Stuff To Blow Your Mind Spooky Rivers, with Geo Rutherford
Oct 8, 2026
Geo Rutherford, author, visual artist, educator, and science communicator, explores the strange science of rivers. She discusses zombie salmon, giant tigerfish in the Congo, buried waterways beneath Tokyo, Peru’s boiling river, and England’s deadly Strid. Along the way, she reveals how geology, pollution, urban development, and vivid illustrations shape her “haunted hydrology” books.
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Science Makes Hydrology Spooky
- Geo Rutherford’s “haunted hydrology” treats real environmental disasters, history, geology, and natural phenomena as inherently spooky.
- The approach deliberately excludes ghosts, true crime, and conspiracy theories, letting science create the unease.
The Pandemic Video That Started Spooky Lakes
- Geo Rutherford’s educational lake videos began during the pandemic after she posted about Great Lakes formation, pollution, and invasive species.
- The post unexpectedly took off in 2020, eventually becoming Spooky Lakes and a broader career in water education.
Why Rivers Feel More Violent Than Lakes
- Lakes tend to conceal and preserve secrets through stillness, while rivers constantly move, erode, and produce more immediate danger.
- Water chemistry can remain trapped in lakes, whereas unusual rivers such as Spain’s Rio Tinto are rarer and require powerful ongoing inputs.
