In the United States, there is a lake that people are completely forbidden from swimming in – and for good reason. Any living organisms that dare to venture into it never come back…
The lake was found in 2014 by a group of researchers led by Erik Cordes, a professor of biology at Temple University in Philadelphia. The “Jacuzzi of Despair” is a lake that coincidentally doesn’t actually have a name.
This crater-shaped, underwater lake is 34 meters in diameter and can be found at around 1000 meters under sea level. Within this lake, there is three times as much salt found in the water than in normal sea water.
Given its toxicity and the fact that it is highly charged with methane and hydrogen sulphide, the water kills any organism that wishes to enter it. That is except for shrimps, sea sponges and some bacteria.
During their expedition, the team of researchers found some samples of microbial life that was able to adapt to the high salinity of the brine pool and its low level of oxygen.
According to Erik Cordes, these creatures may look a lot like those that colonised the Earth millions of years ago.
