Mysterious Lake Funduji: why you can’t take water from this African lake

In the northeast of the Republic of South Africa is the picturesque, but mysterious and ominous Lake Funduji. The local population considers the lake sacred and tells legends about it.

Despite the problems with fresh water in Africa, the tribes never settled on the banks of the Funduji, did not fish there and did not even replenish the water supplies from this lake.

This is because, according to local legends, it is impossible to take a drop of water from Lake Funduji, and anyone who touches the water, or even more so drinks it, will soon die. Also, people made sacrifices to the mythical monster Funduji to appease him.

The general public learned about Funduji at the beginning of the 20th century, when deposits of chrome ore were found in the vicinity of the lake. When expeditions from Europe began to come to this area, the lake was finally mapped.

Scientists listened to the stories of the locals about the ominous lake and the monster, but in the course of geological research, nothing mystical was found.

In 1955, Professor Henry Burnside and his assistant Thacker decided to check the legend about strange water that cannot be carried away from the lake. Scientists collected water in several containers made of different materials – glass, porcelain and plastic, and walked several kilometers, intending to examine the samples.

But it was not possible to carry out the analysis: in the morning all the containers were empty. Then the scientists decided to return to the lake and take new samples. This time, Burnside dipped his finger into the water and tasted it: the taste of the water was bitter-rotten.

Throughout the day, scientists observed the containers, but no changes occurred, and by morning the vessels were empty again. Burnside intended to go back to the lake and examine water samples on site, but the plans were prevented by a sudden deterioration in his health: the professor was hospitalized, and a week later he died – as it later turned out, from intestinal inflammation.

It would seem that there is evidence of sinister legends, but there is still a scientific explanation for the phenomena of Lake Funduji. In fact, chromium ore deposits are the cause of the anomalies.

Chromium salts are very toxic to humans, and the concentration of chromium in the lake was so high that a couple of drops killed Professor Burnside.

The disappearing water phenomenon is also explained by the high chromium content. At temperatures below 19 degrees Celsius, chromium particles in water crystallize (therefore, the water “disappeared” at night, when it was cooler). In fact, the liquid from the vessel does not go anywhere, but turns into a solid state, scattering along the bottom and walls of the vessel.

To be fair, some of Funduji’s riddles have not yet been solved – for example, it is not clear why a large number of crocodiles live in the poisonous lake. It is also unclear what these reptiles eat, because there are no fish in the lake, and other animals do not go there to drink.