Antarctica's Blood Falls: A Mysterious Red Waterfall Defying Frozen Deserts

• Antarctica's 'Blood Falls' in McMurdo Dry Valleys cascades red from Taylor Glacier into Lake Bonney, discovered in 1911 by Thomas Griffith Taylor.
• The red color is due to iron-rich hypersaline water trapped beneath 400 meters of glacial ice for nearly 5 million years.
• This ancient sub-glacial lake, isolated from oxygen and sunlight, contains dissolved iron from grinding rocks and is twice as salty as seawater, preventing freezing.
• Upon contact with oxygen, ferrous iron oxidizes into ferric oxide, creating the rusty red hue, mimicking blood.
• A 2017 probe confirmed its chemical origin, revealing a unique microbial ecosystem thriving in oxygen-free darkness, offering insights into extraterrestrial life.