Top 10 most horrifying lakes in the world
Table of contents
in the warmer weather there’s nothing better than a weekend trip down to the lake full of swimming sunbathing and good times.
how relaxing but it turns out not all swimming locations are created equal some are a lot safer than others from boiling waters to nasty creatures below the surface.
at these places sun burn is the least of your worries you might want to pack your hazmat suit or the oxygen tank with these toxic and terrifying locations.
top 10 most horrifying lakes in the world
10 – lake michigan
lake michigan is the fifth largest lake in the world but that isn’t its only claim to fame it’s also often known as the most dangerous lake in the united states.
it’s said that some 300 000 people have lost their lives to lake michigan but why is it so dangerous the orientation of lake michigan means the waves and weather can easily create strong currents and riptides pose.
the greatest threat to holiday makers winds and storms can whip up huge waves as well the enormous lake is still very popular during holidays and fall is the most dangerous time of the year as the lake sees high winds and strong waves.
9- Rio tinto
this toxic river in the southwest of spain has an eerie blood red color to it since 3000 bc the area has been mined for copper gold silver and other precious minerals.
its chemical makeup is extremely acidic probably as a result of the mining activity and the red color comes from the high iron levels.
this 50 kilometer stretch of red river is definitely not suitable for humans scientists think the river is so out of this world it might just have similar conditions to places on other planets.
astrobiologists are examining rio tinto in comparison to frozen oceans on jupiter’s moon europa and titan to learn more about the possibility of life in space .
8- lake manoon
in 1984 a loud explosion was heard in the night and a gas cloud was seen billowing from the eastern lake of lake manoon in cameroon 37 people were found dead with mysteriously discolored skin .
a terrorist attack was initially suspected until it was discovered that it had been a limited eruption this rare phenomenon happens when dissolved carbon dioxide suddenly erupts from deep lake waters forming a gas cloud capable of suffocating anything in the vicinity.
we’re not too sure how common these limnic eruptions are as we’re only aware of one other explosion in recent history but we’ll get to that one a little later on our list .
7- leak of the ozarks missouri united states
i guess you can have too much of a good thing the lake of the ozarks in missouri is so popular that it’s become one of the most dangerous water ways in the united states huge racing boats and cruisers zoom around posing a threat to smaller boats and recreational craft .
tourist activities aren’t policed and people who came to have fun sometimes get out of hand and rowdy crashing waves and wakes cause hazardous conditions for swimmers and small crap and drownings.
often occur but what’s worse high levels of e coli have been detected in the waters here it’s said this is due to restaurants dumping raw sewage into the lake yuck maybe you want to keep that hand sanitizer long after the rona is done
6- lake naios cameroon
in 1986 lake nyos sitting 62 miles north of our number eight lake manoon exploded killing 1700 people in the surrounding villages.
the tragic event was the first known mass asphyxiation triggered by a natural event a giant pocket of magma sits under the lake bed slowly leaking carbon dioxide into the water turning it into carbonic acid.
a sudden landslide is thought to have disrupted this fragile balance and caused the second ever recorded limnic eruption as a giant cloud of carbon dioxide was released from the depths,
settling over the surrounding area and suffocating all people and animals within its reach to this day the lake is teetering on the brink of disaster a small tremor could destroy the lake’s fragile natural wall causing another explosion and putting many villages at risk.
5- Horse shoe lake
beautiful horseshoe lake in california was a popular spot to visit until people started to notice the trees around it were dying scientists.
have been monitoring the nearby volcanic mammoth mountains and rest since the 80s and found that carbon dioxide was seeping into the soil from below the lake earth quakes and magmatic activity at open channels to allow the reservoir deep below the surface to release the gases up to 300 tons per day.
normally plants love co2 but optimum soil levels are usually around one percent soil co2 has been measured in the surrounding areas of horse shoe lake to be anywhere between 20 to 95 percent plants.
need to absorb oxygen through their roots and with carbon dioxide saturated soil this blocks the gas uptake suffocating the tree from the ground up when visiting you can enjoy the lake but maybe bring an oxygen tank
4- leak natron
if the flamingos flock here surely it’s a great lake to visit the beautiful lake natron in tanzania is home to millions of these funny pink creatures.
but this link is poisonous to humans the high evaporation levels in the area have left alkalinity up to 12 ph which is similar to substances,
such as bleach or ammonia the link is also covered in a crust of salt that has been turned red by the cyanobacteria that lived there ah salty red corrosive bleach i can totally see why all of these flamingos find it so inviting .
3- Boiling lake
want to end up as a delicious stew travel deep enough into the center of the peruvian amazon jungle and you may stumble across the boiling river they call it chennai tempashka loosely translated boiled with the heat of the sun.
it may appear safe enough with its tranquil water and gentle steam vapor rising off the surface a nice warm bath perfect to soak those aching bones think again looks can be deceiving this water will kill anything unlucky enough to fall in the boiling river runs hot for nearly 4 miles almost 80 feet across.
its widest point and 16 feet deep it averages 86 degrees celsius maxing out at 98 degrees best to avoid this one unless you want to be turned into a human tea bag .
2- kibu lake
the exploding lake one of the biggest lakes in the world and part of africa’s great lakes lake kibu is situated in between the congo and rwanda.
but one of the things that makes it so not great is that it’s full of dangerous chemical compositions like carbon dioxide and methane once in a while the lake is known to explode due to the water’s.
interaction with a nearby volcano we’re not exactly sure when kivu last blew its lid but samples show fossil evidence of an extinction event roughly every 1 000 years that killed all life instantly within the lake.
In the end of our Top 10 most horrifying lakes in the world here number one.
1- lake karachi russia
welcome to gorgeous lake karachi but make sure to enjoy the lovely view quickly you don’t want to spend more than an hour here or it will kill you.
this lake is so polluted that the radiation levels are super deadly nearby russia’s secret nuclear weapons facility from the 40s mayak have been dumping their radio active waste into the lake for decades.
if anything is living nearby the lake it probably has three eyes and superpowers well that’s it for our list of the Top 10 Most Horrifying Lakes In The World we’re going to go and have a nice relaxing bath.
now what would you rather visit a toxic radioactive cesspool or an enormous natural boiling cauldron
let us know in the comments if you’ve enjoyed this post
more travels articles find here
