Caño Cristales the most beautiful and exciting river in the world
The most exciting and unusual river in the world is located in Colombia. Every year its water becomes an amazing combination of bright colors: yellow, green, blue, red and even black. This riot of colors lasts for six months.
Colombian journalist Andres Hurtado Garcia said about this unique place: “The most beautiful river in the world. The river where the rainbow came to die. The river that escaped from the Paradise. The river of five colors.”
Caño Cristales is the most exciting river in the worls
Photo: Pedro Szekely/flickr (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
Photo: canocristales.co, Mario Carvajal (Creative Commons 3.0)
The magic river flows in the rock of the Guiana Plateau, which was formed 1,2 billion years ago and is considered to be one of the oldest geological formations on the planet, which is older than the Andes themselves! The Guiana shield is located under Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia. Its tropical forests contain 15 percent of the freshwater reserves on Earth. Part of this water flows in Caño Cristales — a river that passes through the province of Macarena in the department of Meta.
Every year the river pleases the eyes with unusual colors during six months
Photo: Pedro Szekely/flickr (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
In July, at the end of the rainy season, the water level drops and the algae Macarenia Clavigera starts to bloom. Red and yellow colors are the brightest from September to November.
Due to this the river acquires its unusual colors
Photo: Pedro Szekely/flickr (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
Photo: Peter Fitzgerald [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
To protect this natural phenomenon, access to the river is strictly limited: not more than 20 visitors per day
According to conclusion of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, “the river is the ecological symbol of the nation, the place where the Orinoco river, the Amazon rainforest and the Andean forests converge. This is one of the oldest environmental attractions in South America.” Meanwhile, the Colombians fairly call Caño Cristales the most beautiful river in the world.
