To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. Here’s a new addition for the nightmare box: a gaping mouth that greedily drains gallons of murky water into a frothing hole. It is known as the Glory Hole, and to be honest, we were as surprised as you about that. The orifice was activated for the first time in six years last week, and since then onlookers have been pulling up to stare.
![[Gigantic spinning Glory Hole filmed as it sucks down fluid]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SEI_239444613-10f8.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
It was automatically triggered when water levels at the Monticello Dam in Napa reached their maximum level, so some of the fluid in the reservoir had to be released. Officially known as the Morning Glory Spillway, it has only rarely been activated, when levels are so high that Lake Berryessa is at risk of flooding. Swimming near it is stricly prohibited, as if you get sucked inside the vortex of spiralling water, you won’t be coming out alive.
![[Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ken Cantrell/Zuma Wire/REX/Shutterstock (8510066f) Water from Lake Berryessa is flowing into a vertical spillway, drawing tourists to see what's known as the Glory Hole. Berryessa, a reservoir about two hours north of San Francisco, is formed by the Monticello Dam and features a spillway, 72 feet wide with a vertical drop more than 200 feet deep. When the lake fills up, excess water pours down the pipe and out the base of the dam. Glory Hole drains flood filled Lake Berryessa, USA - 08 Mar 2017]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SEI_239448976-1c4f.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Chris Lee, the general manager for the Solano County Water Agency, told the LA Times that the plunging water hole is ‘definitely worth seeing. I’ve been lucky enough to see it a few times. … It’s just not that common.’. The 72-ft wide spillway got its name because it is said to resemble the Morning Glory flower…. obviously. It isn’t the only famous glory hole around, either. The UK has its own at a waterway in Lincoln, which was said to need a good bit of wood to save it from collapse when support beams were damaged in 2023.
![[Apps With More Than One Million Users]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1632181964-e1700130460337.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=594)
Peter Kilkus, the editor of a local paper near Monticello, told the New York Times: ‘People were taking pictures and videos and just standing in awe.’. Metro’s on Whatsapp! Join our community for breaking news and juicy stories. Another atmospheric river is expected to bring more heavy rain to northern California on Thursday. So if you want to experience the glory of the hole near San Fransisco for yourself, you still have time.
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