The river of five colours
Caño Cristales
A clear river in Colombia whose bed turns bright red for a few months each year.
Why Caño Cristales is river-weed red
Caño Cristales runs through the Serranía de la Macarena, an isolated range in central Colombia. For most of the year it looks like any clear stream over dark rock. Between about June and November, when the water level and the sunlight are right, a water plant that clings to the riverbed turns a vivid red, from pink to deep crimson. Seen with the yellow sand, green moss, black rock and blue water, it gives the river its nickname. The plant grows only in this region and is fragile, so visitor numbers are limited, guides are required, and sunscreen and insect repellent are not allowed in the water. The area was closed for years by armed conflict.
Values are fair approximations of what the eye sees there, not measurements.
Colours tied to Caño Cristales
Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Caño Cristales" on Wikipedia. If you know Caño Cristales and we have it wrong, tell us.
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The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Shekhawati In: Digrajsingh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kutch In: Zeel Satyendra Modi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kanchipuram In: Ssriram mt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Auroville In: Kaspar Konrad, Public domain, source
- Cartagena Co: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Guatape Co: Allmhurach, CC BY-SA 3.0, source