There you are, trekking through the jungles of the Dark Continent. You have braved insects and bats, stood strong in the face of lions, elephants and even a charging rhino. Maybe you even faced a few hostile natives and blistering summer heat. And then it happens. Just when you think you have the world beaten. The lake belches and kills you!

   Sound like a bunch of hot air? It's not! Death Lake is real. In all the world there are actually 3 such volcanic lakes that spew forth enough carbon dioxide (C02) to kill everyone for miles around.

   To learn more about this "breath- taking" geological phenomenon scientists have begun siphoning Lake Nyos in northwest Cameroon

   In August 1986, the lake released enough carbon dioxide (C02) to suffocate 1,700 villagers as well as animals in valleys up to 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) away. Two years earlier in Lake Monoun, Cameroon, a smaller release of CO2 killed 37 people.

   The flatulence accumulated in the lakes as C02-rich gas. It was produced by magma rising to the Earth's surface and it contaminated the groundwater. The C02-charged groundwater was then discharged into the bottom of the lake in springs. In Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun the surface and bottom waters do not mix. This allows the C02 to build up in the bottom waters.

   "We know of no data that require as explanation a single, specific trigger mechanism," said George Kling, associate professor at University of Michigan's biology department. "In fact, if the partial pressure of CO2 levels were near saturation prior to the event, almost any physical process common in lakes could have moved water vertically enough to cause local oversaturation and thus initiate the release," Kling explains on his website.

   According to Kling and other scientists, gas is building again in Nyos and Monoun. "The total gas pressure at the bottom of Lake Nyos has increased by 10 percent compared to measurements made in April of 1998. Thus the danger of future lethal gas releases is also increasing, and another gas release could occur at any time in either lake."

  Now even these mysterious lakes will be conquered. They join the wild beasts, oppressive heat and exotic diseases. All have fallen to human technology. Scientists have undertaken a project to burp the lakes, making the area safe for tourists and shopping malls. But can they really tame the dark forces of mother nature - or should weary travelers still beware of Death Lake? Follow today's links and decide for yourself!