Jelly Fish Lake, a brackish, half sweet, half salt water landlocked lake in the interior of Kakaban has become famous because of its non stinging jellyfish.

Name Dive Site:	Jellyfish Lake
Depth:	0-17m (0-55ft)
Visibility:	5-15m (16-49ft)
Accessibility:	Shore
Inserted/Added by:	lars, © Author: Lars Hemel
Rated:	Rated 5.0, 2 votes
Specifications:

Send us your images for this dive site [Add Image][Add Movie]

Jellyfish Lake is a great natural wonder. It is a huge lake in the center of the island filled with brackish water and mangroves. It is probably formed when Kakaban was lifted because of geological forces, turning the present lagoon into a landlocked lake. The lake started to create its own environment influenced by the salt water present and the sweet water coming from the rain. The murky muddy bottom is filled with green algae and the roots of the mangroves provide a healthy habitat for many species. You can find anemones, nudibranch, clams, sea snakes, sponges, flatworms, tunicates and seaweeds. Fish such as cardinals and gobies are quite common as well.

The four different kinds of jelly fish (Cassiopeia ornate, Mastigias Papua, Aurelia Aurita and Tripedalia Cystophora) that life inside the lake are biologically interesting since they have evolved without the well-known nasty sting as there are no natural enemies to the jellies. Since the lake is shallow, snorkeling is one of the preferred ways to enjoy all of it.

[Add Message]Messages from readers:

Name: indonesia_liveaboards

The Jellyfish Lake is full of four species of jellyfish that have no sting and are therefore harmless to divers. The lake was once a lagoon surrounded by a coral atoll and open to the ocean but over time the coral atoll surrounding the lagoon has been raised up by geological forces, land locking the lake and its inhabitants. Although once stingers, the jellyfish have lost their sting due the absence of natural predators such as turtles. The jellyfish are Mastigias Papua, Aurelia Aurelia, Tripedalia Crystophora and the upside down Cassiopeia Ornate.

The 5 square kilometer lake is fed ocean water from underground fissures and is slightly tidal. Its maximum depth is 18m in the middle; the shore line is lined with mangrove. Visibility is 10-15 meters. Other marine life in the lake includes flatworms, sea cucumbers, small fish and a file snake which is also non poisonous.

[Add Divelog]Divelogs from members:

Take a look at all the pictures!