Champ - Doug - Fourth Hour

Almost everyone one the face of the planet knows about the lake monster aka “Nessie” of Loch Ness. However unless you live in Burlington, Vermont you most likely have not heard of Champ. In this article I will go over the creditable and uncreditable of this legend.

In July 1609, Samuel de Champlain, the lake’s founder, sighted an odd strange fish like creature out on the lake. Naming the creature “Champ”, He described the creature later on as a, “20 foot serpent thick as a barrel with a head like a horse”. After the encounter, sightings of Champ began to pop-up all over Lake Champlain. New eyewitness accounts have painted a better picture of Champ, a cross between a plesiosaur, a type of swimming dinosaur, and a serpent. As the legend about Champ grew, so did the amount of sightings. In one account in 1871, passengers of the steamship The Curlew reported seeing a head, with a long neck that created large waves; the waves were so large that it started to rock the ship, and throw water on the deck. One more sighting in 1977, this time the encounter yields a photo. Tourist Sandra Mansi was having a picnic with some friends on the shore, when suddenly seeing Champ rise out of the water. Quickly grabbing her camera, snapped probably the best photo of champ today, and showed local authorities. After being studied very closely the picture, (figure 1), was proven not to have been tampered in any way.

Myself I used to live in Burlington, Vermont, and while I have never seen Champ himself, (scientists think it is in fact a male); I believe that he does exist. With no physical evidence some people believe that he doesn’t exist, but scientists believe that he could. Lake Champlain is over 100 miles long and 12 miles wide. Like Loch Ness some parts of the lake are over 400ft deep, and are abundant with fish in parts. Scientists have used sonar to find him, (just like Nessie), found no large monster, however the found disturbances deep under the surface, similar to submarines. While there are no subs in the lake scientists cannot find out what these disturbances are.

Whether Champ exists or not Burlington, Vermont, and Lake Champlain has become a major tourist attraction. As for Champ, like Nessie we most likely will never know whether or not he exists, whether he exists or not the Vermont State Government has put Champ on their endangered species list. As for you believe what ever you want to believe, about Champ, real or not his legend that will live on forever.

Resources

“July 1609, Samuel de Champlain, the lake’s founder, sighted an odd strange fish like creature out on the lake” References: http://www.unknown-creatures.com/champ.html date received April 8, 2009
Sandra Mansi’s Photograph Figure 1: http://paranormal.about.com/od/othercreatures/ig/Gallery-of-Monsters/Champ-- date received April 8, 2009
www.cryptomundo.com date received April 8, 2009
http://www.grantham.k12.nh.us/specialists/skiresortwebquest.html date received April 8, 2009