Wormhole of the Pacific Ocean. How and why a hellish bottomless funnel appeared off the coast of Oregon (video)
Thor’s well in the picturesque area of Cape Perpetua looks like a gate to the Underworld and is fraught with potential danger.
Our planet is full of mysterious places from which it is difficult to look away. One such natural wonder is Thor’s Well, nestled in the picturesque area of Cape Perpetua along the Oregon coast .
This place, perhaps, can be called one of the most intricate wonders of the oceans – visually, Thor’s Well resembles an infernal funnel or the gates of the Underworld, which continually suck in water from the sea. However, in fact, this wonderful place is the remains of a sea cave, which was hollowed out by water – later the ceiling collapsed and now it is a giant well.
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Note that this place looks different depending on the time of day, or rather on the tide. As the tide rises, the water rises and briefly hides Thor’s Well and then gradually seeps through, which is why this place is also sometimes referred to as the “Drainpipe of the Pacific.”
During storms, when the sea becomes turbulent, the contents of Thor’s Well churn and erupt from the depths in a powerful fountain. Perhaps this is the best time to take amazing photos of Thor’s Well, but this moment is also one of the most dangerous – the fact is that if you get too close, you risk being sucked into this hellish Pacific Ocean sinkhole.
According to official figures, Thor’s Well has not claimed a single life yet, however, several people were still injured when they decided to get too close in this “gateway to the underworld” – several tourists are known to have become victims of strong currents and powerful waves that surround the hole – they were hit by the rocks. Researchers note that sometimes explosions from the well reach a height of 6 meters.
At low tide, Thor’s Well ceases to look like a gate to Hell and becomes less intimidating, if you look into it, you can even see the inhabitants of the crowberry: mussels, shells and starfish, which peacefully swim in a well with a diameter of about 3 meters.
According to the researchers, the funnel was named after one of the main gods in Scandinavian mythology – Thor. According to legend, it was Thor who, with his big and old hammer, punched a hole in the Oregon coastline – this is undoubtedly a more curious version of the formation of Thor’s Well than a collapsing sea cave.
