I like my frog well boiled

May 4, 2016 9:08 AM

For centuries, Peruvian locals have talked about a river in the Amazon that burns so hot it can kill.
Peru’s mysterious ‘boiling river’ that burns animals to death.
Peruvian geoscientist Andres Ruzo found a river up to 25 metres wide and six metres deep, that runs burning hot for an incredible 6.24 km.
Legends of the Boiling River.
posted by adamvasco (15 comments total)

If you like the idea of boiling hot water on the Earth's surface, Iceland has lots and is probably more accessible than the one in TFA.

I've bathed in some of them myself*, and even though the smell is less than great, the experience is wonderful.

* The ones with more reasonable temperatures, naturally....
posted by Harald74 at 9:29 AM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

I live in an area surrounded by natural hot springs, most are pools but I've seen one that flows at close to fire-hose levels, and yet I never would have imagined a hot river.

It isn't mentioned, but I'd love to know if any animals have adapted to the temperatures or take advantage of the micro-climate. We've got a species of snail that exists only on the edge of several ponds nearby. It's entire universe is limited to a few square meters of space.
posted by furtive at 9:30 AM on May 4, 2016 [4 favorites]

I am Peruvian, lived in Peru for 24 years and I never, ever heard of this. Thank you Adamvasco!

"And it's not going to be around unless we do something about it."

Honestly, I am a forest engineer who studied Amazonian ecology (with decent focus on hydrology) and I lived in the jungle for 8 months, and nobody (professors, other students, no one) I know back in Peru has ever mentioned the existence of this.

I am so glad he is keeping it secret until he gets reassurance that the government won't fuck it up.
posted by Tarumba at 9:50 AM on May 4, 2016 [11 favorites]

It isn't mentioned, but I'd love to know if any animals have adapted to the temperatures or take advantage of the micro-climate.

From the second article: "Even more exciting, Ruzo has worked with biologists Spencer Wells and Jonathan Eisen to sequence the genomes of the microbes living in and around the river, and discovered brand new species that are able to survive the heat."

Wish there was more info, but apparently there are at least some animals that have adapted.
posted by saladin at 10:02 AM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

For centuries, Peruvian locals have talked about a river in the Amazon that burns so hot it can kill.... [Peruvian geoscientist Andrés Ruzo] began to question whether the river could actually be real.

According to the experts he spoke to, the answer was a unanimous "no".... But when Ruzo went home over the holidays and asked his family where the myth had come from, his mother told him that the river didn't just exist, she and his aunt had actually swum in it before.

It sounded pretty ridiculous, but in 2011, Ruzo took a chance and hiked into the Amazon rainforest with his aunt, and saw the famed river with his own eyes.

Much to his disbelief, it was steaming hot.

So, to summarize:

1. Peruvian locals said, "There's a river that's hot."
2. Experts said, "Don't be absurd. Rivers can't be hot."
3. One expert went and looked.
4. Turns out the river was hot.
5. Experts remembered that there's such a thing as hot springs.

These "experts" sound like a pack of assholes. Next time you need to know whether a body of water can be hot and how it could get that way, come ask me.
posted by The Tensor at 10:03 AM on May 4, 2016 [16 favorites]

Ruzo interviewed on the latest Snap Judgement NPR podcast. Sounds from that like he was really conflicted about whether to let it be studied or not.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 10:04 AM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

Well, it's extremely unusual to have that volume hot springs in an area without volcanic activity, especially ones of so high a temperature, so the disbelief was not entirely unfounded.
posted by tavella at 10:10 AM on May 4, 2016 [6 favorites]

Also, locals can tell you all sorts of crazy stories (e.g. Sasquatch)
posted by Flashman at 10:44 AM on May 4, 2016

Sasquatch isn't a large, stationary landscape feature you can go stick a thermometer into.

Really, it's not the initial skepticism that bothers me, it's the part where, when asked if a river could be hot (as reported by locals), "the answer was a unanimous 'no'". People have clearly forgotten the rule about distinguished but elderly scientists.
posted by The Tensor at 10:57 AM on May 4, 2016 [3 favorites]

Sasquatch isn't a large, stationary landscape feature you can go stick a thermometer into.

I don't think we actually know this.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:03 AM on May 4, 2016 [10 favorites]

Sasquatch isn't a large, stationary landscape feature you can go stick a thermometer into.

He wouldn't be stationary after this, anyway.
posted by JohnFromGR at 11:05 AM on May 4, 2016 [8 favorites]

What do you mean? An African or American sasquatch?
posted by Kattullus at 2:35 PM on May 4, 2016 [5 favorites]

Tourists wishing to visit the river are recommended to liaise directly with either Mayantuyacu (mayantuyacu.com) or Santuario Huistín (santuariohealing.com) centres, both of which have a long history of receiving tourists and providing visitors with detailed travel tips, safety advice and warnings about the inherent potential dangers of visiting the river, which is “hot enough to give serious second to third degree burns in seconds”, according to the project.

So... it doesn't seem to have been very secret regionally?

Barking in hindsight about the obviousness of things not known widely is surely the highest form of scientific commentary.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 3:38 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

what about a nice small non invasive steam-powered spa? and can I go live there?
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 4:39 PM on May 4, 2016

Sasquatch isn't a large, stationary landscape feature you can go stick a thermometer into.

Tell me about it. Just fucking hold still for a minute you big baby.
posted by bongo_x at 5:58 PM on May 4, 2016