(REFLEXIONES)
Caño Cristales es a river in Colombia, South America, described as
“the most beatiful stream in the world”; also called” the most
beautiful river that escaped from paradise"
Caño Cristales is located in the Sierra de la Macarena National Park,
within the Municipality of the same name in the Meta Department of
Colombia.
The river is relatively short, with a total length of about 100
kilometers, and about 20 meters wide. In the local language is
known as a “caño”, which is a water body of size between a
river and a creek.
Caño Cristales is also known as the river of 5 colors. The
pigmentation in the pictures is due to algae and moss that cover
the rocks that form most of its bottom. The algae and moss grow
in yellow, blue, green, black and red, creating the incredible
contrasts that make the river an amazing color spectacle, and an
unforgetable experience to the visitors to this zone in Colombia.
The red color is due to an algae named Macarenia clavigera. The
intensity of the colors of the algae and moss in the bottom varies
with the flow of the river, which appears to be optimal during the
rainy season from June to November.
Throughout the stream, depressions in the rocks at its bottom
form magnificents pools, named “marmitas de gigante”. These
depressions or pools were carved in the rocks by erosion
resulting from harder pebbles and boulders carried by the
stream. At certain points in the river, whirpools are formed by
the flow, where the pebbles and boulders flow in circles slowly
eroding the bottom of sections of the channel, and through the
millenia causing the depressions shown.).
Caño Cristales was named as a World Biological
Heritage Resource. The best time to visit the zone
is from June to November, when the colors are
more intense due to the abundant rainfall and
runoff.