The Ruki River, a tributary of the great African Congo River, has been recognized as the darkest river on Earth.
The color of the water in this reservoir is significantly darker than in another supposed contender for this title – the Rio Negro River, located in the Amazon.
According to research conducted by a group of scientists from Switzerland and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the reason why the water in Ruki has such a dark, almost black hue is because it is oversaturated with organic matter.
The river basin, up to one kilometre wide, is four times the size of Switzerland and is completely covered by untouched, primeval tropical forests.
The peat bogs through which Ruki passes contain huge amounts of undecomposed remains of dead plants, turning them into real carbon storage facilities.
Carbon-rich organic matter is washed into the river by rain, and during the rainy season the Ruki overflows, flooding the jungle with its waters.
During this time – and it can last several weeks – the same organic matter is actively absorbed into the water.
Thus, as a result of the water analysis, it was established that Ruki is the world record holder for the content of dissolved organic carbon.
This is what allowed Travis Drake, one of the study's authors and a hydrologist at ETH Zurich, to compare Ruki to "real jungle tea."
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