Colorful River

[Jenn]

Comment: I recently received these photos in an email forward. While breathtaking and seemingly plausible, I am still skeptical:

The river shown in the photographs is the Caño Cristales, which is
located near the town of La Macarena in Columbia , South America
... The river, world famous for its colorful display, has been called "the
river that ran away to paradise", "the most beautiful river in the world"
and "the river of five colors.

During a brief span between wet and dry seasons, when the water level
is just right, the many varieties of algae and moss bloom in a dazzling
display of colors. Without any roads leading to this river, it must be
accessed by horse.

[Jenn]

There's also a version with more detailed text:

The Most Colourful River In The World

The river shown in the photographs is the Caristales, which is located near the town of La Macarena in Columbia, South America. The river, world famous for its colourful display, has been called "the river that ran away to paradise", "the most beautiful river in the world" and "the river of five colours".

During Colombia 's wet season, the water flows fast and deep, obscuring the bottom of the river and denying the mosses and algae that call the river home the sun that they need.

During the dry season there is not enough water to support the dazzling array of life in the river, but during a brief span between the wet and dry seasons, when the water level is just right, the many varieties of algae and moss bloom in a dazzling display of colors. Blotches of amarillo, blue, green, black, and red - and a thousand shades in between - coat the river. The part of the river where the colourful blooms occur is quite isolated and is not accessible by road. Adventurous tourists can now fly into La Macarena and then make their way to to the river site on foot as part of guided tours. The site was effectively closed to tourists for several years because of guerrilla activity in the region along with concerns about the impact of unregulated tourist traffic. However, the site was reopened to visitors in 2009.

So far, some 1,000 people have visited Caristales, including around 100 foreign tourists.

The tours will follow four clearly marked and authorized paths and one is no longer permitted to stay overnight or cook, as this was ruining the area previously.

[Dropbear]

Could be true - I personally don't see the beauty though. I think it looks toxic - algal blooms can be quite poisonous.

Dropbear

[Beachlife!]

A google image search for Caño Cristales would seem to agree

[Wolf333]

Originally Posted by Dropbear

Could be true - I personally don't see the beauty though. I think it looks toxic - algal blooms can be quite poisonous.

Dropbear

I believe that you are supposed to drink in the scenery figuratively, not literally

[Sister Ray]

I thought this was going to be a thread about the Chicago River.

Sister "it's colored green" Ray

That's amazing; very pretty photographs.
(Although I can't help thinking of the Red Weed from War of the Worlds)!

[Xia]

Originally Posted by martin8

That's amazing; very pretty photographs.
(Although I can't help thinking of the Red Weed from War of the Worlds)!

I was thinking about the byrus mold from Dreamcatcher.