In the world of folklore and cryptozoology, which is the study of hidden, unverified creatures, Champ is legendary. Champ is a creature said to closely resemble the Loch Ness Monster and alleged to inhabit Lake Champlain in northern New York and Vermont. The monster’s first recorded sighting is generally considered to be the one recounted by Samuel de Champlain in 1609. He referred to a “20-foot serpent, thick as a barrel and a head like a horse” (Teresi 1998, 88). Sightings of the creature and the quest to prove its existence continue today.
Lake Champlain separates Vermont from New York and stretches approximately 120 miles south from just above the Canadian border. The lake is about twelve miles wide at its widest point, yet it is crossable by bridge at different points toward the southern end. Lake Champlain is a closed-off remnant of the Champlain Sea, a temporary inlet of the Atlantic Ocean that existed until approximately 10,000 years ago.
The first recorded sighting of Champ was by Samuel de Champlain, but sightings and stories of mysterious creatures in Lake Champlain date back to the era of Native Americans. However, witness activity did not attain the frequency or publicity that it has in modern times until the 1800s. One of the most well-known and debated sightings of Champ was by Sandra Mansi. She took a snapshot while on the Vermont shore of Lake Champlain with her family on July 5, 1977, and the photo shows what appears to be a hump and a head attached to a long neck, all substantially visible above the water’s surface. This photo was not made public until four years later through an article written by John Noble Wilford in the New York Times. The photo was analyzed by the University of Arizona Optical Sciences Center, and they verified that the photo was not tampered with, though the image still remains unexplained. The Mansi photo occurred during what was a particularly active period of time in terms of Champ sightings in the 1970s and 1980s. A high point of this activity was the 1981 conference that earned national recognition: “Does Champ Exist? A Scientific Seminar.” About 200 people attended this event held in Shelburne, Vermont. The event was sponsored by the University of Vermont and the Shelburne Farms Museum, as well as by some local chambers of commerce. The Vermont State House of Representatives also took the step of passing H.R. 19 in 1982, which protects Champ. A similar resolution followed in 1983 in New York State.
American legend is populated with beasts and sea creatures of a wide variety of shapes and sizes, including Champ of Lake Champlain. Residents near the lake in New York’s Adirondack Mountains claim to have seen a large, serpentine creature, some 20 feet in length with a horse-shaped head. Reports of sightings appear as early as 1609 and to the present. Although unconfirmed, Champ is protected by laws passed by legislatures in both New York and Vermont. (Jean-francois Guignard/Dreamstime.com)
Various speculations and theories exist that attempt to explain the unusual stories and sightings at Lake Champlain. One of the theories held by many, and similar to that of the theories about the Loch Ness Monster, is that Champ could be one of a colony of plesiosaurs (carnivorous marine reptiles) that escaped extinction and became trapped in the lake 10,000 years ago when the Champlain Sea was cut off from what is now the Atlantic Ocean. Another variation of that theory is that the creature is a Zeuglodon, or Basilosaurus (a genus of early whale that is believed to have gone extinct approximately 34 million years ago). Scientists have also proposed that the alleged sightings of Champ could be attributed to the proven existence of an underwater seiche in Lake Champlain, which is a massive, underwater wave that is a common occurrence in long, narrow, and deep lakes. The phenomenon can stir up material from the bottom of a body of water, including large debris like logs, causing them to surface and therefore suggest the sudden appearance of unusual things in the water. Skeptics argue that this type of activity may explain the mysterious sightings in Lake Champlain. Although no definitive evidence of the creature has yet been produced, Champ has drawn international attention and serious searchers, including large-scale sonar expeditions.
William N. Schultz Jr.
See also Big Water Snake of the Blackfoot; Chessie; Hudson River Monster; Igopogo; Ogopogo; Sharlie/Slimy Slim; Whitey
Further Reading
Bartholomew, Robert E. 2012. The Untold Story of Champ: A Social History of America’s Loch Ness Monster. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Mangiacopra, Gary S., and Dwight G. Smith. 2007. Does Champ Exist?: Notes on the Historic Lake Monster Conference Held in Shelburne, Vermont, 29 August 1981. Landisville, PA: Coachwhip.
Teresi, Dick. 1998. “Monster of the Tub.” Discover (April 1998): 87–92.
Wilford, John Noble. 1981. “Is It Lake Champlain’s Monster?” New York Times (1923–Current File), June 30.