Zielony Staw Gąsienicowy, Lake in the Tatra Mountains, Poland
Zielony Staw Gąsienicowy is a small mountain lake in the Gąsienicowa Valley in the Polish Tatra Mountains, sitting at about 5,490 feet (1,674 m) above sea level. The water has a distinctive green color caused by plankton, and visibility through the water reaches about 50 feet (15 m) deep.
The lake was formed at the end of the last ice age, when melting glaciers carved out the Gąsienicowa Valley and left a natural basin behind. In the 19th century, poets and writers began visiting, drawn by the green water.
The lake's old name is Suczy Staw, and a local legend says that shepherds once drowned a troublesome dog here, which is how it got that name. Today, visitors sometimes hear this story from locals along the trail.
The lake is reachable on foot from the Murowaniec mountain hut in roughly 20 to 50 minutes depending on the trail you choose. Sturdy shoes and layered clothing are a good idea, as mountain weather here can shift quickly at any time of year.
The lake is frozen from October through June in most years, meaning it is ice-free for only a few months. Trout were introduced in 1949, but most of them disappeared over time, and the species is now rarely found in the water.
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