What actually is the "most mysterious funnel in the world"

Photos of a whirlpool in the middle of the water surface of the lake can often be found in a selection of the most mysterious places on the planet. Shots are often accompanied by "eyewitness accounts," according to which water rushes into a mysterious abyss in a stormy stream, dragging into the whirlpool of gape ducks or even fishermen.

As often happens, in a story with a whirlpool, the existing reality is artfully mixed with "unknown secrets." The funnel itself really exists, and these are genuine photographs. It is located on the territory of the Berriesse reservoir in the state of California, USA.

This reservoir was created by constructing a dam on the Puta Creek River in 1957. During the construction of the dam, the city of Monticello was completely flooded. Residents of the city were against the construction of a reservoir in the fertile valley, where the village and many farms are located. But nothing could stop the grandiose plans of the authorities: the inhabitants were relocated, and all the houses and buildings were demolished to the ground. In place there was only a stone bridge that could not be dismantled, and he completely went under the water. In honor of this city, its name was given to the dam, and later to the hydroelectric power station, which was installed in the 80s of the last century and supplies electricity to the North Bay region.

Artificial Lake Berriessa is famous for its whirlpool. And it is formed thanks to the drain design - a huge pipe through which excess water leaves when its level reaches the maximum permissible mark. All dams are equipped with a spillway system so that during floods it is possible to drain part of the water and reduce the load on the dam. The Monticello spillway has an open well design with a diameter of 22 meters, where excess water flows down until the level drops below the upper edge of the well. Similar designs exist in some other reservoirs of the planet.