Station 8 Geologiepfad Malbun: Entstehung des Sass-See

Lake Saas is a naturally formed lake. It is a sinkhole, which, as everywhere in this area, was formed as a slump funnel in the gypsum rock. Above the gypsum rock lies the loose material that was once carried along the bottom of the Malbun Glacier. This so-called ground moraine is a mixture of boulders and finely crushed mud. The mud naturally seals the sinkhole and it can fill with rainwater, which flows down from under the debris heaps of the mountain slopes. In this area there are even more such sinkholes filled with water. The area here is therefore aptly named "Weiherboda".

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Lakes silt up, whether small or large

There are only two naturally formed lakes in Liechtenstein. The Saas Lake and the Gampriner Seein. It was created during the Rhine flood in 1927. Over time, these lakes silt up. Both lakes are filled with mud and plant residues over time and silt up. Some levels here on "Fluhboden" are the remains of small lakes that have already silted up.

Lake Constance will also have silted up one day. At the end of the Ice Age, it reached as far as Chur. Since then, it has been shrinking. At present, the Rhine carries 3 million cubic meters of sediment per year into Lake Constance. He unloads as much mud and sand there every day as 800 trucks could bring in per day. In about 15,000 years, Lake Constance will have been filled with it and disappeared.