Anomaly Ledger

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Bear Lake Monster

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Painted illustration: serpent with a long neck rising from a turquoise mountain lake under a pale sky
AI rendition based on witness descriptions, not an actual photo.
Bear Lake, Idaho, photographed by William Henry Jackson in 1871; the lake where Bear Lake Monster sightings are reported
Bear Lake, Idaho, photographed by William Henry Jackson in 1871; the lake where Bear Lake Monster sightings are reported · William Henry Jackson · Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons) · Image source
Aerial view of Bear Lake on the Idaho–Utah border, where Bear Lake Monster sightings are reported
Aerial view of Bear Lake on the Idaho–Utah border, where Bear Lake Monster sightings are reported · Vladsinger · CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons) · Image source · License

A serpent-like animal said to swim in Bear Lake on the Utah–Idaho border.

Hoax Verdict: A 19th-century newspaper invention that became local folklore.

Region
North America · US West · United States
First reports
1868 (Joseph C. Rich, Deseret News)

Key sightings

Best evidence

Newspaper stories only; the originator later called it a hoax.

Sources