The beautiful Heaven Lake is a crater lake situated on the border between China and North Korea. A significant eruption in 969 AD formed a caldera that encircles the lake. It is situated atop the volcanic Baekdu Mountain.
Heaven Lake is like a crescent-shaped water area that deserves its name, the pearl of Heavenly Mountain, with melted snow as its source, containing crystal water, and an ideal place in summer. Usually covered with ice from mid-October to mid-June.
The lake is very peaceful and magical and tourists can go for strolls on the mountain paths and the more athletic can hike or ride a horse up to the glacier plains, where the scenery is simply stunning. Heaven Lake has a surface elevation of 7,182 feet and covers an area of 9.82 km2, with a south-north length of 4.85 kilometers and an east-west length of 3.35 kilometers. The average depth of the lake is 699 feet, with a maximum depth of 1,260 feet.
The Chinese portion is located in Jilin Province, and the North Korean portion is located in Ryanggang Province. From mid-October to mid-June, it is typically covered with ice. In North Korean legend, Kim Jong-il is claimed to have been born near the lake on the mountain.
Upon his death, the Korean Central News Agency claimed that the ice on the lake cracked “so loud, it seemed to shake the heavens and the earth. The Lake Tianchi Monster is also said to reside in Heaven Lake. Tianchi also alludes to Nanming (南冥, commonly rendered as “southern sea”) in ancient Chinese literature. The Shanghai Office of Guinness World Records certifies it as the highest volcanic lake on earth.
