Spain’s Weird Red River Which Curses Everything It Touch
Proof of Extraterrestrial Life: NASA Scientists Flock Over to “Mars on Earth”
Now I’m sure the first thing that came to your mind at the word “extraterrestrial” was a green-bodied, lanky alien with an inverted triangle for a head and big glassy black eyes.
Maybe it was even operating a little spaceship? Perhaps it was speaking into a headset with a nasally voice in an unearthly language? I admit the media and movies of the 21st century sure have created a funny enough depiction of aliens in our minds, but in this article, we’re going to be tackling a case of real evidence pertaining to the existence of a life beyond this world.
Keep on reading to find out more about this river that has NASA Scientists so interested.
An Unusual Blood Red
One thing that plays a major role in alienating the (oh yes I did) Rio Tinto river from all other rivers of the world is its abnormal coloration. Running a whopping 100 km long, this river gleams a bright orangey-red under the scorching sun of southwestern Spain.
During dark hours, it appears a rather deep maroon. This color is a direct result of the natural oxidation of the heavy metal sulfides in the river. The river is also home to various sulfide-consuming bacteria and microorganisms which aid in the decomposition process and hence, turn the color redder by producing a ferric iron that is rust-colored in nature.
To add a little more context and insight to the topic, the river currently flows through an area that is unusually rich in underground iron-ore deposits and used to be active with volcanoes millions of years ago. The acidic runoff gets mixed in with the river waters that run through the area.
The Red Hulk — Permanent Destroying Powers
One other thing that’s unique to this river is its power to permanently ruin anything that touches it. Many times, tourists have reported dropping pieces of jewelry and seeing them turn rust-colored right in front of their eyes. Any splashes of water on clothing or even hair stains either permanently or for a really long time.
If one ever accidentally touches the river water with their bare hands, the best plan of action would be to run for your life (no literally, run for your life) to the nearest source of pure water and wash it off. Touching the river water or getting any of that fatal substance into your eyes could result in serious and permanent medical conditions.
It almost seems that this river is a real-life, red-colored version of the Hulk with the way it has a reputation of destroying anything it comes in contact with!
Untouchable River Water? A Hard Pass for Wild Life!
Though as humans we’re usually advised to stick to our plain ol’ bottled water, it is pretty common for the animal kingdom in the wild to get their water intake from rivers and streams.
In fact, these are their only sources of water available. The Rio Tinto River, however, is not a safe source of drinking water even for wild animals and birds. The water is heavily contaminated with iron ores and metal sulfides and is fatal to even touch, let alone drink.
Animals usually steer clear of these red waters and if ever one falls into the river, it usually doesn’t live long enough to see the light of another day. Moreover, this river is completely empty of fish and weeds too; there is only a particular type of bacteria that can survive in such a fatal environment.
Earthly Organism living in a Mars-like Environment!
An astrobiologist who has studied the river for over 30 years now claims that the minerals and chemicals found in this river are the same as those that have been reported on Mars.
Furthermore, it has been discovered a very negligible amount of light reaches the bottom of the river and that the river is in complete darkness. And what’s surprising is that despite all this, there are still certain types of bacteria and microorganisms that inhabit the depths of this river. And this is where it gets interesting!
The fact that there exist organisms that can survive in such an environment is a major discovery for astrobiologists because it pertains to the fact that there could be life on Mars too! For all we know, Mars might just be occupied by millions of such microorganism species.
And who knows, maybe these microorganisms have existed for a long time now and might even have evolved into complex living beings by now? Truly, the possibilities are innumerable if only one dares to wonder!
What do you think? Would the Rio Tinto River be the answer to so many of our questions? Or does all this just sound like a conspiracy theory to you?