Tourists were treated to the rare sight of blood-red rainwater flowing down a cliff to the beach on Hormuz Island last week
A woman walks along the beach on Hormuz Islandopen image in gallery
A woman walks along the beach on Hormuz Island (AFP via Getty)
Your support helps us to tell the story
Support Now
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
The “blood rain” that turned an Iranian island’s coastline crimson last week was due to the local soil containing high concentrations of oxidised iron, experts said.
Social media footage showed rainwater streaming down a cliff to the beach on Hormuz Island, located in the Strait of Hormuz at the junction of the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.
One of the videos of the rare sight that garnered over a million likes on Instagram showed tourists watching blood-red rainwater flow down the island, dubbed “rainbow island” due to its colourful soil and mineral deposits.
"The island is a salt dome, a teardrop-shaped mound of rock salt, gypsum, anhydrite, and other evaporites that has risen upward through overlying layers of rock,” Nasa’s Earth Observatory explained.
“Rock salt or halite is weak and buoyant, so it loses its brittleness and flows more like a liquid when under high pressure."
A woman walks along the beach on Hormuz islandopen image in gallery
A woman walks along the beach on Hormuz island (AFP via Getty)
The phenomenon of “blood rain” usually occurs when high concentrations of red-coloured dust or particles are mixed into rain, giving it a crimson appearance, the UK Met Office said.
In the case of the Iranian island, however, the crimson colour of the shoreline was a result of the region’s iron-rich red soil interacting with rainwater, Simon Frasers University earth sciences professor Brent Ward told CBC News.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by جزیره هرمز | امید بادروج (@hormoz_omid)
A previous study found that iron was the most abundant of all analysed metals in the soil. “The rising mass is not purely made of salt,” the observatory said in a statement. “Embedded within it are layers of clay, carbonates, shale, and iron-rich volcanic rocks, some of which have taken on vivid shades of red, yellow and orange as they moved upward and interacted with water and minerals from other rock layers.”
Blood Moon Captivates Skywatchers During Lunar Eclipse
A stunning lunar eclipse turned the moon red on Friday, creating a "blood moon" that was visible across the Americas and partially seen in the UK. In the UK, the moon had already set by the time of the full eclipse at 6:58 AM, leaving only a partial lunar eclipse visible before dawn.
Blood Moon Captivates Skywatchers During Lunar Eclipse
The island’s soil is so rich in minerals it is used as a local spice, playing an important role in the region’s food culture. The red soil is used in the preparation of a special local bread in Hormuz called “tomshi”.
Scientists warn against using the soil in cuisines due to its heavy metal content.
“The native people of this region of Iran call this soil 'Gelak' and use it as a spice. They turn the red soil into a sauce and use it in a variety of foods," a 2023 study published in the journal Chemosphere noted.