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By Arlington James
In the central part of the East Caribbean chain of islands, geothermal activity is still evident and this can be seen in the form of a number of “soufrières” which contain fumaroles, hot bubbling mud, etc. Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and of course, Dominica still provide “live” evidence of the fact that these islands all originated from volcanic action.
Besides the lakes, towering mountains, rivers, gorges, flora, fauna and fascinating sites which characterize the Nature Island, Dominica also has a number of areas where geothermal activity is displayed, including the Valley of Desolation, Boiling Lake, Wotten Waven, Soufrière and Galleon in the south of the island. In all of those areas, one will find hot boiling water and fumaroles releasing steam and warm sulphurous gases.
By Arlington James
When the news reached the office on the morning of Friday 15 April 1988, it came to me as no big surprise. The news was that the Boiling Lake had “dried up”, but sixteen years before, I had heard of the lake “misbehaving” . This time, I told myself that I had to grab the opportunity to witness this phenomenon of the Boiling Lake mysteriously drying up.
At about 8:00 a.m. on Sunday 17th April 1988, my friends Martin and Ronnie accompanied me on this expedition, which some thought was gutsy. We wanted to satisfy our curiosity, and for my two buddies, neither of them had ever heard of Dominica’s Boiling Lake going dry before.