Neither flows into any sea. To be afraid of spirits, do not go to the steppe. Love stories of the red piece of the ocean

A lake is a closed depression of land filled with water and not having a direct connection with the ocean. Unlike lakes, they are reservoirs of slow water exchange. The total area of ​​the Earth's lakes is about 2.7 million km2, or about 1.8% of the land surface. Lakes are distributed everywhere, but unevenly. The geographical distribution of lakes is greatly influenced by climate, which determines their nutrition and evaporation, as well as factors contributing to the formation of lake basins. There are many lakes in the regions; they are deep, fresh and mostly flowing. In areas with a dry climate, all other things being equal, there are fewer lakes, they are often low-water, often drainless, and therefore often salty. Thus, the distribution of lakes and their features are determined by geography.

4. Karst lakes, the basins of which arose as a result of failures, soil subsidence and erosion (limestones, gypsum, dolomites). The dissolution of these rocks by water leads to the formation of deep but small lake basins.

5. Dammed (dammed, or dam) lakes arise as a result of blocking the river bed (valley) with blocks of rock during landslides in the mountains (Sevan, Tana, many lakes of the Alps, and other mountain lakes). From a large mountain collapse in 1911, Lake Sarez with a depth of 505 m was formed.

A number of lakes are formed for other reasons:

  • estuary lakes are common on the shores of the seas - these are coastal areas of the sea, separated from it by means of coastal spits;
  • oxbow lakes are lakes that arose in old river beds.

Based on the origin of the water mass, lakes are of two types.

1. Fresh lakes - the salinity of which does not exceed 1‰ (one ppm).

2. Brackish - the salinity of such lakes is up to 24‰.

3. Salty - with a content of dissolved substances in the range of 24.7-47‰.

4. Mineral (47‰). These lakes are soda, sulfate, and chloride. In mineral lakes, salts can precipitate. For example, self-settling lakes Elton and Baskunchak, where salt is mined.

Usually wastewater lakes are fresh, since the water in them is constantly renewed. Endorheic lakes are often salty, because their water flow is dominated by evaporation, and all minerals remain in the reservoir.

Lakes, like rivers, are the most important natural resources; used by humans for navigation, water supply, fishing, obtaining mineral salts and chemical elements. In some places, small lakes are often artificially created by humans. Then they are also called .

The Okavango River flows on the African continent through Angola, Namibia and Botswana. It is interesting because it does not flow anywhere. For 1600 kilometers, it carries its waters not to the ocean, sea or lake. The Okavango forms a vast delta, spreading over the surrounding area and dissolving into the swamp. It is also interesting that this swampy lowland is located in the northwest of the Kalahari Desert. An incredible combination of swamp and desert. The Okavango Delta is the most extensive inland delta in the world. The view of it from above amazes with its beauty and originality.

The Okavango originates in the mountains of Angola, but in that country it is called Cubango. Then it flows to the southeast and, reaching the Makgadikgadi depression in Botswana, overflows, forming a vast swamp. Scientists believe that 10,000 years ago the Okavango River had a completely ordinary delta, flowing into the ancient Lake Makgadikgadi. But over time, this body of water dried up, leaving behind several salt lakes that exist only during the rainy season and for a short time after it. And the Okavango still carries its waters in the usual direction, only there is nowhere for it to flow - there is desert all around. Kalahari Desert.

The Kalahari is the largest desert in Africa south of the equator. Its area is already 600,000 square kilometers, and it continues to increase. Contrary to popular belief, deserts are not only hot sand and lack of rain. Deserts include areas where the annual precipitation does not exceed 250-300 millimeters, and this amount is significantly less than the moisture spent on evaporation. That is, rains are even possible there, as, for example, in the Kalahari, where the rainy season begins in the summer. The fauna of this desert is quite diverse. In addition to lizards and snakes, lions, cheetahs, leopards, rhinoceroses, giraffes, antelopes and zebras live here. But the greatest diversity of fauna is found in the swamps that form the Okavango.


The Okavango Delta is not only an unusual geographical feature, but also a unique biological system. In these impassable swamps, hundreds of species of various animals, including very rare and unusual ones, have a wonderful home. Thanks to the swamp, dense thickets of papyrus and water lilies, this region has been preserved almost in its original form. The only people here are locals, tourists and photographers. They travel here only on narrow small boats; there is simply no other way to get through the reed thickets. Interesting ungulates that have adapted to life in swamps live here: sitatunga antelope, swamp goats, red lychees. There are also lions and cheetahs here, which are accustomed to swamp life. The Okavango Delta has a very rich and diverse world of waterbirds.

And all this magnificent diversity on the edge of the desert is only possible thanks to the Okavango, an amazing river that dissolves into the sands, giving life.

When we hear the word “lake”, a picture appears in our imagination - a wonderful place to relax, where you can swim and fish. However, this is not always the case. Some lakes inspire fear and horror. And there are reasons for this.

Lake Pustoe (Russia)

Its location is the Kuznetsk Alatau region located in Western Siberia. Lake Pustoye is a fresh and environmentally friendly reservoir of continental origin, because it is completely free of chemicals. Many scientists have repeatedly conducted studies of water from the lake, which have never confirmed the presence of any toxic components in it.

The lake has clean water that is suitable for drinking and resembles champagne, as it is dominated by completely safe bubbles of natural gases. However, researchers were unable to determine the reason why there was no fish in the lake.

In the vicinity of Lake Pustogo there have never been environmental disasters or extraordinary technical incidents polluting the reservoir. The chemical composition of its water does not differ from the nearest reservoirs of the reserve, which are distinguished by an abundance of fish resources. Moreover, the reservoir feeds several fresh, clean reservoirs in the vicinity; the fact that there is fish in them will add special mystery to what is happening in these dreams.

There have been several attempts to introduce unpretentious fish species such as pike, perch and crucian carp into the reservoir. Each of them ended in failure, the fish died, the aquatic plants rotted. And today there is no grass or birds on the banks of the reservoir, there are no fish or fry in the water, the lake guards its mysteries.

Why are there no fish in the lake?

Samples from the Kuznetsk reservoir were studied by chemists from the USA, Great Britain and Germany. However, no one was able to put forward a sensible version explaining the lack of fish in the reservoir. Scientists are not yet able to answer the questions of ordinary people about what is happening to the Kuznetsk reservoir.

However, scientists repeat attempts to explain the extraordinary phenomenon of Empty Lake with enviable frequency. There are many people who want to visit the shores of the unusual lake; tourists come here and stay overnight. Some of them dream of touching the mystery of nature and unraveling it.

Lake of Death (Italy)


Our world is amazing and beautiful, its nature can be endlessly admired and enjoyed. But besides this, there are places on our Earth that sometimes lead us to bewilderment. Among such places is the Lake of Death on the island of Sicily. This lake can be considered one of the phenomena and unique natural phenomena. The name itself suggests that this lake is deadly for all living things. Any living organism that gets into this lake will inevitably die.

This lake is the most dangerous on our planet. The lake is absolutely lifeless and there are no living organisms in it. The shores of the lake are deserted and lifeless; nothing grows here. Everything is connected with the fact that any living creature that enters the aquatic environment immediately dies. If a person decides to swim in this lake, he will literally dissolve in the lake in a few minutes.

When information about this place appeared in the scientific world, a scientific expedition was immediately sent there to study this phenomenon. The lake revealed its secrets with great difficulty. Water analyzes showed that the lake’s aquatic environment contains a large amount of concentrated sulfuric acid. Scientists were not immediately able to figure out where the sulfuric acid comes from in the lake. Scientists have put forward several hypotheses about this.

The first hypothesis stated that at the bottom of the lake there are rocks that, when washed away by water, become enriched with acid. But further study of the lake showed that at the bottom of the lake there are two sources that release concentrated sulfuric acid into the lake’s water environment. This explains why any organic matter dissolves in the lake.

Dead Lake (Kazakhstan)


There is an anomalous lake in Kazakhstan that attracts the attention of many people. It is located in the Taldykurgan region, the village of Gerasimovka. Its dimensions are not large, only 100x60 meters. This body of water is called Dead. The fact is that there is nothing in the lake, neither algae nor fish. The water there is unusually icy.

Low water temperatures remain even when there is intense sunshine outside. People drown there all the time. For some unknown reason, scuba divers begin to choke after three minutes of diving. Locals do not advise anyone to go there, and they themselves avoid this anomalous place.

Blue Lake (Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia)


Blue karst abyss in Kabardino-Balkaria. Not a single river or stream flows into this lake, although it loses up to 70 million liters of water every day, but its volume and depth do not change at all. The blue color of the lake is due to the high content of hydrogen sulfide in the water. There are no fish here at all.

What makes this lake creepy is the fact that no one has been able to figure out its depth. The fact is that the bottom consists of an extensive system of caves. Researchers have still not been able to figure out what the lowest point of this karst lake is. It is believed that under the Blue Lake is the largest system of underwater caves in the world.

Boiling Lake (Dominican Republic)


The name speaks for itself. Located in the beautiful Caribbean of Dominica, this lake is actually the second largest natural hot spring on earth. The temperature of the water in the boiling lake reaches 90 degrees Celsius and there is hardly anyone who wants to test the temperature of the source on their own skin. Just look at the photographs and it becomes clear that the water here is practically boiling. The temperature cannot be regulated because it is the result of a crack in the bottom of the lake through which hot lava erupts.

Lake Powell (USA)


Despite its common name (Horseshoe), located near the town of Mammoth Lakes, Lake Powell is a terrifying killer. The city of Mammoth Lakes was built on top of an active volcano, which is not the best location. However, for many years the lake was considered safe. But about 20 years ago, the trees around Horseshoe suddenly began to dry out and die.

After ruling out all possible diseases, scientists decided that the trees were being suffocated by excessive levels of carbon dioxide slowly seeping through the ground from underground chambers of cooling magma. In 2006, three tourists took refuge in a cave near the lake and suffocated from carbon dioxide.

Lake Karachay (Russia)


Located in Russia's beautiful Ural Mountains, this deep blue lake is one of the most dangerous bodies of water in the world. During a secret government project, the lake was used as a dump site for radioactive waste for many years beginning in 1951.

This place is so toxic that a 5-minute visit can make a person sick, and a longer visit of an hour is guaranteed to be fatal. During a drought in 1961, the wind carried toxic dust that affected 500,000 people - a tragedy comparable to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It is definitely one of the most polluted places on Earth.

Lake Kivu (Democratic Republic of Congo)


This lake lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, with large layers of carbon dioxide at the base of the volcanic rock, as well as 55 billion cubic meters of methane at the bottom. This explosive combination makes Lake Kivu the deadliest of the world's three explosive lakes. Any earthquake or volcanic activity could pose a lethal threat to the 2 million people living in this region. They can die from both methane explosions and carbon dioxide suffocation.

Lake Michigan (Canada)


Of the five Great Lakes on the border of Canada and the United States, Lake Michigan is the deadliest. The warm, attractive lake is a popular holiday destination for many tourists, despite its dangerous underwater currents, which claim at least several lives every year.

The shape of Lake Michigan makes it particularly susceptible to dangerous currents that arise spontaneously and abruptly. The lake becomes more dangerous in the fall, October and November, when sudden and significant changes in water and air temperatures occur. The height of the waves can reach several meters.

Mono Lake (USA)


One of the most developed ecosystems in the world, Mono Lake is located in the county of the same name in California. This ancient salt lake has no fish, but trillions of bacteria and small algae thrive in its unique waters. Until 1941 this strikingly beautiful lake was healthy and strong. But Los Angeles, which was just beginning its giant growth spurt, stepped in. The city drained the tributaries of the lake, which began to dry up.

This scandalous destruction of natural resources continued for almost 50 years and when it was stopped in 1990, Mono Lake had already lost half its volume and its salinity had doubled. Mono has become a toxic alkaline lake filled with carbonates, chlorides and sulfates. Los Angeles has decided to correct its mistake, but the restoration project will take decades.

Lake Manoun (Cameroon)


Located in the Oku Volcanic Field in Cameroon, Lake Monoun appears to be a completely normal body of water. But its appearance is deceiving, as it is one of three explosive lakes on earth. In 1984, Monun exploded without warning, releasing a cloud of carbon dioxide and killing 37 people. Twelve of the dead were riding in a truck and stopped to watch the aftermath of the explosion. It was at this moment that the lethal gas did its job.

Lake Nyos (Cameroon)


In 1986, Lake Nyos, located just 100 kilometers from Lake Monun, exploded following a magma eruption and released carbon dioxide, converting the water into carbonic acid. As a result of the massive landslide, the lake suddenly released a giant cloud of carbon dioxide, killing thousands of people and animals in local towns and villages. The tragedy was the first known major suffocation caused by a natural event. The lake continues to pose a threat because its natural wall is fragile and even the slightest earthquake can destroy it.

Natron (Tanzania)


Lake Natron in Tanzania not only kills its inhabitants, but also mummifies their bodies. On the shores of the lake there are mummified flamingos, small birds, and bats. The creepiest thing is that the victims freeze in natural poses with their heads raised. It was as if they froze for a moment and remained that way forever. The water in the lake is bright red due to the microorganisms living in it, closer to the shore it is already orange, and in some places it is a normal color.

The evaporation of the lake scares away large predators, and the absence of natural enemies attracts a huge number of birds and small animals. They live on the banks of the Natron, reproduce, and after death they are mummified. A large amount of hydrogen contained in water and increased alkalinity contribute to the release of soda, salt and lime. They prevent the remains of the inhabitants of the lake from decomposing.

Page 11 of 12

Unique rivers of the world and rivers of Russia. Descriptions of the most unusual rivers.

1. Unusual rivers of the world and rivers of Russia - Reverse flow of rivers.

Volkhov, Russia - known from history as the beginning of the journey “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” When searching for unusual rivers of the world, it is most often encountered. She attracts with a legend that we will retell. In the Middle Ages, the Novgorodians, outraged by the obscene behavior of their bishop John, decided to expel him from their possessions. They put him on a raft and sent him on his way. But that was not the case. No sooner had the raft floated out into the middle of the stream than... it carried it in the opposite direction! That is, upstream. The Lord has done a MIRACLE! - the Novgorodians exclaimed, and, having taken their spiritual shepherd out of the unusual river, they returned him back with honors.

And the box opened simply: the slope of the Volkhov River, flowing from Lake Ilmen to Lake Ladoga, is very small, and when there is heavy rain at the mouth and drought at the source, the ratio of lake levels changes, and the river begins to flow in the opposite direction. This is exactly what happened on the day of the expulsion of the unlucky servant of God. So there was no miracle, but the fact that Bishop John was a very lucky guy is beyond any doubt.

And there are not so few such rivers with reverse flow in Russia and in the world. Let's list some of them. The common point here is the slight slope of the riverbed.

Sukhona, Russia. Just like Volkhov, it has a very slight slope - only a couple of centimeters per kilometer. Flowing from Lake Kubenskoye, the Sukhona calmly makes its way to the mouth. But in the spring, when its tributaries Vologda and Lezha, overflowing with melt water, quickly rush into it, they literally block the flow of the river with their flows. The water level in this place rises and the Sukhona, without thinking twice, turns back and flows again into Lake Kubenskoye. Depending on the year, this lasts from three to nine days.

Ob, Russia. When the mighty, amazing and longest and widest river in Russia floods, its level rises and blocks some tributaries. And for some time they begin to flow in the opposite direction from the Ob.

Penzhina, Kamchatka, Russia . Another unusual river that changes its flow direction. It flows into Penzhinskaya Bay, and with every ebb and flow it flows back and forth.

Shuya, Karelia, Russia . Ushkozero, from which this interesting river flows, is fed by underground springs and, when the volume of feeding water decreases, the water level in the lake decreases. As a result, the river changes its direction. This happens 15-20 times a year.

Sap, Kingdom of Cambodia. It flows out of Tonle Sap Lake and flows into the Mekong River. When the Mekong floods, its level rises by 7-12 meters, and its waters rush along the bed of the Sap River into Lake Tonle Sap. Local residents celebrate this event, even giving it a name - “Festival of Returned Waters.” There is reason for joy, and a great one: the waters of the Mekong greatly replenish the lake’s fish stocks. Its quantity can be judged by the fact that during the return flow of the Sap River, the water level in the lake increases 3-4 times. When the level of the Mekong falls, the Sap begins to flow again from the lake, and it slowly becomes shallow. In the area freed from water, a lot of fertile silt remains, and enterprising Cambodians are growing record harvests of rice here. This lowland is called the "rice dish of Asia."

Avar, Greece. Similar to the Kamchatka river Penzhina. It flows into the Aegean Sea, and with each ebb and flow it changes the direction of its flow.

2. A unique river in the world - A river that exists only at night.

The unique river Huata Rique. Even the most unique! And its unusualness lies in the fact that it exists only at night, and is not there during the day. But this secret has long been revealed. The fact is that the river is fed by Andean snow that melted during the day, the water of which, flowing from the mountains in streams, reaches the bed of Huata Rique only in the evening. During the night, the water supply is depleted and the river ceases to exist until the next night. Of course, there are no fish here. And yes, the name of this unusual river is translated from the local dialect as “Night Butterfly”. Very aptly noted, don’t you think?

3. Unusual rivers of the world and rivers of Russia - Bifurcation of rivers (bifurcation).

A river can have not one mouth, but two. This happens when a river bifurcates into branches that empty into different bodies of water.

An example would be R. Orinoco in South America . The Orinoco branches in the upper reaches into two branches, one of which continues the path under the same name, and the second, called Casiquiare, flows into a tributary of the Amazon - the Rio Negro.

Another example R. Pizhma Mezenskaya – this is already a Russian river. One of its branches flows into the Mezen, the other into the Pechora.

Kur, Far East, Russia . The mouths of its branches are located at a distance of 200 km from each other: one on the Amur near Khabarovsk, the other on Lake Bolon.

4. Unique rivers of the world and rivers of Russia - Rivers that go underground for a while.

There are water streams in the world that flow not only on the surface of the earth, but also periodically go underground. There are no obstacles in the way of such rivers and mountains. This, for example, is R. Sim in the Southern Urals : it goes underground at the foot of the mountain, and comes to the surface on the other side.

A rare sight - a key on the right bank of the same river Sim, one and a half kilometers below the mouth of another river - Berda. It shoots straight out of the cliff, but it’s interesting that the water pours out in spurts: for about three minutes, vigorously, and then calmly for the same amount of time.

In the Perm region, not far from the village of Kyn, the tributaries of the Chusovaya River perform such a trick: they seem to dive underground and then reappear on the surface. The place where they disappear is called dive by local residents, and where they come out into the light again is called dive. Local Kumysh river has cut itself such a channel that for six kilometers it is almost invisible, and only then does it break out from under the rock and again become an ordinary river.

In the Urals, about fifteen rivers, large, small and very small, are distinguished by such inconstancy - sometimes they are visible, sometimes they are not, hidden. Right tributary of the Kosva - Gubeshka - not visible for ten kilometers, the river is hidden for eight Vezhey .

5. Unusual rivers of the world - Rivers that flow higher than the surrounding area.

Yes, this happens too. We are accustomed to the fact that rivers flow in depressions of the relief, but on earth there are natural streams that flow along the hills. This happens with rivers originating in the mountains. Swift streams erode rocks and carry them to the plain. On the plains, the flow becomes slow and the silt, gravel and other material carried by the water are deposited in the riverbeds. Gradually, year after year, the river bed rises and becomes higher than the surrounding landscape. Examples include Rioni in Georgia, Po in Italy, Chinese Yellow River, Red in Vietnam and others.

6. Unusual river of the world - The river with the most violent character.

R. Yellow River, China – fully deserves this title. “The Woe of China”, “The River That Tears the Heart”, “The River That Brings Thousands of Troubles” are just some of the many nicknames given to the Yellow River by local residents. And it fully deserved these unpleasant accusations: 26 times in human memory it abruptly changed its course, overflowed its banks 1,500 times, causing catastrophic destruction. During a flood, the river level becomes 10-12 meters higher than the banks, and the water quickly floods the entire surrounding area, sweeping away everything in its path. Over the past 40 years alone, during the construction of dams and coastal fortifications on this river, three times more work was completed than during the construction of the Panama Canal, and twice as much as the Suez Canal.

7. A unique river in the world - A river with very muddy water.

And again R. Yellow River, China breaks records. It is the muddiest large river: one cubic meter of river water contains up to 30-40 kg of solid material. The annual removal of solids is 2 billion tons. How long will it be, well, not in parrots, but, say, in the pyramids of Cheops? And there will be three and a half hundred of these pyramids, consisting of yellow sand. Therefore, it is not surprising that the sea into which the Yellow River flows is called the Yellow Sea. The Chinese say about the Yellow River that “you can’t drink its water, because it’s too thick for that, you can’t plow on it, because it’s very rare.”

8. Unusual rivers of the world - Rivers that do not flow anywhere.

When we studied the structure of a river, we wrote that every river has a source, a channel and an mouth (i.e., the place where the river flows into another body of water). So, this is not true for all rivers: some of them do not have a mouth. Such rivers are typical, first of all, for arid regions of the globe, for example, Kazakhstan and Central Asia: Big and Small Uzen, Chu, Zeravshan, Murgab, Turgai, Sarysu and others. The largest river of this type is Tejen . Its length is 1150 km. It originates in the mountains of Afghanistan and flows through the territory of Iran and Turkmenistan, where it is completely dismantled for irrigation.

R. Okavango in South Africa also has no mouth: its waters are lost in the Kalahari Desert, forming impenetrable swamps.

9. A unique river in the world - A river with a sharp change in water temperature.

R. Puarenga, New Zealand – simply an extraordinary river! The water on its left bank is almost boiling, while on the right it is cold as ice. This is due to the river’s feeding sources, which are hot and cold springs. And the river flow is so fast that the water does not have time to mix.

10. Unusual rivers of Russia - Rivers with an unusual flow pattern.

R. Sviyaga, Russia, tributary of the Volga. It is unique in that for almost 400 km it flows parallel to the Volga, but in the opposite direction. In some places, for example, near Ulyanovsk, Sviyaga comes very close to the Volga, but then moves away again, slowly pouring its waters into it.

R. Piana, Russia, tributary of the Sura. Also a very unusual river. Its length is about 400 km, and the mouth from the source is located only 30 km. The pattern of its flow is very tortuous, reminiscent of the tread of a drunken person, which is why it got its name. Academician Ivan Ivanovich Lepekhin traveled around Russia in 1768 and described Piana as follows: “Its flow is very radiating and crooked, which is why the name Drunken River came about.”

R. Ural and r. Pechora, Russia. These rivers are interesting because of the stepwise direction of the currents: for some time they flow in a meridional direction to the south, then sharply at an angle of 90 degrees. change their direction, then again turn at a right angle to the south. The reason for this strange behavior is the faults in the earth's crust through which rivers flow.

11. Unusual rivers of the world and rivers of Russia - Rivers whose tributaries are larger than the main one.

As a rule, in a river system, the largest, longest and deepest river is the main river. But, as always, there are exceptions to every rule. Let us list some rivers that confirm the last statement.

By volume of water:

Angara, Russia, right tributary of the Yenisei – the volume of water that the Angara brings to the Yenisei is almost twice as much as it itself brings to the confluence.

Kama, Russia, right tributary of the Volga - the same situation as with the Angara. Only the volume of water is 1.5 times greater.

Yonne, France, tributary of the Seine . To the confluence, the Yonne brings 105 cubic meters of water per second, and the Seine - only 75.

By lenght:

Sukhona, Russia, tributary of the Northern Dvina. 1130 and 750 km respectively.

Brahmaputra, India, tributary of the Ganges. The main river is 200 km shorter than its tributary.

Darling, Australia, tributary of the Murray River. Murray is 170 km shorter than Darling.

Missouri, USA, tributary of the Mississippi. 4740 and 3950 km respectively.

12. A unique river in the world - River under the sand.

Gascoigne, Australia. There is such an amazing river in Western Australia. There is a river, and it is marked on the map, but it is impossible to see it. In place of the riverbed lies a wide strip of sand, bordered by lush vegetation along the “banks”. And the river flows under the sand and is quite large: it has 36 tributaries. In English, Gascoigne is aptly called “the river up and down”, in Russian “the river in reverse”.

13. Unique rivers of the world - Intersecting rivers.

Welna and Nelba, Poland. They intersect, not merge. Moreover, they intersect at right angles. And even more: when crossing them, the waters do not mix, but each flow their own way. Scientists explained this phenomenon by the difference in temperature and flow speeds of the two rivers. There was even an experiment: paint was poured into two rivers - blue into Nelba, and red into Velna. And at the point of intersection the colors did not mix at all: the red flowed in its own channel, and the blue, on top of the red, in its own way.

14. The unique river of the world is the Multicolored River.

Caño Cristales River, Colombia - an amazingly beautiful “river of five colors”. The variety of colors in the river water is given by the algae living in it, which are red, yellow, green and blue. The water in the river is practically distilled, there are almost no minerals and salts in it, and it is not suitable for drinking. However, small fish live in it, which somehow still find food for themselves.

15. Unusual rivers of the world - Very short rivers.

We are used to measuring the length of rivers in kilometers, but there are many water streams on earth whose length is only a few meters. Let's look at examples.

Rowe, Montana, USA . One of its arms is only 17.7 meters long.

Reprua, Abkhazia. It flows out of underground caves on the shores of the Black Sea and immediately flows into it. It is the coldest river on the Caucasian coast. Its length is 18 meters. According to the ancient Abkhaz legend, Reprua are the tears of the daughters of the underground spirit.

River D, USA. Length – 36 meters. And the name suits the length quite well.

16. Unique river in the world - The highest mountain river.

Rivers flow not only in valleys and lowlands, but also high in the mountains. For example,

Yarlung Tsangpo, Tibet - the highest mountain river flowing through the South Tibetan plains, located at an altitude of almost 3000 meters above sea level.

17. Unique river in the world - The widest river.

When talking about rivers, it is customary to name their length. Well, what is the widest river in the world?

Widest in the world - R. Rio de la Plata . It reaches a width of 225 km and is the result of the confluence of two rivers - the Uruguay and the Paraná. By the way, the widest river in Russia is the Ob. During a spill, its width reaches 60 km.

18. Unusual rivers of the world and rivers of Russia - Rivers with acidic water.

R. El Rio Vinegre – the most acidic, flows in the area of ​​the active Purace volcano (Colombia). Its length is about 1260 kilometers. River water contains 11 parts of sulfuric acid and 9 parts of hydrochloric acid for every 1000 parts and is so acidic that no fish can live in it. One of the reasons for the high acid content is the proximity of the volcano.

And in our vast country there is a stream called Sour : it flows from the slopes of the active Mendeleev volcano on the island of Kunashir from the Kuril Islands group.

19. A unique river in Russia and the world - the coldest river.

R. Indigirka , flowing into the Arctic Ocean, is considered the coldest river in the world. Towards the end of winter, the lower reaches of the Indigirka can freeze through - winters in these places (Yakutia) are among the harshest in the world.

20. Unusual rivers of Russia - Rivers with salt water.

Many people believe that river water can only be fresh. But that's not true. If a river flows through salt layers, its water becomes salty. There are many examples of such rivers, here are some of them:

Solyanka, Yakutia, Russia. Salt layers were formed here many millions of years ago, when the sea that once splashed here retreated.

Liquid Solyanka, Saratov region, Russia.

Berdyanka, Orenburg region, Russia. In the upper reaches the river is fresh, but in the lower reaches it erodes the salt layer and becomes noticeably salty.

21. A unique river in the world - A river flowing from the sea.

As a rule, rivers flow into some other body of water: a river, lake, sea, ocean... But there is such an unusual river that flows out of the sea.

Tadjoura, northeast Africa. It flows out of the Gulf of Tadjoura, flows inland and flows into Lake Assal.

22. A unique river in the world - A river sentenced to death.

Examples of tyranny by those in power have always been striking in their unexpectedness. But the Persian king Cyrus surpassed everyone: he sentenced the river to death!

Diala, Iraq. She was sentenced to death for drowning the “sacred” white horse of the Persian king. The sentence was carried out: 360 canals were dug to drain river waters. The river ceased to exist for 1000 years. But nature took its toll. The desert sands covered the canals, and the “sentenced” returned to its previous channel.

23. A unique river in the world - A river that changes its course every year and is the most “load-carrying”.

Kosi, India . The river is known for the fact that every year it creates a new channel for itself, eroding the rocks of the Himalayas on its way. The river carries all the excavated material with it. The annual volume of sediment reaches 120 million cubic meters, which is equivalent to the volume of 8,000,000 freight cars!

24. Unusual river of Russia - Namesake of a fictional river.

The Styx is a mythological river flowing through the kingdom of the dead in the domain of the gloomy Hades. She also has a namesake in the real world.

Styx, Perm region, Russia. And here, however, there were some dead people - the river separates the city of Perm from the cemetery.

25. Unusual rivers of Russia - Namesake rivers, rivers - clones.

Devitsa, Voronezh region, Russia. There are two rivers with this name. And even more than that: they both have tributaries called Rossoshka, and both flow into the Don.

Don. There are six rivers on the globe with this name.

Control guide. Two rivers with one name. One flows into the river. Ussuri, the other in Bikin. For some reason, there is a widespread opinion on the Internet that there is only one river, Kontrovod, and every three months it changes its flow direction and flows into one river, then into another. But, unlike the rivers with a reverse flow described at the beginning of the article, two rivers called Kontrovod are separated by the Strelnikov Ridge, through which the water flow cannot flow back and forth under any conditions.

26. Unique rivers of the world - Blue rivers, icy banks.

Ice rivers, Greenland. Another type of unusual rivers that exist on our planet are the rivers of the icy island of Greenland. Greenland is covered by a thick ice sheet, the surface of which begins to thaw with the arrival of summer. Meltwater collects in streams, and the streams flow into rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean. The water of these unique rivers has an amazing aquamarine hue, which, in combination with the dazzling white icy banks, amazes happy observers with its extraordinary beauty.

27. Unique rivers of Russia - The cleanest rivers in the world.

Vonchi, Mari El, Russia - the cleanest river in the world. Vonchi is a shallow river 33 km long and 2-3 meters wide, a tributary of the river. Fly. No contaminants were found in the water of this forest river, which makes it stand out even among other reservoirs in this region known for their purity.

Irtysh, Russia, tributary of the Ob - is also recognized as one of the cleanest rivers on our planet.

28. Unusual rivers of the world and rivers of Russia - Rivers “Tamara and I walk as a pair.”

There are rivers on the globe that have underground counterparts.

Kara-Balta, Kyrgyzstan . The river flows from the Kyrgyz ridge. Kara-Balta, which gives its waters to wheat fields, sugar beet plantations, and orchards. Examining its bed, scientists discovered that even before entering the valley, the river loses about a third of its flow. When they drilled a well, it turned out that this river was two stories high! Seeping through the pebbles and sand, part of its water formed a kind of second, underground stream.

Volga, Russia. In 1981, hydrogeologists established that across the territory of the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic a large underground river runs parallel to the Volga, and in some places even adjoins it.

Amazon, South America. At the beginning of the 21st century, the world's longest underground river was discovered under the longest surface river in the world., flowing parallel to the Amazon at a depth of 4000 m. It originates in the Andes and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Its unofficial name is Hamza, in honor of the scientist who discovered it. The flow speed of the Hamza River does not exceed several meters per year, and the width is about 400 meters.

29. Unusual river of the world - A river playing hide and seek.

In Yugoslavia there is a river that first carries its waters in a narrow gorge, and then completely disappears into huge caves. Having walked a long way through the underground galleries, she disappears into a deep crack. Exactly - it disappears, because no one knows where it goes. They tried to find out with the help of dyes, but colored water was found in many springs around Trieste and even in the city water supply...

30. The unique river of the world is the Underwater River.

It turns out that there are such unusual rivers on our wonderful planet. In 2010, a unique underwater river was discovered at the bottom of the Black Sea. An amazing river has the same elements as surface rivers: banks, waterfalls, rapids, floodplains and even whirlpools. The latter, by the way, twist not counterclockwise (like all rivers in the Northern Hemisphere), but along it. Scientists have not yet figured out what causes this phenomenon.

The waters of the unusual underwater river are several times saltier than the surrounding sea water. The river flows through a trench 35 meters deep and about one kilometer wide. The length of the unique river is 60 km. The river flow speed is 6.5 km/h. If this unusual river flowed on the surface of the earth, it would be the sixth largest river in the world.

This was the article " Unique and unusual rivers of the world and rivers of Russia.» See further:

You can see where the Red Sea is on the map above. The sea is located between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa in a tectonic basin. Through the Suez Canal in the north the sea connects with the Mediterranean, in the south the sea exits into the Indian Ocean.

The saltiest sea in the world

Of all the seas, the Red Sea is the saltiest, yes, surprisingly, but it is believed that it is saltier than even the Dead Sea. This happens due to the fact that the Dead Sea is closed, and the Red Sea has an influx of salt water through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait where it connects with the Indian Ocean and at the same time, in a hot climate, it has evaporation from the surface of about 2000 mm per year with precipitation of only about 100 millimeters .

A sea into which no river flows

In addition to the hot climate, the Red Sea has one more feature - not a single river flows into the sea, but it is the rivers that carry fresh water to the seas. These are the main factors due to which the Red Sea is considered the saltiest sea in the world; in one year, 1000 cubic kilometers more water is introduced into the Red Sea than flows out of it.

One liter of Red Sea seawater contains about 41 grams of salt. Although in the depths of the sea there are places where there are more than 260 grams of salt per liter. The maximum depth of the sea, according to various estimates, does not exceed three kilometers, officially 2211 meters.

 

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