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There's A River So Hot In The Amazon That It Actually Boils People

There's A River So Hot In The Amazon That It Actually Boils People

Scientist Andrés Ruzo​ travelled to find it, not believing it was possible.

James Dawson

James Dawson

If you don't dip your foot in a bath, quickly retract it and say "ah fucking hell that's hot", then are you really having a bath? No, you're not.

For some reason we're yet to find the perfect formula that means we can sit straight into a bath of water without it being painstakingly hot or shrivel your penis cold.

However, despite the fact most of us come out of the tub red up to our necks, looking like a lobster, it's nothing on the Amazonian River, Shanay-timpishka.

Now I'm not suggesting that we should compare our baths to a river deep in the jungle, but you know, some people might go native and bathe in there from time to time.

If they did bathe in there, they'd be toast, as it's so hot it actually boils people. And for complicated climate change and global warming reasons, of which I'm not going to even pretend to understand, it can't be helped, whereas our bath water can.

A scientist named Andrés Ruzo visited the river after hearing things about it, which up until recently were believed to be a myth.

He's shared video that he took during his research which shows the uniqueness of the body of water, but also its terrifying nature.

Its name, Shanay-timpishka, means boiled with the heat of the sun, according to the Daily Mail, and just the heat while standing near it is enough to feel it burning you.

Credit: Great Big Story

"The hottest temperature I've measured is 210°F (100°C)," Ruzo said. "'To put that into everyday terms, the average coffee is roughly 130°F (55°C).

"It's hard to physically imagine that much hot water.

"You stick your hand in, and you will see second or third degree burns in a matter of seconds.

"I've seen a number of animals fall in, everything from birds to reptiles.

"Complex organisms like us, we don't do well at those high temperatures. We literally start to cook on the bone."

Credit: Great Big Story

While studying for his Phd in geophysics at Southern Methodist University in Texas he heard about Shanay-timpishka, though was skeptical about whether what people had said were true or not.

He eventually found himself trekking to find it in 2011, to conduct research which would be made into the book The Boiling River.

At most he thought it'd be warm water, contemplating his studies which suggested such a phenomenon as a boiling river couldn't possibly exist. It did, of course, and he found the four mile stretch in the geothermal healing site of the Asháninka people in Mayantuyacu, the Mail reports.

It's the way it is due to fault-fed hot springs and Ruzo is trying to save the natural wonder.

Featured Image Credit: Great Big Story

Topics: World News, Amazon