Mother Nature has some candidates. In Ethiopia, the Dallol hydrothermal field has water so alkaline it literally dissolves rocks. Its pH? Around 10.5—and it smells like rotten eggs dipped in sulfur. Not exactly a refreshing beverage.
Then there’s Lake Van in Turkey, with a pH of 10. It’s so alkaline that fishermen in the 1970s used laundry detergent to catch fish. True story: they added detergent to lower the surface tension, making the water easier to see through. Alkaline water: now with extra suds.
The Surprising Fact That Will Mess With Your Head
Ready for this? Pure water (like, lab-grade H₂O) has a pH of 7. But if you let it sit in air, it absorbs carbon dioxide and becomes slightly acidic—about pH 5.5. So, that “neutral” bottled water? It’s technically a weak acid by the time you open it. Your tap water is a cosmic traitor.
But wait—the highest pH water ever measured on Earth? That’s from snake-infested hot springs in Canada. The water at some sites hits pH 12.4. Geologists wear hazmat suits near that stuff. The only creatures that thrive there are extremophile bacteria—and your regret if you take a sip.
What Is PH In Water? How Much PH Is Good For Drinking Water?
