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Dive into the world of extreme water adventures as we explore the most dangerous places to swim and witness the awe-inspiring power of the biggest wave ever recorded in Canada.
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00:01Are you ready to dive into the most dangerous waters on the planet?
00:05Just kidding.
00:06Please put your swimming gear back on the shelf,
00:09and trust me, it's much safer to look at them from a distance.
00:13Some of them are full of sharks, and others full of acid.
00:17And I don't even know what's worse.
00:19Probably the ones that are so deep and scary that many divers never come back for them.
00:25I'll let you choose your own top worst.
00:30If you've ever been to Texas in the summer, you know how hot it gets,
00:34and you'll be happy to jump into some ice-cold water without thinking too much.
00:39Brightly colored and a bit out of this world,
00:41Jacob's Well looks like the perfect place for that.
00:44Settlers first found it around the middle of the 19th century.
00:48They noticed a watering hole spouting water up to 5 feet,
00:51and decided it would be a good drinking fountain.
00:55The well is 120 feet deep on average,
00:58and they believe it's the second largest fully submerged cave in Texas.
01:02So this well with the cool water lures in some brave folks who jump in from an outcropping nearby.
01:09I guess I'd skip on that one. What about you?
01:13Some divers go down a whole hundred feet and maneuver around the passages of the underwater cave.
01:19And they all say it's not a walk in the park.
01:22Several folks never come back from the well,
01:24and that's why they say it's one of the most dangerous diving spots in the world.
01:29All those underwater passageways become so narrow at one point that you can get stuck there with all the equipment.
01:37The second problem is that the cave is really deep.
01:40And it's dangerous even on the surface.
01:43It's only 12 feet in diameter and has rocks around it,
01:46so you can hurt yourself while flipping into it.
01:48And if all this wasn't convincing enough and you still want to go,
01:52you'll need special permission to do it.
01:57Now, Hanakapiaj Beach in Hawaii is exactly what comes to mind when someone says perfect beach.
02:02So I know you'll be tempted to go there.
02:04But in reality, it deserves to be listed in the dictionary under danger.
02:10If you still go there, you'll notice a wooden tally board showing the number of swimmers who never got out
02:15of the water.
02:15You'll see more than 80 marks.
02:18And it's an unofficial number, so there could be more.
02:22The source of danger here is extra strong rip currents and totally unpredictable high surf.
02:28There are no big reefs in the ocean in that area, so nothing stands in the way of strong currents.
02:34If you're feeling adventurous and still decide to go in the water and end up caught in a rip current,
02:40the nearest safe shore is around 6 miles away.
02:44So the chances of surviving are really low.
02:47Plus, the beach is so remote, there are no lifeguards around.
02:51So it'll just be you against the ocean.
02:54And the ocean has more chances of winning.
02:57That's why Hanakapiaj isn't even fit for experienced swimmers and surfers.
03:02There is definitely no shortage of beaches in Hawaii.
03:05So you can choose something else for your getaway.
03:10Guri, or Fraser Island if Guri also seems impossibly hard to pronounce for you,
03:15is teeming with diverse wildlife and stunning landscapes.
03:18But before you head off to this largest sand island in the world, let's talk safety.
03:25Dingoes roam the island, and they aren't your average golden retrievers from the neighborhood.
03:30These guys can be unpredictable and dangerous to humans if you provoke them.
03:35So you should never feed them or interact with them,
03:38and keep your food and other stuff on you if you don't want to draw their attention.
03:43And trust me, you don't.
03:46The next threat is snakes hiding in tall grass.
03:50Visitors must stick to marked trails and watch out.
03:53Especially at night.
03:56There are also some super venomous spiders around,
03:59and if you think you can hide from all that fauna in the water,
04:02surprise surprise,
04:03great white and bull sharks will be waiting for you there.
04:07You can meet them if you go any deeper in the water than up to your knees.
04:12Plus, the currents are pretty strong here,
04:14and the ocean conditions can change quickly,
04:16or seem calmer than they actually are.
04:19There are no lifeguards ready to save your life in case something goes wrong.
04:24So you're swimming at your own risk.
04:27And if you think you can just call for help using your phone,
04:30I wouldn't rely too much on getting good coverage here.
04:33The weather on the shore here also changes with no warning,
04:37and brings sudden rainstorms, strong winds, and temperature ups and downs.
04:43Our next destination today is the Blue Lagoon.
04:47But don't get your hopes up.
04:48We aren't going to that gorgeous spa in Iceland,
04:52but to this UK version.
04:55Swimming here is like bathing in bleach.
04:58Not your favorite pastime?
04:59Mine neither.
05:01Authorities keep issuing warnings not to swim there.
05:04They call the once limestone quarry in Harper Hill
05:08probably the most dangerous water in the country.
05:11Those tropical-looking blue waters have high alkaline pH levels from limestone leaching.
05:17But it doesn't stop thousands of people from coming here during hot weather.
05:22Your skin, eyes, and stomach won't thank you for a visit here.
05:27You might also experience cold water shock or bump into one of the many objects that have been dumped in
05:33there over the years,
05:34from car wrecks to basic rubbish.
05:38In March of 2020, the situation got so bad that they even dyed the water of the Blue Lagoon, Black,
05:45to deter prospective swimmers.
05:49In August of 2014, some locals found a lake in the middle of the desert in Tunisia.
05:55It gets really hot there, so I'm sure you'd also want to jump in there immediately.
06:01The new body of water got the nickname, Mysterious Lake, and actually became a great mystery.
06:07I hope you appreciate the pun.
06:10Hundreds of people came here to swim in the clear, cool water, but a few days later, the lake turned
06:16dark green.
06:18The locals didn't care about this and continued to bathe in it anyway.
06:22When scientists and geologists arrived at the place, they announced that the lake was stagnating.
06:28It didn't refresh itself from underground streams, and the rains didn't feed it either.
06:34That's how the water became moldy and dirty.
06:38The lake had some algae and a lot of harmful bacteria that are dangerous to the human body.
06:44Scientists also found out that the land in this region had phosphate deposits.
06:49This substance can decay, but even that didn't stop people from bathing in the lake in the middle of the
06:55desert.
06:56Where it came from is still a mystery.
07:00Some experts think that heavy rains have filled a hole in the ground with water.
07:04Another, more popular theory says that an earthquake had formed a lake.
07:09The seismic activity must have torn the Earth's crust above the water table.
07:14And then, underground springs had filled the crevice.
07:18In theory, the lake could drain back out one day, just as suddenly as it had appeared.
07:23So, hurry up if you want to see it!
07:28Have you ever bathed in a diamond mine?
07:31I guess you're better off not trying it, especially if we're talking about the big hole in Kimberley, South Africa.
07:39150 years ago, there was a flat-topped hill there.
07:44Then, the news spread that someone had found big diamonds in the area.
07:49Thousands of people with picks and shovels rushed to the area.
07:53It became the largest hand-dug excavation in the world, and one of the deepest.
07:59The mine was growing, and water seeped into the pit, and the rock from the walls moved down the slopes.
08:06They had switched to underground mining with tunnels and shafts.
08:10It became way too expensive, so they decided to shut down the mine after finding around 6,000 pounds of
08:17diamonds there.
08:19Now, the former mine is filled with roughly 130 feet of water.
08:25Swimming here is really dangerous, because you can't see the bottom, and the walls of this lake are too steep.
08:31So, I guess you're better off taking your diamond rush elsewhere.
08:36In November 2020, a wave the height of a four-story building was recorded off the coast of Vancouver Island,
08:44Canada.
08:44The team at Marine Labs, the company that operates the buoy that got caught in it, couldn't believe the data
08:50they saw.
08:51Everything was normal, then, unexpectedly, a vast force came, pulled the buoy down, and then sent it up to a
08:58peak before taking it even deeper.
09:01The probability for such a huge wave to form is once in 1,300 years, so they had to be
09:08sure it wasn't a technical mistake.
09:10Marine Labs sent the data to a rogue wave scientist at the University of Vancouver.
09:15They analyzed and validated the findings and shared them in February 2022.
09:20The wave officially became the most extreme rogue wave ever officially recorded, as it was three times the height of
09:27waves around it.
09:28Luckily, this giant didn't leave any damage, as it happened too far offshore.
09:36For centuries, rogue waves were believed to be real only in the stories of sailors.
09:41Christopher Columbus himself mentioned a rogue wave, but back then, it wasn't officially a thing.
09:47In August 1498, he was on his third expedition to the Americas.
09:52As they were passing through a strait near Trinidad, a huge wave lifted the boats.
09:58They managed to survive and continue the journey, and the area is still known as the Mouths of the Dragon,
10:04named this way by Columbus.
10:06Back in 1826, a French scientist and naval officer was crossing the Indian Ocean on his ship, the Astrolabe.
10:14They got caught in a terrible storm and witnessed several waves over 80 feet tall.
10:19One of them was the height of a 10-story building.
10:22The crew lost one of its members, but the four of them, including the captain, made it to land and
10:27spread the story of the gigantic waves.
10:30But back then, scientists were sure waves couldn't be taller than 30 feet.
10:35So everyone took this story as a tale.
10:40Witnesses shared many other stories of giant waves coming out of nowhere.
10:44But scientists officially recognized the first rogue wave only in 1995.
10:49It went down in history as the Doppner wave, or the New Year's wave.
10:53This sea monster of the North Sea hit the Norwegian gas platform Doppner on New Year's Day.
11:00It reached a height of 84 feet.
11:02The waves surrounding it were twice as small.
11:05The rig was built to withstand waves up to 64 feet tall and had the most advanced sensors for its
11:10time.
11:10It became a sensation in the scientific world because it wasn't like any other type of wave they'd studied before.
11:17So, they gave rogue waves an official definition.
11:21It's a wave more than twice as tall as others around it.
11:24These bad boys, also known as freak waves, monster waves, and episodic waves,
11:30can pop up lightning fast in a stormy sea or show up out of nowhere in calm waters.
11:35They have steep sides and a deep trough below, and look like a wall of water rising out of the
11:41sea.
11:42They're so intense that they can even swallow up rescue helicopters just trying to do their job.
11:49Rogue waves aren't the same as tsunamis.
11:52Tsunamis happen when there's a big shift in water, like an earthquake, volcanic eruption, or landslide.
11:58They mess with the entire water column.
12:00At sea, you might not even notice a tsunami cruising beneath you.
12:04But near the shore, as it hits shallow waters, those waves can shoot up to crazy heights.
12:10Rogue waves are formed at the surface level.
12:13Although sometimes they can form deep below, and these are called rogue internal waves.
12:18Scientists and sailors singled out some statistics.
12:21Rogue waves more often form when wave trains run into fast ocean currents.
12:26The coast of South Africa is one good place for that.
12:30There are concerns that these water beasts may happen more often in the future,
12:34because there's more energy in the atmosphere and ocean.
12:37It means larger and more frequent rogue waves, and more ships lost at sea.
12:44Rogue waves aren't limited to oceans, and can even occur in lakes.
12:48Lake Superior witnesses something that got the name Three Sisters.
12:52It's a series of three large waves, one after another.
12:56The second wave covers the ship decks before the first one is gone.
13:00The third wave jumps in and adds extra water.
13:03These three sisters overload the ship.
13:06There's a theory that this phenomenon took down the steamship Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975.
13:13Rogue waves are also dangerous because they form rogue holes in the water.
13:17When the wave builds up, it draws in all the water around it.
13:21So, near the base, these holes can be very deep.
13:24If the bow or stern of a ship ends up in one, the ship can instantly sink.
13:31Some oceanographers believe that rogue waves are to blame for the disappearance of ships
13:35in the notorious Bermuda Triangle in the Atlantic Ocean.
13:38Storms from several directions converge in this mysterious area.
13:43So, rogue waves are more likely to gain force here.
13:46And because they can reach a height of 100 feet, they can theoretically bring down an airplane, not just ships.
13:53There are two main theories trying to make sense of how rogue waves happen.
13:58First up, we've got the Linear Edition Theory.
14:00Imagine waves cruising through the ocean at their own speeds.
14:04Now, when these waves cross paths, they team up and become stronger, cooking up a rogue wave.
14:11Then there's the nonlinear focusing theory.
14:14It says waves like to roll in groups.
14:16And when they spend time together, they share some energy.
14:20Sometimes, this energy exchange turns into a rogue wave.
14:26To predict the formation of these freaky waves, scientists would need an innovative radar system to keep a constant eye
14:33on the waves near a boat.
14:34They'd collect all the data and toss it into a fancy math model that paints a real-time picture of
14:40what the ocean surface looks like at that very moment.
14:43This model would need to do new calculations of the surface situation every five minutes.
14:48It would let the crew know if there were any extreme waves coming up in the next several minutes.
14:53Such a system doesn't exist yet.
14:56But as scientists measure more rogue waves, mathematicians may find a way to alert us of the upcoming rogue waves
15:03rising out of the water.
15:06Sometimes, you can hear the term sneaker wave as a synonym for rogue waves.
15:11But oceanographers claim there's a difference.
15:14Rogue waves occur mostly in the ocean.
15:16And sneaker waves build up at the shore.
15:19They're also known as king waves and sleeper waves.
15:22And they roll up much faster than usual waves when they approach the beach.
15:26They always appear without warning after smaller waves and can be powerful.
15:31They can carry swimmers further away into the ocean.
15:34But the worst part is, they can also sweep you off your feet and into the water when you're casually
15:40strolling on a jetty or the beach or on an outcropping nearby.
15:45Oregon State University researchers found that sneaker waves form in offshore storms that carry wind energy to the ocean surface.
15:52With all that energy, several waves unite and overlap into one beast that stands higher and goes further ashore than
16:00a regular wave.
16:02Another thing that makes them more dangerous is that, just like rogue waves, they're hard to predict.
16:07Fishers, surfers, and others who spend a lot of time by the water normally know when and what to escape
16:13when it comes to big waves.
16:14With sneaker waves, that logic doesn't work.
16:17There is no set time of the year when they're more active either.
16:21But putting together some data shows you're more likely to experience one of those somewhere between April and October.
16:28And the peak would be in October and November.
16:31Sneaker waves carry huge amounts of water, sand, and gravel.
16:35Those can fill up your shoes in a matter of seconds and sweep you off your feet if you're unlucky
16:40enough to be ashore at that moment.
16:42These sea monsters also have the power to move huge logs, which carries another hazard.
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