Two-thirds of the surface of our planet is covered with water. Man is 80% liquid. It would seem that water is a source of life. Nevertheless, it can easily deprive you of this life. In our article we will talk about the most dangerous rivers in the world. All of them can seriously harm a person, and in the worst case, even kill. So, let's find out what these streams are, and why they are so dangerous.
10 most dangerous rivers in the world
A river is a constant or temporary stream that flows in the deepening of the earth's crust, which it has developed. Each of them has its own source and mouth, as well as a catchment from which it collects water. Nobody knows for sure how many rivers there are on the planet. Their total number is in the millions! But large rivers with a length of more than 1000 kilometers, there are a little more than fifty. Next, we will talk about the most dangerous rivers in the world.
The river is one of the most unpredictable natural sites. On the one hand, they provide cities with fresh water and cheap electricity. But on the other hand, rivers can destroy entire settlements, for example, during catastrophic floods.
Which river is the most dangerous in the world? On Earth, there are a number of watercourses that pose a huge danger to humans. Some of them have such a rapid current that they can take away human life in a matter of minutes. Others are teeming with dangerous predators - for example, anacondas or piranhas.
We have compiled for you a list of the most dangerous rivers on Earth. It looks like this:
- Amazon.
- Congo
- Yangtze.
- Yenisei.
- Ganges.
- Kali
- Franklin.
- Rio Tinto
- Potomac.
- Citarum.
Amazon
One of the most dangerous rivers in the world is, of course, the Amazon. Its pool is located in northern South America. In modern geography, the Amazon is considered the longest river on the planet: from its source to its mouth, its length is 6400 kilometers. Its channel contains about 20% of all river water of the Earth.
The Amazon is fraught with many dangers for humans. One of them is spring floods. Spilling, the river instantly covers vast territories, forming quite powerful and destructive waves of the marine type.
The second danger is the fauna of the watercourse. In addition to sharks, alligators and water boas, two small fish live in the river and its tributaries - piranha and candira. The former, possessing the sharpest teeth, can deal with a large animal in just a few minutes, leaving only the skeleton from it. The latter penetrate into the natural openings of humans or other mammals and bite into the walls of the body from the inside. Another nuisance that you can meet in the waters of the Amazon is electric eels. When angry, these electric fish can produce discharges up to 500 volts. In a word, it is worth thinking carefully before entering (at least knee-deep) into the dangerous waters of this South American river.
Congo
Congo is also considered a dangerous river. It flows in central Africa and has one of the largest catchment areas on the planet. The river is considered the deepest in the world. In some places, the depth of its channel reaches 200 meters! Almost throughout the Congo is a noisy and boiling waterfalls, rapids and rifts boiler. In rainy seasons, the river very quickly leaves its banks and behaves extremely unpredictably.
Yangtze
One of the longest rivers of Eurasia begins in Tibet and flows into the East China Sea. Translated from Chinese, it is called “the long river”. The Yangtze Riverbed is characterized by a fast current and numerous whirlpools. The river is also famous for its powerful spills, sweeping away everything in its path. Nevertheless, the Chinese have learned to use its strength and power to generate electricity. In the lower reaches of the river are Chinese alligators. Although they are considered quite calm representatives of their family, they can still bite a person for self-defense.
Yenisei
The Yenisei flows smoothly through the territories of three states - Mongolia, China and Russia. At first glance, its channel seems quiet and calm. But the river carries a completely different kind of danger. According to scientists, the water of the Yenisei for several decades has been actively contaminated with radioactive particles of plutonium. Radionuclides were deposited in bottom channel deposits, on floodplains and on the Yenisei islands. During floods, they are carried to the banks of the river.
Powerful radiation pollution of the Yenisei river valley has long been a big problem for hundreds of thousands of residents of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. According to doctors, in the region recorded elevated rates for diseases such as breast cancer and leukemia, as well as a high percentage of genetic abnormalities among newborns.
Ganges
The Ganges is a sacred river for all Indians. From 50 to 100 human bodies are lowered into it daily. It is believed that only in this way can a person achieve "eternal liberation." As a rule, bodies are cremated directly in the water. Those who cannot afford such a procedure simply dump corpses into the river. Therefore, hundreds of bodies can swim in the waters of the Ganges until they rot. Of course, this could not but affect the general sanitary condition of the water in the river. With all this, the inhabitants of India bathe in the Ganges, and even drink water from it. According to unofficial statistics, the river takes away about 600 thousand human lives per year.
Kali
The Kali River, flowing on the border of India and Nepal, is known for the so-called "cannibal fish" (gunch) that lives in large quantities in its waters. It is large (up to 1.5-2 meters in length) and incredibly dangerous. To drag a person or even a buffalo into the water is not a problem for her. Moreover, almost nothing remains of the unfortunate victim. Experts believe that these predatory fish divorced in the waters of Kali is not accidental. The fact is that funeral rites are also massively performed on the banks of the river.
Franklin
If we talk about rafting (extreme rafting or rafting), then the most dangerous river in the world, perhaps, can be considered the Franklin River in Australia. It flows away from large cities, through the territory of the Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. According to the international sports classification, Franklin rafting has the highest category of difficulty. The riverbed very often changes direction and winds heavily. In addition, the passage along the route is complicated by numerous rocky rapids, pitfalls and trunks of fallen trees. Nevertheless, the river is very popular among extreme sports and water lovers.
Potomac
Not far from the US capital, the turbulent Potomac River flows. Every year on its shores a lot of different festivals are held. And every year the river takes dozens of lives of idle Americans. Once here in one day a group of six tourists died. After this incident, the authorities turned their attention to the killer river. Today, in order to make a rafting along the channel of the Potomac, it is necessary to obtain special permission from local authorities.
Rio Tinto
The Rio Tinto River in Spain is known for an abnormally high level of acidity, due to the significant content of iron and other metals in its water. The pH is 2-2.5, which is approximately comparable with the level of acidity in the human stomach. Of course, no living creature, except for individual bacteria, is found in it.
