Sapphire Lake – an unused clay pit

Sapphire Lake – an unused clay pit

In 1968, when the company wanted to expand the possibilities for digging clay for production at the Hasle Klinker- og Chamottestensfabrik, it decided on an area in the forest a short distance from Lake Pyrit. Unfortunately, it was decided to dig a place where the island’s largest population of Screen-flowered Wintergreen grew, but at the time little attention was paid to preserving these areas.

Work then began on the new clay pit, which proved to be completely useless. The clay they got here was of too poor quality, there were too many stones in it for it to be used in industry. The excavation stopped and nature took over the clay pit.

Sapphire Lake is about 1.5 ha and has a depth of about 5 m.

Just before you reach the lake, look to your right and see a very special birch tree standing on a small slope. The soil under the tree is almost washed away by rain, this has caused a large part of the root system to be exposed and form a fantastic “sculpture”

If you come to the lake in a late summer evening, you will hear the characteristic laughing frog and toads everywhere.

Fishing in the lake is allowed without a licence. And there should be a good chance of catching them, although they are not as big as in the Emerald Sea. Areas are often used by families with children.