Boiling rivers boil everything in the Amazon rain forest

The Shanay-timpishka boiling river, also known as La Bomba in Peru, has been known to the Amazon indigenous community for centuries. However, many scholars, authorities and the fossil fuel industry are skeptical of its existence. Such warm water is often associated with geothermal hot springs associated with underground volcanic activity, however, the Amazon rainforest is not located near any volcanoes. It is estimated that the nearest volcanic center is more than 700 km away from Boiling River.

It was not until 2011 that the river was first studied by geothermal scientist Andrés Ruzo. Ruzo’s grandfather used to talk about the river when he was a child. By chance, his aunt knew the wife of a magician who protected the river. Ruzo shared that they led him to the river by road. The river stretches for 6.24 km with an average temperature of 86 degrees Celsius. What surprised him was that its upstream was quite cold. It only heats up when it flows through a hot spring located beneath a snake-head-shaped rock. After discussing with the shaman, Ruzo was allowed to study the river and take water samples to the laboratory.

Being near a river is extremely dangerous, even for wildlife in the Peruvian Amazon. Ruzo said he has seen many animals fall victim to boiling rivers. “They fall and the first thing that cooks quickly is their eyes. Their eyes turn milky white. They try to swim away but the meat cooks while still attached to the bones, so they lose their strength. Finally, the water The heat poured into their mouths and cooked them from the inside out,” Ruzo said.

Through research of the area, Ruzo showed that the river created boiling temperatures, unrelated to volcanic activity. However, its scale and extreme temperatures far exceed any other non-volcanic geothermal system in the world.

Researchers speculate that the river water may originate from glaciers in the Andes. Melting ice seeps deep underground, heated by the Earth’s geothermal energy before reappearing in the Amazon region. Like the rest of the Amazon rainforest, the area around Shanay-timpishka is threatened by deforestation, development projects and fossil fuel extraction. Ruzo hopes his research will motivate the Peruvian government to find ways to protect the river.