Nature is
such a powerful inspiration to every human being on earth. When we saw
something special, suddenly we say wow without any intention. The similar
natural inspiration is the Blue River in Cost Rica, winding through the verdant
rainforest of Tenorio Volcano National Park. The turquoise tones of Río Celeste
is one of Costa Rica’s most prominent natural jewels actually an optical
phenomenon, not a chemical effect in the water.
The special
beauty of Blue River is vivid blue water formed by the confluence of two
smaller rivers called the Sour Creek and the Good View River. The bright blue
river is also called “Rio Celeste” actually carries significant amount of
whitish mineral famous as aluminosilicate, composed of aluminum, silicon, and
oxygen. Moreover, at a certain point, the water of two completely transparent
rivers meets, where the blue colors originate. Due to this reason the point is
called El Teñidor, which means “The Dyer” in English.
Scientists
have come up numerous theories where the Río Celeste gets its color. So, until
in recent times; researchers were trying to find the exact reason of why Rio
Celeste has distinctive turquoise coloration. Although several, hypotheses were
put forward such as the water contained copper or calcium carbonate and sulfur,
or that the river’s proximity to the Tenorio Volcano caused it have the blue
color. Therefore, this is recognized that the blue color comes due to a
physical phenomenon well-known as Mie scattering triggered by the presence of
definite minerals in the river’s water that causes sunlight to reflect in such
a manner that it gives the water an unbelievable hue.
As we’ve
explained above, that Rio Celeste is fed by Sour Creek and Good View River,
which minerals is actively responsible for reflecting the vivid blue color in
sunlight. However, if the mineral is also contained in the Good View River,
then why doesn’t it appear blue like Río Celeste? The answer lies in the size
of the particles. Further, researchers were trying to found Good View River particles
have a size of 184 nanometers, although in the Río Celeste the particles are
much larger at 566 nm. Thus, the increase in size causes the scattering of
sunlight and occurs principally in the blue region of visible spectrum. So
that’s why we have that spectacular light blue color of the Rio Celeste” said
Dr. Max Chavarría Vargas, lead investigator. Therefore, during the investigation,
The UNA and UCR scientists took a number of samples of water from the two
rivers and concluded there is no copper or any other metal dangerous to humans.
Another
question comes to in mind that why‘re the “aluminosilicate particles” in Río
Celeste bigger than those in Good View River, when the particles itself came
from the Good View River? On the other hand it so happens that Sour Creek, the
2nd river to link Good View River, is extremely acidity due to volcanic
activity that is why it’s called Sour Creek. Therefore, when these two streams
join to form Río Celeste, the drop in pH causes the “aluminosilicate particles”
to combined and enlarge creating Mie scattering which gives the river a robust
turquoise color. As a result, it is one of those quirks of nature where one of
the rivers is responsible for mineral material with one size and the other
river keeps the acidic environment so that those particles grow.
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