Blood Falls - Antarctica

by - abril 07, 2020

 

Antarctica itself is a bomb on the bucket list, and an extremely hard place to get to. Discovered in 191 by an australian explorer and geologist Griffith Taylor, this is an hell of a crazy destination to spend your holidays, but worth every view: waterfalls in a middle of a glacier tinted with vivid red.


But how is it possible in the middle of a glacier? Previosly, scientists thought that algae trapped in the ice tinted the Falls red as it melted. But here is a new theory: Nearly two million years ago, a small body of water containing an ancient community of microbes was sealed beneath the Taylor Glacier forming a natural time capsule. Over the course of these two million years, the microbes evolved independently from the rest of the world with no light or free oxygen, trapped under a thick layer of ice. The very high salinity and rich iron content gave this trapped lake its characteristic red colour and a fissure in the glacier allowed the sub-glacial lake to slowly flow out into Lake Bonney.

How to visit:
This is located in the Dry Valleys, and they are only accessible by helicopter from McMurdo Station (U.S.), Scott Base (New Zealand) or a cruise ship in the Ross Sea. The area is part of VISTA (Antarctica New Zealand’s Ross Sea region visitor site assessment and monitoring programme) and tours are largely based on visual observation and photography.
You should be aware that traveling to Antarctica is not cheap at all! That's why it will be my final destination. My prize. After seing the whole world. I will go on a 1 month cruise to this place!!

There are many tour operators you can find on the internet. One of them is this one:

Happy journeys in Antarctica!

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