Brief History: The lake was formed by a Karst process in which the ceiling of cave collapsed. In 1851, Charles Andersson, John Allen and Francis Galton, author of a book about southern africa, visited the lake first, followed by the geologist Dr. P. Hermann in 1911. The botanist Kurt Diner collected a number of unknown species there. When the "Schutztruppe" surrendered to the Union Troops in 1915, they threw their arms into it; according to Guenther Walbaum 30 cannons and 400-500 boxes of ammunition. The South Africans could easily recover it because is was lying only 3 m from the surface on a rock. 2 small field cannons were displayed in front of the Tintenpalast in Windhoek for many years, others in the Tsumeb Museum.
Legal Status: Declared as National Monument on 15.09.1972 by the National Monuments Council of South Africa (NMC, National Monuments Act 1969, No. 28).
Information provided by the National Heritage Council of Namibia.