Random Most Dangerous Bodies Of Water In World (12 items)

• 

  (#1) Lake Karachay

  • Russia

  Eastern Russia is home to Lake Karachay. The mountains and waters of the lake might make for a scenic view, but the lake is so intensely polluted with radiation that spending time in it will literally cause a swimmer to perish. 

  Located in the southern part of the Ural Mountains and home to an abandoned 1940 Russian nuclear testing facility, the lake has funneled the blunt of that radioactivity into its waters. While the area is absolutely beautiful, it's no place for visitors looking for a relaxing evening with nature. It takes less than an hour in Lake Karachay to pummel visitors with over 600 roentgens of radiation. 
• 

  (#2) Great Blue Hole

  The gigantic sinkhole that lingers in the waters of Belize was named the Great Blue Hole because of its topological makeup. While the hole seems like it would be a hotspot for divers, it's best that its venturers don't explore too deeply. Below the surface, past the sharks and coral, lies a layer of toxic hydrogen sulfide. Past the fatal layer, debris and bodies of divers rest in their watery grave. 
• 

  (#3) Lake Kivu

  • Democratic Republic of the Congo

  The luscious, green, fertile lands that surround Lake Kivu on the western cusp of Rwanda, Africa, could explode at any moment. When it does, it won't just be an explosion of water and debris, it will contain heavy pockets of carbon dioxide and methane.

  The volcanic springs located on the outskirts pump these gasses into the water, where they linger below the surface. The bacteria that linger on the lake bottom also generate extreme amounts of methane to accompany the bacteria. While both locals and travelers can enjoy the flora and fauna that trail the lakeside, any disturbance could set off an explosion of gas, which would quickly engulf the area and suffocate everyone around it with noxious fumes.
• 

  (#4) Boiling Lake

  • Dominica

  Morne Trois Pitons National Park holds the waters of Dominica's Boiling Lake. They are always rumbling, furiously boiling and giving off extreme amounts of steam. 

  While the lake is seemingly normal and is actually quite beautiful - covered in cascading plants and water - there's one spot that raises concern. The top of Watt Mountain holds a basin that will result in serious burns - possibly fatal burns - if someone attempts to touch the boiling waters within. Its heat comes from its fiery depths that penetrate far below the crust of the Earth, trailing all the way down into its molten core.
• 

  (#5) Jacob's Well, Texas: One Of The Most Dangerous Diving Spots In Existence

  Tucked away in central Texas, Jacob's Well is a beautiful well that is given life by the Trinity Aquifer, supplying the fresh waters of Cypress Creek. Its opening is basically a sliver, stretching 13 feet wide, but that doesn't stop divers and daredevils from exploring its depths and attempting stunt jumps.

  Jacob's Well is a pleasing spot for the eyes and a cool, refreshing getaway from the summer heat, but the pool is also a fatal trap for divers. Recreational scuba is not allowed for very good reasons, since the caves within require extremely skilled maneuvering and have a tendency to claim lives. To explore the caves below, one must tread through a relentless environment, where being forced to remove gear is not uncommon. An uncounted number of scuba divers have lost their lives after becoming trapped in its tight caverns.
• 

  (#6) Citarum River

  • Asia

  The Citarum River in West Java, Indonesia, is not a pretty sight to see. Used as a huge dump for Indonesia's garbage and industrial waste, large amounts of trash are left to float along its waters and sift onto the surrounding land. The Citarum River has been declared as one of the most polluted lakes in the entire world and extensive effort has been made to clean it. 

  Although the waters funnel back to the 27 million people of Java to be used as irrigation, drinking, and more, the waters contain extreme amounts of heavy metal pollution. The residents who use the river for their daily needs suffer diseases that come from the regular dumping and burning of trash at its riverbanks.
• 

  (#7) Lake Michigan

  • Great Lakes

  The shores of Lake Michigan are unforgiving. The construction of the lake has given its waters the ability to generate deadly longshore and rip currents. Its rapid currents come coupled with large waves, pushed by strong winds, that soar high into the skyline. Lake Michigan's turbulent waters drown more people than the entirety of the Great Lakes combined, and the waters claim an average of 24 lives a year.
• 

  (#8) Drake Passage

  Violent waves crash the shores of Drake Passage, making the narrow pathway of water a turbulant adventure for anyone who dares to cross it. The 500 miles of water that connect South America's Cape Horn and the northern islands of Antarctica might be the quickest route to Antarctica by boat, but the waters are unforgiving, unpredictable, and cruel.

  Water speeds down Drake Passage at over 500 times the flow of the Amazon River, pushing, pulling, and shoving the waters (and anyone in them) with extreme force. On top of this, the stretch is littered with obstacles that will crash any traveler's plans in an instant. Icebergs and gale force winds contribute to the furious instability of navigating through the passage.
• 

  (#9) Jukskei River

  Johannesburg might harbor the stunning waters of the Jukskei River, but what lies within is a dangerous concoction of E. coli. The South Africa waterway has been heavily polluted with raw sewage, resulting in strains of bacteria making their home in its depths. The pollution can be traced back to areas of high poverty, such as the city center and Alexandra Township, where squatters and impovershed houseds and facilities use the river as a large toilet. The resulting effect brings highly concentrated amounts of  E. coli, measuring in 1.5 million bacterium per 100ml of water.
• 

  (#10) Lake Natron

  • Tanzania

  Measuring at an average alkalinity of 10.5 pH, Lake Natron in Tanzania will burn the eyes and flesh of those who decide to jump in for a swim. With an excessive amount of sodium carbonate in the waters, anything that perishes in it will be essentially frozen in a stone-like stance for the rest of time. The lake also has hot temperatures of around 140 degrees F, and the lake will scorch both wildlife and visitors. Even though it might seem completely uninhabitable, a variety of wildlife like exotic birds and algae have made home in the lake, making it a grand view of nature's resilience.
• 

  (#11) Bolton Strid, Yorkshire, England: A Creek With Terrifying Currents

  The hiking trail that lies along the waters of the Bolton Strid, located in Yorkshire, England, is a picturesque spot that lures in tourists and locals alike. However, the waters of the Strid are a different story.

  The waterway of the Strid switches orientation - instead of flowing horozontally, it changes to flow vertically. The water's natural design causes both extreme currents and carves out open voids in the rocks that push and suck anything caught in the Strid into them.
• 

  (#12) Horseshoe Lake

  • Madison County, St. Louis MO-IL, Metropolitan Statistical Area, Illinois, United States, with Territories

  Set atop a volcanic mountaintop, Horseshoe Lake in Mammoth Mountain, CA, exposes its guests to intensely noxious fumes. While the sprawling landscape of the mountains is surely a sight to behold, its pockets of toxic air are something travelers should stay far away from. Concentrated amounts of fatal gasses, such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, dot the mountainside and can result in fatality. The volcanic activity pushes between 50 and 150 tons of carbon dioxide into the air on a daily basis.

  On top of gas concentrations, the lakeside will also forever be at risk of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking