  While Burgman was flying his drone over the body of water, he soon spotted an enormous and mysterious lake hole sucking water into its vortex at a shocking speed.

Swirling Vortex

The lake’s water was rushing down what appeared to be some kind of mysterious black hole. The water was being pulled deep into the hole, swirling into it at full speed compelled by some unknown force. How had this bizarre natural occurrence come to be?

Come Closer

David was intrigued and decided to investigate further. He lowered his drone closer and closer to the mouth of the enormous hole. Suddenly, the seemingly magnetic pull of the hole became too strong and the drone was being pulled into the abyss. “When I lowered the drone into the ‘Glory Hole,’ it became unstable and almost crashed into the side,” he explained. In a desperate panic, David began to struggle with the drone’s controls.

What Happened Next?

Lake Berryessa has holds a mind-boggling 521 billion gallons of water. At its fullest capacity, the surface of the enormous reservoir will rise to over 400 feet above sea level. If the lake reaches its fullest, the excess water needs somewhere to go, but where?

Flow River Flow

California is well known for its arid climate and periodic droughts. In theory, the climate is not conducive to excessive water levels that would prompt a lake of this size to overflow. In October 2016 the lake had not reached half of its full capacity. What had caused this bizarre natural anomaly?

Whether The Weather

In January and February 2017, California was struck by heavy rainfall. The unexpected weather conditions caused widespread damage throughout the region. It filled Napa County’s waters to near bursting point and set Lake Berryessa’s “Glory Hole” into its swirling vortex. David’s drone survived the powerful pull of the swirling mass, but others couldn’t escape its grip…

Glory Hole

The other-worldly Glory Hole, sits just a few feet from the concrete boundary of the dam. Its circular shape, eerie atmosphere, and surreal appearance drew thousands of curious spectators to get a chance to view the natural phenomenon.

Huge Plug Hole

When the lake’s water levels rise to the 440-foot mark, the catalyst effect kicks into action, and the glory hole starts sucking away the surplus water, acting like a giant plug hole.

Spiralling Out Of Control

At more than a staggering two million gallons per minute, the image of the enormous amount of rushing water spiraling into the funnel is undeniably astonishing. The water sucked into the vortex is almost equivalent to four Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Sink Hole Surprise

The breathtaking sight attracted thousands of astounded spectators, desperate to see the Glory Hole in person. Little did they know that their safety was actually at stake…

Internet Frenzy

The phenomenon at Lake Berryessa soon spurred a viral stir all over the internet. Thousands saw the surreal images and were eager to see the the spectacle themselves. The visitors continued to flock from far and wide to snap pictures and experience the sight in person.

Instagram sensation

Instagram users from across the world documented the unusual sight of the image-sharing platform, sharing them with millions of other internet users. Over time, its popularity did not seem to fade.

Pornographic Connotations

The lake’s nickname soon prompted some warnings on Twitter and other social media platforms, with users advised not to hashtag images and videos of the phenomenon with ‘Glory Hole’ because of the title’s inappropriate connotations that might conflict with Twitter’s terms and conditions.

Give A Dam

Lake Berryessa is the seventh largest man-made lake in the state of California. The lake was first filled in the 1950s after construction was completed. At over 300 feet tall, the dam supplies water and electricity to nearly 600,000 people in the surrounding areas of the Sacramento Valley and San Francisco’s North Bay.

A Sad Tale

In 1997, tragedy would strike. After losing her balance while taking a stroll along the lake’s boundary, a local woman named Emily Schwalek spent a terrifying 20 minutes desperately clinging onto the concrete rim of the dam. Emily did not survive the terrifying incident. After becoming exhausted, she lost her grip and plummeted to her untimely death.

A Thing Of Beauty

These spillways have long been considered an engineering necessity for decades, but thanks to the newest technological gadgets and the help of David’s drone imagery, the surprising and surreal beauty of these strange occurrences can be captured.

Nature’s Finest

Revealing the overpowering force of nature, the world’s dams are always at the mercy of unpredictable weather. Man-made structures constantly face danger if the rain levels are too high, possibly causing life-threatening damage to surrounding areas.

Oroville Spillway

In desperate situations, large residential areas have had to be evacuated in the case of a possibly deadly tidal wave. In fact, over 200,000 residents were forced to abandon their homes and belongings and flee for their lives when it was uncovered that a 30-foot-deep hole had appeared in the Oroville spillway.

Scary Situation

News of the anomaly made national headlines as terrified residents were forced to evacuate the Oroville area, just north of Sacramento. Dam workers had discovered a grave amount of damage in two of the Oroville Dam’s spillways. The Oroville Dam is the tallest dam in the country and is a pivotal part of California’s intricate water system. This was an issue that could have life-threatening consequences for the residents of the area.

Water Rising Fast

There was a hole found in the central spillway, the water levels began to rise at a rapid and extremely dangerous rate. This was the first time that this had occurred. An emergency plan of action was immediately put into place to ward off possible death and destruction.

Urgent Emergency

For the first time in history, the emergency spillway was used. Despite the plan of action, the situation remained dangerous. Erosion damage was soon discovered in the emergency spillway. An evacuation was desperately required. After the sudden evacuation call was made to the locals, the scene quickly became manic.

A Sight Worth Seeing

“I went up there the other day and there were about 15 drones flying around and people taking videos,” said Kevin King, an operations manager at the Solano Irrigation District. “It’s really dramatic to watch,” he remarked in awe.

Shocking Spillway

Spillways come in a wide variety of shapes and astonishing sizes. The one at Berryessa is called the “bellmouth”. The structure works a lot like the plughole of a bath or sink, which prevents water from overspilling the dam boundaries.

History In The Making

This spectacular image was uploaded to Instagram of the Lake Oroville Dam Spillway. In a once-in-a-lifetime scene, the rare image shows the Lake Oroville Dam spilling down a hillside and into the Feather River.

Disappointed Visitor

Another light-hearted Instagram user wrote ‘my family likes to visit Oroville when the towns getting evacuated just so we can drink beer by the Dam and pray it doesn’t break’.

Life Is Like A River

This spectacular image shows the water being released from the emergency spillway. The image reveals the true magnitude of the unlikely situation. The power of the rushing gallons of water could well cause fatal disasters if efficient evacuations are not carried out in time.

Don’t Give Up The Day Job

Dam workers had a dangerous and adrenaline-filled job of having to inspect the damage of the growing hole inside the Oroville Dam. This image was shown by many international news outlets to the intrigue of millions of viewers.

Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls

This image pictures water cascading down the crumbling spillway of the Oroville Dam as a rainbow is seen overhead.

Interesting Footage

This surveillance footage shows the difference a few mere years can make, after a severe drought in Oroville in 2014. It is truly humbling to view the sheer power of the weather.

Burglary Rates Rise With The Water

In addition to the terror of an evacuation, many criminals take advantage of the panicked scenes. Opportunistic burglars ransack the homes of the fleeing residents which often leave their residences without warning. Officials stated that just hours after authorities ordered more than 100,000 people to evacuate their homes, a multitude of local burglaries took place in the surrounding areas.

Operation Repair

Tens of helicopters can be seen here working round the clock to ferry sand and rocks to the Oroville Dam’s emergency spillway repair construction site. Dedicated municipal workers continued tirelessly to make the necessary repairs to the damaged spillway.