Surely everyone has heard of Scotland’s infamous Loch Ness Monster, but did you know that a similar creature could be lurking right in our own backyard? In the space that straddles the border between New York and Vermont is Lake Champlain. French explorer Samuel de Champlain, for whom the lake is named, actually reported a strange sighting as far back as 1609. However, it’s not until 1819 that these sightings took off en masse of something enormous calling this body of water home. Then, in 1977, Sandra Mansi put the icing on the cake to cement “Champ” as America’s latest cryptid.
But just how did this creature get into a landlocked lake within the Northeastern United States?
Roughly 10,000 years ago was the last Ice Age on Earth, which had the Atlantic Ocean connecting to what’s now called Lake Champlain. It’s possible that some deep-sea dweller snuck into the lake and somehow managed to adapt over time.
So what could this legendary animal really be?
It’s often described very similar to Nessie, typically ranging from 15-40 feet long. Often noted are 1 or several humps. While it could just be misidentified lumber or debris floating at the surface, or even rolling waves, there has to be another explanation. Maybe it’s a type of dinosaur, like a plesiosaur, or just some mammoth-sized sturgeon, eel, or another species of fish.
But who can say for sure, until the day when a carcass or some other definitive proof is found?
