The hole is an overflow of Lake Berryessa that occurs when the water level is above a certain height in the reservoir ( Image: Getty Images / iStockphoto) A strange “gate to hell” has opened on a lake with a strange rotating vortex effect. The giant 75-foot-wide hole occurred when water levels in the reservoir of Lake Berryessa in the eastern Napa Valley, located at the top of the Monticello Dam in California, rose too high. Excess water can swirl in a huge hole and create the striking vortex effect, the Express reports. The hole was once again located on the surface of the lake as the 250-foot tunnel that functions as a drainage hole that swallows about 1,360 cubic meters of water per second when the lake rises more than 15 feet. Engineers in the 1950s built an overflow as an alternative to the more common pipeline, which is used to control the flow of water from a dam or dam. A drone records the overflow in Lake Berryessa as it overflows ( Picture: Evan K / Youtube) With this in mind, the architects constructed the feature that looks like a sewer at the dam as it reduces the gap between the rocks where it is located and would have left the pipeline with nowhere to go. Since then, the hole has built quite a bit of fame in the community. Hundreds of spectators in 2017 came to watch the awe-inspiring spectacle at the opening of the “gate”. Lake Berryessa can hold about 52 billion gallons of water before the excess begins to flow into the overflow ( Picture: Evan K / Youtube) Lake Berryessa can hold about 52 billion gallons of water before the excess begins to flow into the overflow. The lake reached full capacity for the first time after 11 years in 2018. However, it reopened in 2019 after a season of heavy rainfall, attracting thousands of curious spectators. Today, the hole is no longer a safety hazard, as the tank has been removed with a rope and prohibits swimming or boating. However, in 1997, Emily Schwalek died after being caught in the current while rowing in the area as she was dragged into the pipe after being held by the rim for about 20 minutes. Social media users are confused by the hole ( Picture: express.co.uk) The shot of the hole has gone viral since it was posted on the social networking platform Gfycat in 2018 and later re-released on reddit and has garnered hundreds of thousands of views. Some social media viewers were horrified by the spectacle. One commenter wrote: “Why is there a giant hole in the middle of the lake where people swim, and why is there no rope around?” The 75 foot wide hole in the lake ( Picture: express.co.uk) Another added: “This seems very insecure.” And a third said, “That’s the gate to Hell.” Similar to the “Gateway to Hell” in California, a fire pit in Kazakhstan earned a similar nickname in the early 1970s when the ground collapsed during a Soviet gas drilling mission. The hole is 20 meters deep and 60 meters (190 feet) wide. It is located in the Karakum Desert, about 160 miles north of the capital Ashgabat. read more Woman dies after being swept away by pink rocks in a tourist spot popular for photos on Instagram read more Incredible moment that beats the heart of a boat full of tourists “stolen” by whales
