Incredible footage shows boats pushing a FLOATING ISLAND around a lake

Wisconsin’s Lake Chippewa is home to a huge floating island that locals often have to move around in their boats.

The island has to be moved almost annually so that it doesn’t float too close to a bridge that connects the east and west sides of the lake.

Incredible video footage of the ritual, which takes place almost every year, shows locals in their boats working together to push the island away from the bridge.

It is one of several floating islands in the lake, which was created in 1923 after the construction of a dam on the Chippewa River, flooding 15,000 acres (6,070 hectares) of land. Explore Wisconsin reveals.

The lake’s unique floating islands formed as chunks of peat bog rising from the land beneath the lake. Over time, vegetation began to grow on these bog “islands” and soon an entire ecosystem began to thrive.

Wisconsin’s Lake Chippewa is home to a huge floating island that locals often have to move around in their boats

The island has to be moved almost annually so that it doesn’t float too close to a bridge that connects the east and west sides of the lake

Since the creation of the lake, also known as the Chippewa Flowage, some of the largest floating bogs have broken up into smaller islands before eventually disappearing.

The floating bog island that is causing problems for locals is known as the Forty Acre Bog and is crowned by tamarack larches.

Last year over 20 boats had to come together to push the island away from the bridge.

Above is a still from incredible video footage of the island shifting ritual that takes place almost every year

The lake’s floating islands formed as chunks of peat bog that rose from the land beneath the lake, which was created in 1923 after the construction of a dam on the Chippewa River, flooding 15,000 acres (6,070 hectares) of land

Denny Reyes, a local resident and owner of The Landing Restaurant and Resort told Northern News Now: “It’s one of the first things you look for when you come in here in the morning: Where is the moor?”

Greg Kopke, a local homeowner, told the publication that the bog doesn’t always move, but when it does, it needs to be pushed to the “right place.”

The Lake Chippewa Flowage website notes that although the lake was created a century ago, “new bogs can emerge at any time.”

It states: “A phenomenon known as “mud bogs” can occur at any time, but they are most common in the fall.”

The floating bog island that is causing problems for locals is known as the Forty Acre Bog and is crowned by tamarack larches

Last year over 20 boats had to come together to push the island away from the bridge

“Either they temporarily rise to the surface and then slowly sink back to the ground, or they remain permanently on the surface and eventually develop plants and trees.”

It adds: ‘[The islands] The size can range from the size of a parking lot to several acres.”

To keep track of the Forty Acre Bog’s whereabouts, the Facebook group The Lake Chippewa Flowage Resort Association was formed.

Various animal species live on the floating islands and are looked after by local wildlife authorities.

And the lake itself is full of attractions and is great for fishing trips, boat trips and wild swimming.