This Undersea Lake In The Gulf Of Mexico Literally Kills Everything It Touches

When you hear the phrase “Jacuzzi of Despair,” what do you think of? No, it’s not an obscure 1980s horror movie (though that would be amazing). It’s actually the nickname that researchers in the Gulf of Mexico have given to a hot, toxic undersea pool at the bottom of the Gulf. This “jacuzzi” literally kills every living thing that attempts to cross it.

It was accidentally discovered back in 2014 by a biology professor researching coral. Last year, he returned with a crew and a deep-sea ROV to get a closer look.

According to a new report, the lake is located about 3,300 feet below the surface and is 100 feet in circumference. The hotspot itself is 12 feet deep. Compared to the water around it, the underwater lake is a mild 65 degrees Fahrenheit, but the heat isn’t what makes it deadly.

After taking samples back, researchers discovered that the water in the lake was four to five times saltier than that surrounding it. This is what allowed it to sink to the bottom.

On the floor of the gulf, that water is mixed with hydrogen sulfide and oily deposits, forming a toxic goo that gets cooked by methane leaking from the ocean floor. The end result is a death trap that waits for any creature foolish enough to swim into it.

(via Mysterious Universe)

As if I needed yet another reason to stay out of the water forever, right? I would really regret it if I met my doom in the “Jacuzzi of Dispair.” What an awful way to go.