Keelung is shocked to discover a tiny lake shaped like Taiwan

Keelung is shocked to discover a tiny lake shaped like Taiwan

2023-01-18

Keelung denizens have been amazed by a discovery in their backyard. A tiny lake, shaped very much like the landmass of Taiwan, has come to light. After the lake appeared on Google Maps, photographer Hsieh Chih-huang set out to learn more about the body of water. His drone photos show that the small lake has an uncanny resemblance to the shape of Taiwan.But how can it be that locals are unaware of a lake on their doorstep? We asked a couple of experts to explain.

A strange sight emerges in the middle of a forest of greens. The clear and still lake reflects the blue sky perfectly. It’s hidden in this hillside forest. When a drone photographer spotted the landmark on a map, his curiosity was whetted, and he decided to seek it out.

Hsieh Chih-huang
Drone photographer
Many months ago, Google marked it as Lion Ball Lake on the map. I could hardly find any information about it on Google. So I sent my drone up to take a look. Although the lake is very small, it’s shaped just like Taiwan.

You can find the lake yourself on Google Maps, marked as “Lion Ball Lake” or Shiqiuhu. It’s on a small hill near Maijin Road in the Anle District of Keelung. With no records or photos of the lake online, the lake is unknown even to most local people.

Hsieh Wei-jen
Former Ying’an Village head
Regarding the existence of this lake, to be honest it’s news to me! I would never walk in that direction, neither when walking on the hill or when exercising.

Hsieh Chih-huang
Drone photographer
Everyone living in Keelung ignores it, or don’t even know there is a small lake there. Someone commented on Facebook that they had been there before, and when he went up, he even saw a swimming ring there.

There’s no road passing through near here. You have to walk up from the mountain path to reach the secret spot. The lake is also high up and there’s no river feeding it. For most people, that sounds like an impossible place to find a lake. What’s going on?

Chen Ming-jen
National Taiwan Ocean University professor
It’s possible that no river supplies this body of water. It might be a tectonic lake, which is basically a geological phenomenon, causing a depression in the ground which then accumulates rainwater.

This professor thinks the lake has been caused by shifting earth, which might be why it’s so unfamiliar to local people. But now with a drone in the sky to provide a photoshoot, this tiny Taiwan of water has come to light.

超像台灣! "獅球湖"藏身基隆密林空拍揭密

2023-01-18

基隆一名空拍攝影師，在地圖上發現一處神秘地標，叫做"獅球湖"，位在安樂區麥金路旁的山丘上，由於附近沒有制高點能俯瞰，網路上也找不到相關資料，就連基隆在地人也不知道。他決定用空拍機一探究竟，發現獅球湖就隱身在山林之中，形狀還神似台灣島。

萬綠叢中，出現一小片不太一樣的景色，原來是一座小湖，清澈湖面，映照出天空景色，隱身在山中，一旁什麼也沒有。空拍攝影師意外在地圖看見這個地標，感到好奇，決定透過俯瞰鏡頭，一探究竟。

[[空拍攝影師謝志煌]]
“Google 2個多月前，就有標記是獅球湖，幾乎Google找不到任何資料，結果飛上去看，雖然說這個湖泊很小，但是它的形狀非常像台灣地形”

查找Google Map，可以發現這個地點，叫做獅球湖，就在基隆安樂區麥金路旁的小山丘，網路查找不到相關紀錄和照片，就連當地人也不知道這裡有湖。

[[前鶯安里長謝偉仁]]
“有形成這個湖來講，說實在個人還覺得挺陌生的，爬山也好，做運動，也不會往那個地方去行走”

[[空拍攝影師謝志煌]]
“住在基隆的人，都對它(獅球湖)很漠視，甚至不曉得那裡有一個小湖泊，有個臉友留言說他曾經上去過，他上去的時候，上面還看(到)了一個游泳圈”

這處秘境，附近沒有道路通過，得從山徑爬上去，而且獅球湖位在高點，也沒有河流經過，讓人很難想像這裡會有個小湖。

[[海洋大學共教中心兼任助理教授陳銘仁]]
“可能沒有任何河流，流進這個湖體，它可能是一個構造湖，基本上是一個地質事件，造成地表的凹陷，然後積蓄雨水”

專家推測，獅球湖是地質事件形成的構造湖，這回在空拍鏡頭下，真面目一覽無遺，神似台灣島的形狀，也引發討論。

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