Tourists love to visit the crystal clear seas or lakes, which are surrounded by magnificent landscapes. But you shouldn’t thoughtlessly jump into the water, without knowing anything about it! Many of them have warning signs. But there are also desperate daredevils who do not pay attention to them – they only wished for a speedy immersion. We would like to present you the most dangerous bodies of water in the world. It’s pretty scary to swim here, and often you shouldn’t. Remember about it if you happen to visit these places.
Great Blue Hole, Belize
Agile high tides create a powerful ebb in the Great Blue Hole, dragging everything on the surface to a depth. But there are people who, despite the danger, dived there. Prominent explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau was confident that this is one of the best diving spots in the world.
Photo: tofoli.douglas/flickr (Public domain)
Photo: The TerraMar Project/flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Photo: Tim Snell/flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Jacob’s Well, Texas, USA
The hole is about 9 meters deep, at the bottom of which there are numerous tunnels leading to an underground system of caves. A sign placed nearby warns that 300 divers have died trying to reach the bottom or explore the tunnels.
Photo: Larry D. Moore, from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo: Larry D. Moore, from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo: Outdoor Craziness, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Lake Michigan, USA
Lake Michigan has acquired the same reputation as the Bermuda Triangle after an unexplained plane crashed near it. Besides, the lake is dangerous due to its strong currents, which form suddenly and kill dozens of people every year.
Photo: 12019 / pixabay (Pixabay License)
Photo: Dustin Tinney/flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Photo: Roman Boed/flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Lake Natron, Tanzania
It is one of the most saline and alkaline lakes in the world. In some places, the water temperature reaches 50°C. Such conditions are unsuitable for most animals and plants: only 3 fish species live in the lake.
Photo: Richard Mortel/flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Photo: By Clem23, from Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)
Photo: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey
Blue Hole, Dahab, Egypt
This place is one of the most dangerous for diving because it is 120 meters deep. Some experts say that even the best divers were afraid to reach the bottom. The cause of death is nitrogen poisoning or lack of air for coming back. Nearby there is a wall with tombstones of those who lost their lives here.
Photo: By S. Ellermann, from Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)
Photo: By Nowic, via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo: Tim Sheerman-Chase/flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Horseshoe Lake, State of Washington, USA
Carbon dioxide emissions from a well at the bottom are fatal to everything. 4 people died in the lake. In addition to this, there are a large number of trees on the banks. The danger is that they rot right on the beach.
Photo: By AdorableFluttershy, from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photo: Gena Montgomery/flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Photo: By AdorableFluttershy, from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The most dangerous bodies of water in the world: «Boiling Lake», Dominica
It takes 8 hours to reach the lake from the valley. The water in it sometimes warms up to 92 degrees thanks to the hot air coming from the bowels of the Earth. The lake is considered very dangerous because it is not always boiling and attracts tourists who like to take a swim in its warm waters. However, the temperature can rise suddenly and unexpectedly, causing severe burns to those in the water.
Photo: Göran Höglund (Kartläsarn)/flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Photo: By XeresNelro, from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo: By Bayukjdr, from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The most dangerous bodies of water in the world: Lake Kivu
It looks like an absolutely peaceful lake, but inside there is a mortal danger. Lake Kivu has layers of carbon dioxide and wells below it with 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Even a slight earthquake is enough to cause a massive explosion that will destroy numerous villages nearby.
Photo: By Adam Jones, Ph.D., from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photo: By Adam Jones, Ph.D., from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photo: MONUSCO Photos/flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
The most dangerous bodies of water in the world: Drake Passage
Icebergs, gusts of up to 130 km/h and strong currents are just some of the challenges ships face in the Drake Passage. This is a real graveyard of ships that were forced to sail along the passage before the Panama Canal was constructed.
Photo: By Ville Miettinen from Helsinki, Finland (Polar Star), via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Photo: Casey Youngflesh/flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Photo: michelle2214/pixabay (CC0 Creative Commons)
The most dangerous bodies of water in the world: Rio Tinto, Spain/Portugal
This river is saturated with iron and heavy metals, which increase the acidity of its water. However, bacteria live well in this environment, which oxidize metals and create the characteristic reddish color of the river.
Photo: By Paco naranjo jimenez, from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo: By Paco naranjo jimenez, from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo: José Mari D. Barba/flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)
The most dangerous bodies of water in the world: Frying Pan Lake, Waimangu, New Zealand
Quiet and calm at first glance, Frying Pan Lake is one of the largest hot pools in the world. The temperature of its acidic water throughout the year ranges from 50°C to 60°C, and on the surface you can see steam from carbon dioxide and various hydrogen sulfides. This unique lake is not only too hot for swimming: it contains half of the periodic table.
Frying Pan Lake on map
Read more about this place:
Frying Pan Lake
The most dangerous bodies of water in the world: Bolton Strid, Yorkshire, England
A small mountain stream which may look quite harmless, is one of the most dangerous natural traps. A system of caves is hidden under its water, and the slope of stones is sometimes directed towards the coast. This ominous, but extremely picturesque place is located near Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire.
Bolton Strid on map
