A France river has turned to a blood red color, but it really is not filled with blood. Instead, the river is filled with salt, causing it to turn red. Check out the pictures in this post to see it for yourself. In southern France, a lake in the Camargue, has turned to blood red. The Camargue is a river delta where the sea meets the Rhone. Scientists claim that the water changing colors happened because of a natural occurrence.
The scientists have said that a high concentration of salt, in the form of salt flats, turned the blue water to a deep red color. The photos were taken by Sam Dobson, a Russian photographer. He also provided the following notes with the photos.
“Every small branch is covered with crystals. With the red water as a background it looks like something extra-terrestrial. I was just overwhelmed with emotions the whole time I was there. Despite my numerous travels, I have never seen anything like this before.”
The lake is the second to recently change colors. Lake Retba, in Senegal, changed colors from blue to strawberry milkshake because of large numbers of salt in the water.
“The strawberry [color] is produced by salt-loving organism Dunaliella salina. They produce a red pigment that absorbs and uses the energy of sunlight to create more energy, turning the water pink,” Michael Danson said. Danson is from Bath University and works as an expert in extremophile bacteria. “Lakes like Retba and the Dead Sea, which have high salt concentrations, were once thought to be incompatible with life – hence the names. But they are very much alive.”
