[Lee Stewart]

Blood Falls, Antarctica

The world’s coldest and perhaps most enigmatic continent is home to a blood-red waterfall that seeps into the ice. Geologists originally thought the red color was due to algae but the truth is actually much more interesting. It started around two million years ago when a saltwater pool was trapped inside Taylor Glacier. The sealed, airless lake’s high iron content and salinity caused the rust-red color that eventually oozed out of a fissure in the ice.