Mountain Lake is located in Giles County near Pembroke, Virginia in the United States. It is one of only two natural freshwater lakes in Virginia (the other being Lake Drummond in the Great Dismal Swamp). Located in the Allegheny Mountains, it is the highest lake in elevation east of the Mississippi River.
An unusual lake
Mountain Lake covers about 50 acres, but the water level fluctuates greatly from season-to-season and from year to year. The creation and basis upon which the unusual natural lake exists in the mountains has been the source of much speculation. Recent scientific studies indicate that an unusual combination of forces created the lake, which is maintained due to a fissure at the bottom which provides drainage, preventing it from otherwise simply becoming a bog. Replenishment of the water lost is dependent upon rain levels.
The lake is estimated to be about 6,000 years old and geologists believe it must have been formed along an active fault line by rock slides and damming during several earthquakes. Cold underground springs feed the lake and rarely allow the temperature to rise above 70 degrees (22 Celsius) on the surface and 46 degrees (5 Celsius) 50 feet below the surface. Due to narrow channels and openings in the lake bottom, the level has a history of changing dramatically depending on the water flow through these channels. It is over 100 feet deep when it is full. The lake drains into Little Stoney Run, which passes over "The Cascades", a spectacular waterfall, before reaching the New River.
Mountain Lake Hotel: filming location for Dirty Dancing
Mountain Lake Hotel was the site for much of the on-location filming of the 1987 hit movie Dirty Dancing which starred Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. The Stone Lodge stood in for "Kellerman's Resort", a fictional mountain retreat in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. Like Kellerman's, the real Mountain Lake Hotel Resort also offers many indoor and outdoor activities for guests such as games like table tennis and billiards, water activities like paddle boating, canoing, and fishing, and dry activities like mountain biking and hiking.
An album by The McKenzies , "Live From Mountain Lake" was recorded during July and August 1996 performances at Mountain Lake Resort Hotel. It included traditional, sing-along, and novelty songs and tunes.
Mountain Lake Biological Station
In addition to the Mountain Lake Hotel resort complex, the Mountain Lake Biological Station, a field research and teaching station of the Biology Department at the University of Virginia originally established in 1930 is located nearby.
External links
Last updated: 05-31-2005 00:39:27
