When you see a bright red river or a lake that glows a vivid green color, you probably think it belongs on another planet. But these incredibly striking bodies of water are right here on Earth. Here are the most beautiful and alien-looking rivers and lakes, sporting bizarre colors.
These travertine pools at Pamukkale, Turkey, have an unearthly color and form because of the calcium carbonate-rich mineral springs
(via Pvasiliadis, Ana Raquel S. Hernandes and smush12)
The Betsiboka river in Madagascar, 2005
(Photo by oledoe (cc))
The meanders of Uvac, an international river that flows through Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
(via Zeleniaktivista)
Huanghe River in Lanzhou, October 2006. A sewage pipeline released some red dye into the river, which caused the extraordinary color.
(via Chinadaily)
The Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, colored by some pigmented bacteria
(via Wikimedia Commons)
Lake Hillier, Middle Island, Recherche Archipelago, Western Australia
Odeleite, Portugal, also known as The Blue Dragon River
(via Imgur)
A river in Xinmeizhou Village, Zheijang Province, China, turned red overnight in July 25, 2014, because somebody dumped artificial coloring in the water
(via Equatoria Sun)
Pumpkin Spring, a natural formed hot arsenic spring in Grand Canyon
(via Alan English)
These rivers full with volcanic ash in Iceland, photos by Andre Ermolaev
(via Andre Ermolaev)
Green Crater Lake, Costa Rica, at the summit of the Irazú volcano, colored by mineral byproducts of the active volcano
(via Adam and Heidi Frank)
Daqubang and Baiyang rivers in China, which have turned yellow because they have been seriously polluted by some local factories
(via Chinawhisper)
Three coloured lakes on Mount Kelimutu, Kelimutu National Park, Flores, Indonesia
(via Wikimedia Commons and GalleryHip)
Caño Cristales River, also known as “The River of Five Colors”, Colombia. Its color comes from various plants.
(Image by Mario Carvajal (cc))
The Marble Canyon, a section of Colorado River that marks the beginning of the Grand Canyon
(via Joseph McCarty)
Lake Retba (also known as Lac Rose), northwest Senegal, colored to pink by a bacteria named Dunaliella salina
(via ritaince claire and Jeff Attaway)
