According to a few oral traditions from San Cristóbal Verapaz, the lake would have formed catastrophically by ground collapse during an earthquake in the early 16th Century, soon after the arrival of the Dominican friars (around 1525 CE), engulfing a church and its surrounding Maya settlement. The cataclysm has been explained as a divine punishment imparted to the inhabitants of San Cristóbal Caccoh, following the expulsion of a Dominican friar and the refusal of the inhabitants to submit to the Christian faith. This tradition is echoed in a book published in 1648 CE by the Irish Dominican friar Thomas Gage: "The English-American, or a New Survey of the West Indies". Gage's book suffers many exaggerations, casting doubt on the validity of his testimony. However, an independent report by Spanish Dominicans also mentions the sudden formation of a lake near San Cristóbal, by cave collapse, during an earthquake in 1590 CE.  The parochial church suffered little damage during that earthquake. The most serious report therefore suggests that the purported event would have taken place far enough from the city for the church not to be damaged, but still would have been large enough to be deemed to reported. The event did not affect the western part of the lake, which was already in existence since at least the 8th Century. Montero de Miranda wrote about the lake that by 1575  (UNAM, 1982: 223–248) it was a "very large, long and very deep lake".