# 9: Shanay Timpishka Located in Peru, Shanay Timpishka is nicknamed
“the Boiling River” and known as the only boiling river in the world.
This tributary of the Amazon River is 4 miles long, 82 miles wide, and 20 feet deep.
But the most impressive (and scary) thing about it is it reaches up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
You could use the boiling water to cook a full-on meal at that temperature!
Nothing can live in the river, since it will boil them alive.
Normally water boils when it is near an active volcano, but this river is nowhere near one.
The local tribes believe that a jungle spirit called Yucamama causes the water to boil,
but scientists have a different explanation.
Water is hotter when it’s closer to the Earth’s mantle.
A hydrothermal process takes place that causes the river to boil and reach the temperature
that it does.
# 8: Lake Kawah Ijen On the island of Java in Indonesia, at an
elevation of 9,085 feet, is a highly acidic crater.
Located right next to an active volcano, the lake’s temperature is about 90 degrees Fahrenheit
and full of sulfuric acid.
It’s about 2,300 feet wide and reaches a depth of 660 feet.
Swimming in this lake would be a horrible mistake, because the acid would end up burning
you.
The lake’s PH level is 0.3.
As a reminder, the PH scale ranges from 0 to 14, and for reference, battery acid has
a PH level of 0.
So, you definitely don’t want to even touch the water!
Birds flying over the lake have been seen to drop dead and fall in because of its acidic
fumes.
And if that wasn’t enough, the flammable sulfuric gases ignite impressive, electric
blue flames on the shore of the lake that reach up to 16 feet high and 1,112 degrees
Fahrenheit.
# 7: Jacob’s Well Found in Texas, Jacob’s Well is a beautiful
spring with crystal-clear water.
It’s a popular spot to visit and enjoy the afternoon, and if you stay near the surface,
is pretty safe, too.
But beware if you decide to go deeper beneath the surface.
After a vertical, 30-foot-deep dive, there are caves with several chambers that can reach
an average of 120 feet deep.
The caves can be difficult to navigate and there are parts with narrow passageways.
It’s easy to get lost and disoriented down there.
Experienced divers have even admitted it was a “challenging, unforgiving environment.”
There have been at least eight deaths at Jacob’s Well.
In 1981, a man’s body drifted its way out of the well two years after he went missing.
And another man’s body who is believed to have died around the same year was discovered
in the year 2000, several years after his disappearance.
It just goes to show how easy it is to get lost within, and how hard it can be to find
your way out.
# 6: The Amazon Basin The Amazon Basin is massive, spanning about
2,400,000 square miles in the countries of Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador,
Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana (which is France’s territory).
That’s a little over 35% of South America.
Regardless of which country you’re in, swimming in the Amazon Basin is probably a bad idea.
There are dangerous animals like piranhas, black caimans, the candiru fish, and more.
The inch-long, eel-like candiru is a parasitic fish that has been known to swim up the urethra
or other body openings.
There have been alleged reports of people trying to pull the fish out of the urethra,
causing injuries.
However, there is speculation that these stories are just myths, but nobody knows for sure.
Better to play it safe and not even get into the water!
# 5: Lake Victoria At over 26,000 square miles, Lake Victoria
spans across Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya.
It is the largest tropical freshwater lake in the world, and the third largest lake in
general in the world.
Parts of this lake have its own weather system.
The unpredictability of the weather means that it can go from calm and sunny to rainy
and windy in the blink of an eye.
The dangerous thing about this is there is no way to track the weather and predict what
will happen, so if you’re caught at the wrong place at the wrong time, it could be
deadly.
In fact, about 5,000 people die at Lake Victoria every year.
That is a huge number of annual fatalities.
The combination of severe weather patterns, old fishing boats, and many of the locals’
inability to swim well, is a recipe for disaster when the bad weather hits.
In addition, the water is extremely polluted due to the dumping of raw sewage, domestic
and industrial waste, fertilizer, and chemicals.
People who enter the water are at risk of catching diseases.
Researchers found high levels of lead, arsenic, aluminum, and phosphorous in the water.
# 4: Horseshoe Lake Found in California, Horseshoe Lake has a
high concentration of carbon dioxide.
A reservoir of gas had been beneath Mammoth Mountain, and after several earthquakes that
occurred between 1989 and 1990, pathways opened up for that gas to escape.
This causes high levels of carbon dioxide that kills nearby trees and can be potentially
dangerous to humans.
There are even some amounts of hydrogen sulfide (the compound that creates a rotten egg smell)
and is toxic to humans.
The levels of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide fluctuate, so depending on when you’re
there, it could be relatively safe.
But if the levels are higher, you can become ill and even die from the levels of toxicity
in the air.
In fact, in 1998 a 58-year-old skier was found dead skiing near Horseshoe Lake.
The autopsy revealed that he died from asphyxiation due to high levels of carbon dioxide.
The carbon dioxide levels of where his body was found was 70%.
You never know when the levels can get too high, so maybe it’s best to avoid this area
altogether.
# 3: Lake Natron This alkaline lake is right below an active
volcano in Tanzania.
It is 35 miles long, 14 miles wide, and less than 10 feet deep.
The temperature reaches around 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
The bright red color of this lake comes from microorganisms that feed off the high levels
of salt found within it.
But the craziest phenomenon is the fact that animals turn into stone when they unfortunately
get in the water—well, technically, they calcify.
This happens because of the high concentration of sodium carbonate that makes its way into
the lake from the nearby volcanic activity.
This compound was also used in ancient Egypt to mummify the mummies.
But, strangely enough, while uninhabitable for almost any other animal, flamingos seem
to thrive here.
They can tolerate the amount of salt in the lake because of glands they have that filter
out excess amounts of salt through their nasal cavity.
The tough skin on their legs also helps protect them from getting burned.
Did you know, that in 2007 a helicopter crashed into Lake Natron?
A group of wildlife videographers were attempting to get some awesome footage of the flamingos
at very low altitude, when the pilot accidentally flew a little too low, causing the helicopter
to make contact with the water and nose-dive.
The water started to instantly burn their eyes and skin.
Had they not frantically made their way to the shore, they would have met the same fate
as the other, smaller animals that didn’t make it out alive.
# 2: The Beaches of North Queensland While there are a number of fantastic beaches
you can swim at in Queensland, Australia, you won’t be finding anyone swimming at
the beaches found in the Northern part of Queensland—and it isn’t because of the
sharks.
Irukandji Jellyfish (a species of box jellyfish) and other box jellyfish are found in these
waters, and they are some of the most venomous animals on the planet.
Irukandji Jellyfish are tiny, with a size between 0.5 to 1 inch.
They are incredibly difficult to notice, which is a problem, because it’s impossible to
see their four deadly, stinger-filled tentacles that can reach up to 3.3 feet in length.
Other box jellyfish are bigger but are also transparent and can be hard to see.
Their venom is believed to be 100 times stronger than a cobra’s.
Symptoms can include painful muscle cramps in your arms and legs, backache, headache,
abdominal and chest pain, nausea, vomiting, burning of the skin and face, and sweating.
In severe cases, fatal brain hemorrhages can occur.
Between 50 to 100 people are hospitalized each year due to box jellyfish stings, and
some of those visits are fatal.
And if the jellyfish weren’t enough to worry about, there are also crocodiles that lurk
in those same waters.
So, it’s probably best to skip these beaches.
# 1: The Blue Lagoon Also known as the Harpur Hill Quarry, the
Blue Lagoon is located in Buxton, United Kingdom.
Despite having a beautiful, turquoise blue color, it is in fact a toxic dump.
Warning signs outside the lake advises that the water is polluted, and is known to contain
dead animals, trash, feces, and car wrecks.
Who knows what other gross things can be found in there?
The bright blue color is misleading—what gives it that color are actually caustic chemicals
(chemicals that corrode skin, eyes, and other mucous membranes, including your lungs).
The pH level of the water at the Blue Lagoon is 11.3.
For reference, clean water has a pH level of 7, and bleach has a pH level of around
12.
The police have said that swimming here is “like swimming in a bath of bleach.”
But, for some reason, people have continuously ignored the warning signs that lead up to
the lagoon and decide to swim in it anyway.
They have been unable to drain the lagoon because it is privately-owned, and it has
been difficult trying to contact the owner.
To try and discourage people from getting in the water, local authorities regularly
dye the lagoon black.
Thanks for watching!
Would you rather swim in the ocean in North Queensland for 15 minutes or work 14 hours
a day for the rest of your life?
Let us know in the comments section below!