You said: " ...today a friend of mine posted a picture. The picture was of where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico. Where it meets the water is blue and where one meets the other, it is green. The water is different colors and clearly divided! In the friends post, it stated that "If God could separate the water, imagine what he could do in our lives" or something like that. Well, I thought I better research and see if the picture were true and I found that this is so. I found that the water truely is that way in some parts which is amazing. But, what I also found was that there was also a factual explanation as to why this was so. "
There IS a natural explanation ---several of them. This phenomena happens in many places. It happens near Manaus, Brazil where the Rio Negro meets the Solimoes to form the Amazon. The waters of the Rio Negro are very dark, almost black, and the other river's water is brown. The Rio Negro comes from the rain forests to the north and west. The Rio Solimoes comes from the Andes (southwest.) The waters have different kinds of vegetation in them, different mineral deposits, they run at different speeds and temperatures are different. I was told by a tour guide that the Rio Negro is very acidic and doesn't support mosquitos, but on the other shore, mosquitos are plentiful. Near Manuas it takes several kilometers before you can no longer see the difference in color. There is an entire tourist industry around this natural phenomena. Tourists can choose from dozens of boat trips to see "The Meeting of the Waters." I was there in 2011 ---and if you ever have the chance the boat trip is well-worth the price and includes a delicious buffet lunch.
I have a photo I took in Pittsburgh several years ago from a high hill overlooking the city. Where the waters of the Allegheny (coming from the north) and Monongahela (from the south) meet to form the Ohio, the same thing happens, but I was told by a tour guide that it only happens at certain times of the year. I would imagine the same types of conditions cause it.
After I wrote this, I was looking for a photo to link to and I found this from Science Alert which confirms what I wrote, but in more detail, and includes a photo and video:
http://www.sciencealert.com/what-causes-...the-waters
There IS a natural explanation ---several of them. This phenomena happens in many places. It happens near Manaus, Brazil where the Rio Negro meets the Solimoes to form the Amazon. The waters of the Rio Negro are very dark, almost black, and the other river's water is brown. The Rio Negro comes from the rain forests to the north and west. The Rio Solimoes comes from the Andes (southwest.) The waters have different kinds of vegetation in them, different mineral deposits, they run at different speeds and temperatures are different. I was told by a tour guide that the Rio Negro is very acidic and doesn't support mosquitos, but on the other shore, mosquitos are plentiful. Near Manuas it takes several kilometers before you can no longer see the difference in color. There is an entire tourist industry around this natural phenomena. Tourists can choose from dozens of boat trips to see "The Meeting of the Waters." I was there in 2011 ---and if you ever have the chance the boat trip is well-worth the price and includes a delicious buffet lunch.
I have a photo I took in Pittsburgh several years ago from a high hill overlooking the city. Where the waters of the Allegheny (coming from the north) and Monongahela (from the south) meet to form the Ohio, the same thing happens, but I was told by a tour guide that it only happens at certain times of the year. I would imagine the same types of conditions cause it.
After I wrote this, I was looking for a photo to link to and I found this from Science Alert which confirms what I wrote, but in more detail, and includes a photo and video:
http://www.sciencealert.com/what-causes-...the-waters
“The problem with those who choose received Authority over fact and logic is how they choose which part of Authority to obey. The Bible famously contradicts itself at many points (I have never understood why any Christian would choose the Old Testament over the New), and the Koran can be read as a wonderfully compassionate and humanistic document. Which suggests that the problem of fundamentalism lies not with authority, but with ourselves.” ~Molly Ivins
