Antarctica's Blood Falls: The Stunning Truth Behind the Crimson Cascade

• Blood Falls, a crimson waterfall in Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys, flows from the Taylor Glacier into Lake Bonney.
• First documented in 1911, its red color was initially attributed to algae or unknown life forms.
• The striking red hue is caused by iron-rich water from beneath the Taylor Glacier oxidizing upon contact with air, similar to rust.
• Beneath the glacier, a subglacial lake of extremely salty water, trapped for over a million years, harbors microbial life that thrives without sunlight or oxygen.
• This unique ecosystem offers insights into life in extreme environments on Earth and potentially on other planets like Jupiter's Europa or Saturn's Enceladus.