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THE FLOATING ISLAND IN DERWENT LAKE.
THE existence of this phenomenon has been doubted by some
persons; while others, admitting the fact, have contended that
the term Floating Island was improperly applied to this subject,
as it never changes its situation - being still attached by its
sides to the adjacent earth under water. Its occasional
appearance, however, is ascertained beyond a doubt; and Floating
Island being the name by which it has always been known, there
can be no manifest impropriety in retaining the appellation.
It is situated in the south-east corner of the lake, not far from
Lowdore, about 150 yards from the shore, where the depth of the
water does not exceed six feet in a mean state of the lake. It
has been said to make its appearance once in seven years, but
this is quite uncertain; it generally rises after an interval of
a few years, and towards the conclusion of a warm summer. Its
figure and dimensions are variable; it has sometimes contained
about half an acre of ground, at other times only a few perches:
but extending in a gradual slope under water, a
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