The Lake That Was Born From An Earthquake

Despite the tempting turquoise waters, the story behind this beautiful lake is worrying. The Sarez Lake in Tajikistan is in the depths of the Pamir Mountains.

Despite the tempting turquoise waters, the story behind this beautiful lake is worrying. The Sarez Lake in Tajikistan is in the depths of the Pamir Mountains.
In 1911 a local earthquake caused a large landslide which blocked the Murghab River. The valley is relatively new on the geological scale which means that it is deep and narrow and has steep slopes. That is why this landslide was enough to form the extremely high Usoi Dam (approximately 550 m) - the highest in the world, natural or artificial.

The length of the Usoi Dam is about 500 meters which is almost equal to its height. However, the lakes formed by landslides are not uncommon in the Pamir or anywhere else in the world.

The lake is located 3,263 m above the sea level, and it puts millions of people in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan living below the Sarez Lake and along the banks of rivers Mugrab, Panj and Amu Darya into jeopardy. The Usoi Dam is solid enough to resist corrosion and create such a big lake, but it is doubtful if it can withstand a major earthquake, which is not unusual in the area. Not only can an earthquake destabilizes the Usoi Dam directly, but it can cause a landslide which could result in a tsunami and lead to the overflow of the dam.