Lake Peigneur
Before the disaster, the lake was a popular destination for fishing and other outdoor recreational activities.
A small island in the middle of the lake was home to a beautiful botanical park.
Part of the large salt mine was directly under Lake Peigneur.
Realizing that something serious was taking place, the crew was ordered to evacuate.
Barges caught in the quarter-mile wide whirlpool in Lake Peigneur.
Down below in the mine shaft, electrician Junius Gaddison was the first to notice that something was wrong.
Gaddison was working on the 1,300-foot level checking wire supplies when an unusual banging noise caught his attention.
Gaddison at once raised the alarm.
Luckily, the miners had a well-practiced evacuation procedure and all escaped the mine without incident.
Within the next three hours, the entire lake disappeared into the mine.
This backflow created for a few days a 164-foot waterfall, the tallest ever in the state of Louisiana.
The backwards flow of the normally outflowing Delcambre Canal temporarily created the biggest waterfall in Louisiana.
The lake once more filled with water, except this time, it was salty.
Within three days, a ten-foot-deep freshwater lake was turned into a 200 feet deep saltwater lake.
Jefferson island survived, but the locally famous botanical garden which it contained was totally decimated.
This chimney, once belonging to a house on the old lakes edge, now pokes above the water.
The mine was finally closed in December 1986.
