Crystal Clear Swiss River Verzasca

The Verzasca River, in Switzerland, is known all over the world for its clear, turquoise waters, but until now its beauty had only been captured from the surface. Photographer Claudio Gazzaroli decided to change that, so he put on a diving suit, took his waterproof camera and dived onto the riverbed to take some truly mind-blowing photos.

The 30-km-long Verzasca mountain river originates at Pizzo Barone and flows into Lake Maggiore, in Italy. The river valley is located in the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland and is a popular tourist destination. People come from all around the globe to see the turquoise waters of Verzasca, do scuba-diving and admire its vibrant colored rocks. Most of them prefer to take photos of Verzasca from the mountains that surround it or from the many bridges built over it. But photographer Claudio Gazzaroli wanted to offer a different perspective on this unique wonder of nature. He dived town 50 feet to the bottom of Verzasca and managed to capture the almost unearthly clarity of its waters. ‘I wanted to show the beauty of this place in a new way,’ Gazzaroli said. Looking at his work, one wonders why wee need software like Photoshop when Mother Nature seems to do thing better herself.

These photos look absolutely amazing, but do you notice anything strange about them? Where are all the fish and marine plants that usually live in mountain rivers like Verzasca? Apparently there are none… I read somewhere that the high transparency of the river water is caused by high acidity, which also makes it impossible for any organisms to thrive there. So while Verzasca River may be a great place to take surreal photographs, it’s basically dead, and that makes it a little to creepy for me. That’s pretty strange, right? Although I known there’s nothing living in the river to be afraid of, that thought alone scares me even more…