A viral video showing an apparent boundary between two water bodies is being shared on WhatsApp with the claim that it shows the meeting point of the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans and that the two don’t mix with each other.
However, we found that the video was captured in 2015 and it shows Fraser River flowing into the Strait of Georgia in Canada and is not the boundary of the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, as claimed.
CLAIM
The viral video carries a text mentioning: “Atlantic and pacific oceans meeting point. They touch but do not mix with each other. An unbelievable treat for the eyes.”
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
We searched on YouTube with the keywords ‘seawater not mixing with each other’ and came across a video uploaded in 2019 by a handle called ‘Wonder World’ that carried a part of the viral video.
The description, with the YouTube video, mentioned that it was the Fraser River delta in Canada. “The river water from the Fraser River flows into the ocean water of the Strait of Georgia,” the description added.
As the YouTube video is a clearer version of the viral one, we noticed the Canadian flag (highlighted in yellow) in it. Further, on comparing the viral video with the image of a ferry owned by Canadian company BC Ferries, available on Alamy, we noticed several similarities.
The Alamy image is captioned as ‘Canadian ferry Coastal Renaissance sailing between Vancouver City and Nanaimo on Vancouver Island’.
With relevant keyword searches, we came across a 1:27-minute-long video carrying the viral visuals uploaded by a user, Maryan Pearson, on YouTube in July 2015.
The description along with the video mentioned that it was shot from the ferry owned by BC Ferries travelling from “Nanaimo, Vancouver Island (Duke Point) to Vancouver (Tsawwassen).”
It further mentioned that the video shows water from the Fraser that runs within British Columbia, flowing into the Strait of Georgia.
In 2018, while debunking the viral video, fact-checking website AFP had spoken to Seattle-based resident Maryan Steve-Pearson who said, “It's terrible that people would steal a video and make false claims about it.”
IS THE WATER REALLY NOT MIXING?
According to an article published by Ocean Networks Canada, an initiative of the University of Victoria, the fresh water of the Fraser river mixes with the ocean water and forms a thin plume.
“In the early summer when the Fraser River carries high sediment loads, the plume is easy to distinguish from ocean water by its distinct light brown colour. It can be highly reflective and opaque to sunlight. As it is a mixture of river and ocean water, it can be quite ‘fresh’,” the article mentioned.
Further, Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America, is the spot where the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans meet.
Evidently, a viral video from Canada was used to falsely claim that it showed the meeting point of the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans.
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