Is the ‘Sleeping Lady’ photo in a mountain in Alaska real or fake?
IN 2020, a picture of an Alaskan mountain went viral on social media.
The picture depicts an overview of "The Sleeping Lady" mountain and its rocks that are perfectly aligned in the shape of a sleeping woman.
What is the aerial photo of the ‘Sleeping Lady’ Mountain in Alaska?
A photo went viral in 2020 depicting a rock formation in the shape of a sleeping woman atop a mountain in Alaska.
The mountain is Mount Susitna, which stands at 4,396-foot about 33 miles northwest of Anchorage.
The picture is said to have been taken from a drone.
Social media users have reveled in its unique beauty, taking to Twitter to re-share the image and debate its authenticity.
One abrasive Twitter user wrote: "It’s fake dummies."
Another defended: "I don't think anybody believes it's not photoshopped, but it's beautiful and if you take it for what it is, you can just embrace it."
And one tweeted: "The real one looks a little different though."
"This is not Mt. Susitna. I'm staring at Mt. Susitna. I see it all the time. This isn't it," one user wrote in reaction to the image.
Is it real or fake?
The photo is fake.
Despite its realistic look, the image is a digital manipulation by artist Jean-Michel Bihorel who posted the photo to his website portfolio.
He titled the image "Winter Sleep."
Where is the ‘Sleeping Lady’ located?
The Sleeping Lady is located northwest of Anchorage, Alaska.
What is the legend behind the ‘Sleeping Lady’?
The legend behind the Sleeping Lady name is said to be derived from native lore.
"Native stories say that the lady was engaged to a man who went off to protect their village before they wed," writes Alaska.org.
"On the day her fiancé left, she promised to wait in the exact spot where he bade farewell.
"After many nights, she fell into a deep sleep waiting for him. Word came back to the village that the men were killed. Seeing how peacefully she was sleeping, the villagers couldn’t bear to wake her up, so she lay there, asleep and waiting for her love to return."
Facts about the Sleeping Lady
A few quick facts about Mount Susitna
- The mountain is located near Anchorage
- It is found on the west bank of the lower Susitna River
- Susitna is a native Alaskan word that translates to Sandy River or Little Mountain in English
- Mount Susitna is 4,396-foot high
- Several mountain ranges are visible from the top of Mount Susitna
- Mount Susitna was carved by ancient glacial ice
However, an article published in the Anchorage Chronicle in 2003 suggests the name was made up by a high school student named Nancy Lesh.
Lesh wrote a story about the Sleeping Lady in the early 1960s and had it published in Alaska Northern Lights magazine.
“I think I made the story up, although I can’t definitely say for sure,” she said.
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Children's book author Ann Dixon published a book titled the Sleeping Lady in 1964.
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In Dixon's version of the story, the giant woman fell asleep waiting for her husband to return from war, unaware that he had been killed.
Like Lesh, she agreed that the story is not native lore, but a story made up by prospectors and homesteaders.