| Lake Merzbacher | |
|---|---|
 Lake Merzbacher after outburst | |
  Lake Merzbacher  Lake Merzbacher | |
| Coordinates | 42°12′N 79°52′E / 42.200°N 79.867°E |
| Lake type | Glacier lake |
| Primary inflows | Glaciers |
| Primary outflows | Engilchek River |
| Basin countries | Kyrgyzstan |
| Surface elevation | 3,304 metres (10,840 ft) |
Lake Merzbacher (Kyrgyz: Мерцбахер көлү) is a moraine glacier lake located in east Kyrgyzstan between the north and south Engilchek Glaciers in the Tien Shan Mountains.[1] It is often called the "Disappearing Lake" because it drains every year as the ice melts, often causing a glacial lake outburst flood.[2] The lake was named after a German explorer, Gottfried Merzbacher, who led an expedition in the area in 1903.[1][3] An ice dam prevents the lake from draining through the majority of the year however when a hole finally melts through the dam the lake drains within three days.[3] When this happens, the lake's discharge can be up to 1000 m3 a second which causes destruction of infrastructure and creates major flooding downstream.[1] It goes through this cycle of appearing, expanding and then draining annually.[3]
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