Below Yellowstone National Park is one of the largest magma chambers in the world. Thanks to this incomprehensibly hot source of fuel, the water supply system around the park is often incredibly hot and colossally acidic.
This means that swimming in a lake like this is a really bad idea. It will kill you in minutes.
Emergency
Back in June, a 23-year-old man fell into one of these thermal springs, which led to his almost immediate death. But the terrifying details of this incident, its causes and consequences have become known only now.
Apparently, he was looking for a place to swim in a thermal spring, for no logical reason and despite numerous inscriptions prohibiting contact with water. The guy bent down to check the temperature, but slipped and fell into the source.
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The victim was found dead the same day. His body was floating in the pool, but lifeguards could not get to this place to get him out. Due to the onset of a thunderstorm and the onset of night, they decided to postpone the rescue operation until the next morning. But when they returned the next day, they could not find any remains of the deceased.
What unjustified courage and stupidity lead to
In his report on the incident, Deputy Chief Ranger Logan Veress noted that the water was particularly hot and acidic on that day. Therefore, the tourist's body dissolved in a very short time.
While these incidents are tragic, they also show how incredibly insane people do to show someone their "courage", or, in this case, to take a truly unique bath.
Average water temperature
Yellowstone's geothermal lakes, pools and geysers average about 93 ° C at the surface, but only a few meters deeper, it rises significantly. They are fenced off and surrounded by a huge number of rather visible warning signs, and there really are good reasons for this.
These aquatic worlds are actually inhabited by only special organisms known as archaea. Do you consider yourself a microscopic extremophile life form? Probably not. So stay as far away as possible and refrain from testing the temperature of these sources for yourself if you don't want to dissolve like a lump of sugar in coffee.
Anna Pismenna