Champ: Monster or Legend? You decide!
A lake monster, known by Champ, is believed by many to be living within the waters of Lake Champlain. Many people believe that Champ lives deep in the lake and is commonly thought of as being in the plesiosaur family.
Evidence of Champ
There have been hundreds of sightings of Champ across Lake Champlain over the last few hundred years, here are some of the most compelling ones, in approximate order of significance.
Samuel de Champlain (1609)
In 1609 Samuel de Champlain, the lake's namesake, saw a serpent which he detailed as a 20-foot serpent, with a horse-shaped head and body as thick as a keg. Unfortunately this is not a sighting of Champ, rather this experience was on the St. Lawerence River near Montreal. This does not mean that Champ does not exist, rather Samuel de Champlain did not she him/her.
First reported sighting (1819)
With the completion of the Champlain Canal nearing, the population surroinding Lake Champlain was booming. With many new eyes, sightings were bound to happen. Near Port Henry, NY in the summer of 1819, the first reported sighting of Champ was documented.
Railroad Workers (1873)
The second recorded sighting was in the summer of 1873. A newspaper (July 9th, 1873) described a railroad crew who "saw a head of an enormous serpent sticking out of the water and approaching them from the opposite shore." The crew stopped laying track and ran. The monster did not attack the men, rather turned away, submerged under water and was not seen agian.
Sandra Mansi photo (1977)
The most significant photograph to date was taken on July 5, 1977 by Sandra Mansi. While on vacation with her family in New York near the Canadian Border, she looked out into the water and saw a monster with its head out of the water by six feet. While running back to the car with her family, she was able to snap a single picture. Examined by scientists, the photograph was deemed to be genuine, but the negative was thrown away preventing better photos to be created.
This remains the best evidence of something unknown in the depths of Lake Champlain.
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Lake Champlain Ecosystem
Seperating the Adirondack Mountians of New York and the Green Mountains of Vermont is Lake Champlain and the Lake Champlain Region. This 120 mile long, but relatively narrow lake is quite deep and at one time was an inland bay of the Atlantic ocean. The cold deep waters are condusive to perpetuate an animal of Champ's believed size. Notably, these waters also are very similar to that of Lock Ness, the beleived home of Nessie.