Heaven Lake is a volcanic crater lake atop Baekdusan. It lies on the border between China and North Korea, and is roughly evenly divided between the two countries. The North Korean part is in Ryanggang Province while the Chinese part is in Jilin Province.

Geology and limnology

The caldera which contains Heaven Lake was created by the 946 eruption of Paektu Mountain. The lake has a surface elevation of 2,189.1 m. The lake covers an area of 9.82 km², with a south–north length of 4.85 km and an east–west length of 3.35 km. The average depth of the lake is 213 m and a maximum depth of 384 m. From mid-October to mid-June, it is typically covered with ice.

History

Names and legends

In ancient Chinese literature, Tianchi also refers to Nanming (南冥 sometimes translated as "southern sea"). North Korean propaganda claims that Kim Jong-il was born near the lake on the mountain. In accordance with this, North Korean state news agencies reported that on his death, the ice on the lake cracked "so loud, it seemed to shake the heavens and the Earth".

Lake Tianchi Monster

Heaven Lake is also alleged to be home to the Lake Tianchi Monster. On September 6, 2007, Zhuo Yongsheng (director of a TV station's news center run by the administration office of the nature reserve at Mount Changbaishan, Jilin) shot a 20-minute video of six seal-like, finned "Lake Tianchi Monsters", near the North Korean border. He sent pictures of the Loch Ness Monster-type creatures to Xinhua's Jilin provincial bureau. One of them showed the creatures swimming in three pairs, in parallel. Another showed them together, leaving ripples on the volcanic lake.

Notable visits

On September 20, 2018, as part of an Inter-Korean summit, heads of state Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in visited Mount Paektu and Heaven Lake. Moon filled a bottle with water from the lake to take back to South Korea. The visit to the lake was a symbolic gesture, as both the lake and the mountain hold considerable cultural significance to the Korean people. Mount Paektu is mentioned in the anthems of both North and South Korea, and is considered to be the spiritual home of the Koreans.

In popular culture

The lake is the subject of the song "Tianchi Lake" on The Mountain Goats' 2008 album Heretic Pride.