Beautiful Places & Crystal Clear Water P1

 

Beautiful Places & Crystal Clear Water 

 Around 71% of the Earth's surface is covered in water, and there's plenty of H2O to be enjoyed in most corners of the world. From lesser-known seas and mammoth lakes, to rivers that snake their way through the landscape, there are some truly awesome bodies of water just waiting to be discovered. And, thanks to the power of nature and preservation by humans, some of that water is clearer than you might ever have thought possible. Coming up are ten of the most beautiful places around the world where the water is crystal clear.

Te Waikoropupu Springs,

formerly known as Pupa Springs, Te Waikoropupū springs is the largest freshwater spring in New Zealand, and the largest cold water spring in the Southern Hemisphere. The water is pumped up out of generous aquifers at an unfathomable rate of 14,000 liters per second. To give that figure some context, that's the equivalent of filling 40 bathtubs per second. The reason the water is so clear, is that it spends up to 10 years being filtered by the surrounding rocks before it surges out into the pools. The waters are so clear, in fact, that they've attracted their fair amount of scientific attention. In 1993, the National Institute for Water and Atmosphere carried out optical tests on the springs and found that visibility was an incredible 63 meters. You'll find these spectacular falls close to the town of Takaka in Golden Bay, at the end of a pleasant 30-minute stroll.

 

Jiuzhaigou Valley Lakes.

Jiuzhaigou is a nature reserve and national park located in the north of the Sichuan Province in southwest China. The UNESCO World Heritage Site, attracts millions of visitors each year with its multi-level waterfalls and spectacular mountain ranges, but its most incredible attraction is Five Flower Lake. Of more than 114 lakes in the national park, it stands out because of its multi-colored waters. As you might have guessed by the name, there are at least five colors visible at any one time. This is because of the calcareous sediment at the bottom, as well as the variety of algae and the colorful forest reflecting on the water's glass-like surface. If you fancy a visit, October is the best time to go as the forest turns shades of red, orange, and even purple, which makes it even prettier.

 

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia.

Founded in 1949, Croatia's Plitvice Lakes is the oldest national park in southeast Europe, and its so beautiful, it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's huge too, and its maze of 16 lakes and waterfalls cover over 70,000 acres. Over one million people head out to see the jewel of Croatia each year, and looking at these scenes, it's easy to see why. The 16 lakes are interconnected and the water flows through all of them as it travels through the park, but they're separated into upper and lower clusters which are formed by runoff from the mountains. The water's world-famous colors range from blue and gray through to turquoise and green, depending on the number of minerals and organisms and the angle of the sunlight. If you manna take the trip to Plitvice, it's 130 km from the capital, Zagreb, and it's well worth staying for a couple of days to see the colors change.

 

Ambergris Caye, Belize.

Around 1.3 million people visit Belize each year, and Ambergris Caye, the largest island, is the main destination for travelers. The key reason people flock there is to scuba dive, and after taking one look at these crystal clear waters it's easy to see why. The area is also home to the second-largest coral reef system in the world. The Hole Chan marine reserve, lies just 1.5 miles off the coast of Ambergris Caye and is an incredible 25 miles long. Around 40,000 people snorkel or dive here annually, hoping for a glimpse of the huge variety of sea life ]in the area. If you're wondering why oceans like the Caribbean Sea are so beautifully blue, science has the answer. The blue is created when the sun's rays are scattered by the water molecules. The water is lighter in the shallows because the sunlight is bouncing off the sand and reefs that sit near the surface.

 

Melissani Lake, Greece.

Greece is one of the world's greatest locations for history and beauty, and Melissani Lake combines the two to become one of the most fascinating natural attractions in the world. Depressingly, the lake is said to have been named after a heartbroken nymph. According to legend, Melissani took her own life after being spurned by the god Pan. The cavern is located 2 km outside the popular tourist destination of Sami and is thought to be around 20,000 years old. The lake was completely underground at one point, but a huge earthquake opened it up thousands of years ago and now sunlight floods in and lights up the water with an array of beautiful blue tones. The lake is so incredibly clear because the cave acts as an aquifer, which means that seawater is sucked into the cave and is filtered during the process. Don't be tempted to take a zsip of the water though, although it's been filtered, it still definitely tastes like salt water.

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