A photograph of a mountain range, from above resembling the silhouette of a sleeping woman, has circulated on social networks. According to some users, the photo shows Mount Sulahat in the North Caucasus. We found out if this photo is true.

A photograph of a mountain range in the shape of a sleeping woman gained the most popularity on social networks. "VKontakte", Facebook And Twitter. For example, fast in the group “Anime Nyaa | Anime memes" received 22,400 likes and 3,500 reposts, and group “Amazing nature” - 1800 likes and 600 reposts. IN Twitter one of the commentators on the posted photo confirmed, that such a mountain really exists in the North Caucasus and that he himself “went there five times”: “G. Sulahat is located in the Western Caucasus, in Dombai, in the upper reaches of the Alibek River. 3409 m. From the gorge it looks like a lying woman. Legs, stomach, chest, head are visible. The snowball looks like hair. Training mountain for climbers 2A class. I went there myself five times. The photo shows a render of a 3D model processed in Photoshop.”

There really is a mountain in Dombay, named by the female name Sulahat. Folk associated with it legend. In ancient times, the inhabitants of the mountain valley suffered from strong icy winds blowing through the pass. A resident of a village named Sulahat decided to sacrifice herself to save her people. She climbed the pass and lay down on the ridge of the mountain, blocking the way to the cold winds. The fossilized body of Sulahat, according to legend, can still be seen among the mountain peaks.

Many social network users publish identical photographs of a picturesque mountain range, but indicating other locations. For example, Twitter user asserts, which is in the photo - the Mountain of the Sleeping Lady mountain range in Chiang Rai province in Taiwan. Also sound optionsthat this mountain is located in the Karakoram mountain system in Asia, in Tibet, the Alps, Mexico, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

In the English-speaking segment of the Internet, the most common version that the photo was taken in Alaska. This is allegedly what Mount Susitna, or Sleeping Lady, in the Chugach Mountains looks like from a drone. The name Sleeping Lady is also connected legend. When the girl's fiancé went to defend the village, she promised to wait for him at the place where they said goodbye. After many sleepless nights of waiting, the girl fell asleep. The villagers, having learned about the death of the groom, did not dare to interrupt the bride’s peaceful sleep. So she remained there forever, waiting for her lover. The familiar photograph of a “sleeping woman” can be found in section photos of Mount Susitna on Google Maps.

However, a mountain in the shape of a sleeping woman does not exist either in Alaska, or in the North Caucasus, or in the other mentioned locations. This image is a CGI created by French artist Jean-Michel Bihorel. In March 2020 Bihorel published this is an image titled "Winter Dream" on their Facebook page. To users' questions about where this mountain is located, Jean-Michel replied: “On my computer. It's a digital sculpture." According to him, when creating the work, he used a mixed technique of 3D scanning, hand sculpting and procedural landscape generation. In his portfolio there are other hyper-realistic depictions of natural landscapes.

*Job "Mountain" Jean-Michel Bihorel, created with the help procedural generation landscape*

A month after the publication of “Winter Sleep,” American photographer Rob Hans uploaded the same image to the FineArtAmerica website, passing it off as his photograph of a real mountain. Another month later, the digital drawing began to spread on social networks with signature "Sleeping Lady Mountain, Alaska." Earliest fast with a mention of Mount Sulahat in the North Caucasus, which we managed to find, appeared on July 24, 2022 in the “Amazing Nature” group.

Apparently, Internet users circulated the digital image, mistaking it for a real photo. Perhaps the drawing is most often passed off as Mount Susitna in Alaska or Sulahat in the North Caucasus because of the ancient legends associated with these mountains about a sleeping or petrified girl.

Cover image: YouTube channel of Jean-Michel Bihorel