The Yellowstone Lake Music
On still mornings over Yellowstone Lake, people hear a sound in the air above them, like wind in wires or far-off bells.
What was reported
In 1872, F.H. Bradley, a geologist on the Hayden expedition, wrote of a curious sound at Yellowstone Lake, 'between a whistle and a hoarse whine', that he couldn't place. Twenty years later, the scientist Edwin Linton described a sound that began in the distance and grew louder overhead, like wind in pine trees and telegraph wires, echoing bells and a swarm of bees.
Visitors and rangers have reported the same 'lake music' since, mostly on calm, clear mornings, and only around Yellowstone and Shoshone lakes.
Explanations offered
No source has been confirmed. Suggestions include wind creating standing sound waves over the water, the movement of ice, birds, distant thunder, and stress in the ground of one of the world's most active volcanic areas.
- When
- Reported since 1872
- Where
- Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, USA
- Witnesses
- Explorers, rangers and visitors
- Status
- Unexplained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.