| Lake Labynkyr | |
|---|---|
 View of the lake | |
  Lake Labynkyr Location in the Sakha Republic, Russia | |
| Location | Sordonokh Plateau |
| Coordinates | 62°29′50″N 143°36′25″E / 62.49710°N 143.60687°E |
| Basin countries | Russia |
| Max. length | 14.3 km (9 mi) |
| Max. width | 4.1 km (3 mi) |
| Surface area | 44.7 km2 (17.3 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 52 m (171 ft) |
| Max. depth | 75 m (246 ft) |
| Surface elevation | 1,020 m (3,346 ft) |
| Frozen | October–June |
Labynkyr Lake (Russian: Лабынкыр, Yakut: Лабыҥкыр, Labıŋkır) is a lake in Oymyakonsky Ulus, Sakha Republic, Russia. The lake is part of the Indigirka basin and is located near the borders of Khabarovsk Krai and Magadan Oblast. The surface area of the lake is 44.7 km2 (17.3 sq mi) and is 1020 meters above mean sea level. Its average depth is 52 m (171 ft).[1] The highest summer temperature on ending of July can +35, the coldest winter temperature can fall -65 and colder, the most often it below colder -60 since December ended four February started, amplitude during a year several years can turn up 100 C and higher.
Labynkyr Lake is unusual as it does not freeze solid during the winter as other lakes in the region do. It maintains a 2 degrees Celsius (36 Fahrenheit) water temperature which causes scientists to speculate that there may be an underground hot spring or fissure heating the lake. Surface air temperatures at their lowest have been recorded at negative 60 degrees Celsius (negative 76 Fahrenheit). There is a 80 meter (263 feet) deep underwater trench that divers have not by 2013 been able to explore. There is also a suspicion by scientists that Labynkyr Lake connects by underground tunnel to Lake Vorota, 20 km (12 mi) away. One reason this is suspected is because both lakes are at the same water levels.[2][3] Folklore and eyewitness accounts speculate that a lake monster called the Labynkyr Devil or Labynkyrsky Chert lives there.