Sørvágsvatn: The lake that ‘floats’ above the ocean thanks to a unique optical illusion
QUICK FACTS
Name: Sørvágsvatn or Leitisvatn
Location: Vágar, Faroe Islands
Contact details : 62.0496, -7.2362
Why it’s amazing: The lake seems to hang above the ocean.
Sørvágsvatn, also called Leitisvatn, is a 3.4 square kilometer lake in the Faroe Islands that appears to float above the sea.
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Locals disagree on the name of the lake, hence why there are two. The inhabitants of Sørvágur, a village west of the lake on the island of Vágar, prefer the name Sørvágsvatn, which means “the lake near Sørvágur”. The inhabitants of Miðvágur and Sandavágur, east of Lake Vágar, call it Leitisvatn, or “Lake Leiti”, in reference to an area to the east of the Faroe Islands.
The village of Miðvágur is closer to the lake than Sørvágur, but the latter is believed to have been settled earlier. in the 9th centurywhich complicates the picture. Another argument in favor of naming the lake Sørvágsvatn is that the first settlers of the Faroe Islands divided Vágar into three equal regions — and the lake is located in the same region as Sørvágur.
But to avoid this debate, locals usually call the lake Vatnið, which simply means “the lake.”
The lake is surrounded by cliffs, making it appear higher above the waves than it actually is. This is particularly the case on either side of the lake’s main outlet, a 30 m high waterfall called Bøsdalafossur, meaning “Bøsdal Waterfall”, referring to the area near the settlement of Bøur.
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