Celeste River facts for kids
The Celeste River is a beautiful river located in Tenorio Volcano National Park in Costa Rica. It's famous for its amazing turquoise blue color. The river also flows past several hot springs and has a large, stunning waterfall. It usually takes about an hour to hike to the waterfall from the park's entrance.
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Why is the River So Blue?
The Celeste River's unique turquoise color isn't caused by chemicals. Instead, it's a cool science trick called Mie scattering. Imagine tiny particles in the water that scatter sunlight in a special way, making the water look blue.
The Celeste River starts when two other rivers, the Buenavista River and Sour Creek, join together. Both of these rivers are clear, without any color.
The Role of Tiny Particles
The Buenavista River carries many tiny pieces of rock. These are called aluminosilicate particles. They are super small, like dust.
Sour Creek's Special Water
Sour Creek, as its name suggests, is quite acidic. This is because of the volcanoes nearby. Acidity is measured using something called pH. A low pH means something is acidic.
How the Magic Happens
When the Buenavista River and Sour Creek mix, the water becomes less acidic. This change in pH makes the tiny aluminosilicate particles stick together. They form slightly larger clumps. These clumps are still very small, about 566 nanometers wide (that's super tiny!).
When sunlight hits these tiny, clumped particles, the light scatters. This scattering is what we call Mie scattering. It makes the river look a bright, strong turquoise color, almost like magic!
See also
- Tourism in Costa Rica
