World / Chile Melting Empties Chile Lake Initial swelling causes 'river tsunami'; global warming blamed By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff Posted Apr 11, 2008 3:58 PM CDT Copied This photo, released by Centro de Estudios Cientificos, shows the Cachet lake partially dried, in Aysen, southern Chile, Monday, April 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Centro de Estudios CientÃficos) Melting ice in a remote Chilean lake caused it to swell and suddenly empty, creating a “river tsunami,” the AP reports. Water from a melting glacier filled the lake and tunneled through the ice, emptying into a nearby river. “The mass of water moved against the current of the river,” said an expert. “It was a real river tsunami.” He said the “basic cause” was global warming. “This is a phenomenon that occurs periodically during the summer,” he added. (More Chile stories.) Report an error