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Super-Colorful Rivers


"QUANTUM SHOT" #873
Link - article by Avi Abrams




You cannot "step into the same river twice", but some rivers are so full of heavenly colour that you are tempted to linger

"The river itself portrays humanity precisely, with its tortuous windings, its accumulation of driftwood, its unsuspected depths, and its crystalline shallows, singing in the summer sun. Barriers may be built across its path, but they bring only power... sometimes when the rocks loom large ahead, and eternity itself would be needed to carve a passage, there is an easy way around. The discovery of it makes the river sing with gladness and turns the murmurous deeps to living water, bright with ripples and foam." -- Myrtle Reed, Old Rose and Silver

Yes, rivers hold a presence in our hearts comparable to that of an ocean, but more dynamic, more alive and in tune with a changeable human nature. An ocean is a ponderous entity, immense and immovable, but rivers flow and change their character; their nature is at once boisterous and disciplined, humbly contained within the geological framework allotted to them.


(images credit: Andrei Ermolayev)

Some rivers sparkle with many colors, and today we are going to look at some of the most colorful rivers in the world, covering only a few with more waiting for future installments of our "Awesome Nature" series:


Corte Pequena Faro: the Blue Dragon

This aerial photograph showcases the stunningly blue water - the reflection of the sky above - of the river near Faro, Portugal. Here are the coordinates on GoogleMaps:


(image credit: Steve Richards)


Such beautiful blue color and multiple twists can be a feature of many rivers, best appreciated from a great height - producing stunning aerial photography shots. Lake Nacimiento in California, for example, displays the same dragon-like bristling shape and similarly brilliant color reflecting the clear skies. However, some rivers display similarly brilliant color up close and personal, and the following glacier melt-water river is perhaps the most vivid of them all:


Stunningly Vivid Blue River, fed by the Petermann Glacier in Greenland

This is melt water, of course, with thousands of melt ponds (some having a cutesy heart shape) all around it; but it is also a flowing river of intensely blue color which can be experienced on an organized kayak trip for those daring enough to go. Petermann Glacier is 70 km long and can be 600 m deep... "In August 2010, a giant iceberg measuring 260 square kilometres (100 sq mi) broke off from the floating portion of Petermann Glacier reducing its area and volume by about 25% and 10%, respectively."



(images via)


River of Five Colors: Cano Cristales

Also known as "the river that ran away from paradise," and "the most beautiful river in the world", the Crystal River is located near La Macarena, Colombia, and sports five distinct colors within its waters - yellow, blue, green, black, red - which change their hue and brilliance depending on a season (best observed in September-November) and on a life-cycle of the Macarenia clavigera weeds lining the riverbed.




(images via)


To access the river you will have to fly to La Macarena and then take a horseback trip into the "Serrania de la Macarena" National Park, so it is not that easy to get there - but the rewards of witnessing and even swimming in all this radiant glory speak for themselves. Check out these lovely water-eroded pits in rock where you can even submerge yourself for a brief "fish in a bowl" experience:





There is also an abundance of miniature waterfalls, adding to the spectacular beauty of the place:



(images via)


Color it Green: Lovely, Curvaceous River Uvac in Serbia

This light-green beauty is located in Special Nature Reserve Uvac, namely the Uvac Canyon, which is also known for being a habitat of huge Griffon Vultures, which can have a wingspan of almost three meters...


(image via)


Color it Red: Washed Sand Changes Rivers into "Blood"

This is the much-revered Yangtze River in China, which turned color one day (most vividly near Chongqing) due to some washed out sand - and caused an ecological scare in the news as it was initially thought to be caused by somebody dumping chemicals in the river:



(images credit: China Photo Press / Barcroft Media )


Another washed sand "red river" was spotted in Madagascar - this is an aerial shot over the Bombetoka Bay in Betsiboka region:


(image credit: Oledoe)


Color it Rainbow: Incredible Volcanic Ash-infused rivers of Iceland

Intense volcanic activity in Iceland leads to overall abundance of other-worldly landscapes, and this apparently includes rivers which look like they were lifted bodily from the surface of some other planet - an ancient Mars, perhaps, bountiful with water reflected over the shimmering alien sand.

Russian photographer Andrei Ermolayev took these fantastic aerial shots over the Southern coast of Iceland:




(images credit: Andrei Ermolayev)


These incredible river-made patterns don't even seem natural, but rather a handiwork of a fairy-tale maiden, an ornament to adorn the blushing face of the Earth, to cherish for ages to come:


(image credit: Andrei Ermolayev)

Article by Avi Abrams, Dark Roasted Blend.


ALSO READ: "MOTHER NATURE AS AN ABSTRACT ARTIST" ->

CONTINUE TO THE "AWESOME NATURE" SERIES ->




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YOUR COMMENTS::

3 Comments:

Anonymous PaulDow said...

Virtually all your posts are great, but this one is exceptional. Very those rivers look fantastic.

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Anonymous PaulDow said...

I should try to not get distracted when typing comments. It makes me look incoherent.

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Blogger Laurinda said...

So beautiful. & thank you for the Pin It buttons on the photos-I like knowing that I'm giving credit where it's due!

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