1. Karachi Lake
After being used as a dumping site for radioactive waste for decades, Lake Karachay, located in the
southern Ural mountains in western Russia, has become one of the most polluted spot in the world.
Spending just five minutes near the lake is enough to receive a deadly radioactive dosis, while spending
an hour there will probably kill you within the next few hours. In 1968, during drought conditions, the wind
carried radioactive dust away from the lake’s dried area, irradiating half a million people. The radiation
was comparable to the effect of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Another 7,000 people who lived
in the area were relocated.
southern Ural mountains in western Russia, has become one of the most polluted spot in the world.
Spending just five minutes near the lake is enough to receive a deadly radioactive dosis, while spending
an hour there will probably kill you within the next few hours. In 1968, during drought conditions, the wind
carried radioactive dust away from the lake’s dried area, irradiating half a million people. The radiation
was comparable to the effect of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Another 7,000 people who lived
in the area were relocated.
2. Lake Rakshastal
Lake Rakshastal (left in the picture above) is a saltwater lake in Tibet, lying close to the
west of Lake Manasarovar. Named “lake of the demon”, Lake Rakshastal produces no waterweeds
or fish and the locals consider it poisonous. It is considered to be the home of the ten-headed
demon king of Lanka in Hindu myth. Lake Manasarovar, shaped like the sun, is regarded as
‘brightness’ in Buddhism, while Lake Rakshastal, shaped as a crescent, represents ‘darkness’.
However, despite its notoriety, the lake bears no less beauty than other Tibetan lakes.
west of Lake Manasarovar. Named “lake of the demon”, Lake Rakshastal produces no waterweeds
or fish and the locals consider it poisonous. It is considered to be the home of the ten-headed
demon king of Lanka in Hindu myth. Lake Manasarovar, shaped like the sun, is regarded as
‘brightness’ in Buddhism, while Lake Rakshastal, shaped as a crescent, represents ‘darkness’.
However, despite its notoriety, the lake bears no less beauty than other Tibetan lakes.
3. Boiling lake
Boiling lake in Dominica is actually a flooded fumarole (a crack through which gases from molten
lava escape), filled with superheated bubbling water that is enveloped in a cloud of vapor.
Since the lake is the second largest hot spring on Earth with the water temperature of
82-91.5 Celsius (180-197 Fahrenheit) measured just at the edges, not only it would be uncomfortable
to swim in, it would kill you if you even got near it. So far, scientists haven’t measured the
temperature in the center of the lake where the water actually boils.
4. Lake Monoun
Lake Monoun, that lies in the Oku Volcanic Field in Cameroon, is the first of only three known
cases of lake overturn. In 1984, the lake exploded in a limnic eruption and released a cloud
of deadly carbon dioxide gas that killed 37 people. A truck carrying twelve people was in the
path of the gas and when the engine suddenly stopped working, the people got out of the truck
to see what was wrong and were all killed. The only survivers in this accident were two persons
riding on the top of the truck as they were above the gas and could still breathe. Two years
later a similar event occurred at Lake Nyos, about 100 km away.
5. Lake Kivu, Rwanda
Situated on the borderline of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lake Kivu is
one of the three known exploding lakes and is at serious risk of violent lake overturns. The
lake is considered deadly because there are enormous quantities of dangerous gases
dissolved in layers beneath its surface – carbon dioxide (which has bubbled up from the
volcanic rock), and methane (about 55 billion cubic metres of it) produced by bacteria on
the lake bed. If the volcanic activity triggered a methane explosion or release of suffocating
carbon dioxide, this could cause a disaster of monstrous proportions, since approximately
two million people live in the Lake Kivu’s basin.
6. Mount Rainier Crater Lake, Washington
Mount Rainier’s crater lake, the highest crater lake in North America, lies beneath the ice in
the west summit crater and it can only be reached by following a network of ice caves in the
craters. The water in the crater lake creates sulfuric acid (sulfur dioxide combined with the
water) that is eating into the volcanic rock of Mount Rainier. Most volcanic rocks you find
anywhere else in the world are strong, but in parts of this mountain it can easily crumble in
your hand. If the rock were to collapse in any area, it would cause a slurry of mud, rock
and ice, or so called “lahars,” that can be deadly because of their energy and speed,
causing catastrophic destruction in their path. The collapse of the rock would also breach
the crater lake, letting loose tons of water within it. Mount Rainier and it’s crater lake are
considered a serious threat to people in Seattle, which is only 87 km away from the mountain.
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