‘Blood Rain’ Phenomenon Turns Beach Into an Ominous Shade of Red

A beach in Iran has the internet talking after turning an ominous shade of red.

According to CNN, the breathtaking sight occurred on the Silver and Red beach on Hormuz Island in Iran. The tourist attraction caused a buzz after a tour guide uploaded a video on Instagram in February with a caption that translates to, “The start of the heavy rain of the famous Red Beach of Hormuz.”

In the video, the strong rain gusts are seen hitting the beachside mountains. As the soil rolls to the ocean water, the seawater turns a bright shade of red. Another upload shows people looking at the seawater turn red amid the rain.

According to The Times of India, the “blood rain” phenomenon happens over the Iranian mountains when “intense rain pours over soil having a high content of iron oxide and brings it down, resulting in rivers of streams becoming red as the minerals get mixed with rainwater.”

While it can happen year-round, when it does, it is a rare occurrence “due to the special mineral content of the mountain soil, especially the high level of iron oxide,” which is needed to give the water its red color.

The Iranian tourism board states on its website that “Hormuz’s red soil has a high economic value and exported it for several years in order to use in various industries such as dyeing, cosmetics, glass and ceramics.”

The organization adds that mountains on the shoreline makes “the peculiarly red beach and red waves of the sea an unmissable sight to see.”

“What is more, walking along the shore, you will encounter parts where sand glitters with metal compounds, especially mesmerizing at sunset or sunrise,” the organization adds.

The island is also known as the “rainbow island” due to the “70 colorful minerals” that are found on it, apart from the red soil.

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This is due to the layers of “clay, carbonates, shale and iron-rich volcanic rocks” embedded within it that “have taken on vivid shades of red, yellow, and orange as they moved upward and interacted with water and minerals from other rock layers,” the NASA Earth Observatory explains.