A
mysterious, four-mile long river, deep in the heart of the Amazon is so
hot that it boils. The river has long been a legend in Peru, but when
geoscientist, Andres Ruzo heard about it, he thought such a phenomenon
couldn’t possibly exist.
He believed that it would require a huge amount of geothermal heat to boil even a small river, and the Amazon basin is far from any active volcanoes.
According to DailyMail, Ruzo first heard about the Mayantuyacu River when his grandfather told him a story of how some Spanish conquistadors headed into the Amazon rainforest in search of gold. When they returned, the men spoke of a terrifying experience that involved poisoned water, man-eating snakes and a river that boils from below.
Despite his skepticism, Runzo found himself hiking into the jungle and he said that what he saw was beyond his imagination.
“Dipping my hand into the river would give me third-degree burns in less than half a second. Falling in could easily kill me,” Ruzo told Ted.com.
Parts of the river are so hot that any animal that falls in boils instantly.
“I’ve seen all sorts of animals fall in, and what is shocking to me is that the process is pretty much the same. They fall in and the first thing to go are the eyes. Eyes, apparently cook very quickly. They turn to a milky-white colour. When the stream is carrying them, they try to swim out, but their meat is cooking on the bone because it is so hot. So they lose power until finally they get to a point where hot water goes into their mouths and they cook from the inside out,” said Runzo.
For some reason, the river has escaped scientific scrutiny. But Ruzo is on a mission to change that.
He believed that it would require a huge amount of geothermal heat to boil even a small river, and the Amazon basin is far from any active volcanoes.
According to DailyMail, Ruzo first heard about the Mayantuyacu River when his grandfather told him a story of how some Spanish conquistadors headed into the Amazon rainforest in search of gold. When they returned, the men spoke of a terrifying experience that involved poisoned water, man-eating snakes and a river that boils from below.
Despite his skepticism, Runzo found himself hiking into the jungle and he said that what he saw was beyond his imagination.
“Dipping my hand into the river would give me third-degree burns in less than half a second. Falling in could easily kill me,” Ruzo told Ted.com.
Parts of the river are so hot that any animal that falls in boils instantly.
“I’ve seen all sorts of animals fall in, and what is shocking to me is that the process is pretty much the same. They fall in and the first thing to go are the eyes. Eyes, apparently cook very quickly. They turn to a milky-white colour. When the stream is carrying them, they try to swim out, but their meat is cooking on the bone because it is so hot. So they lose power until finally they get to a point where hot water goes into their mouths and they cook from the inside out,” said Runzo.
For some reason, the river has escaped scientific scrutiny. But Ruzo is on a mission to change that.
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