Our planet is really a huge box of surprises!
Actually, it’s so full of wonders that new and surprising places are discovered every day, either for professional photographers or by mere amateurs.
Different geographical locations, climatic conditions and also seasons of the year offer the widest range of natural beauty: pink lakes, canyons, impressive mountains and many other places that we can hardly believe that they actually exist.
We will show you now the 20 landscapes that seem that they have come from Twilight Zone, but we assure you that they are on this side of the TV screen.
The only difficulty is to establish an order to enumerate these pearls, so to avoid injustices, the list goes alphabetically:
1. Antelope Canyon – USA
There are two sections of the canyon: Upper Antelope Canyon, also called “The Crack”, and Lower Antelope Canyon, also called “The Corkscrew”.
The canyon measures 46 meters tall and is one of the most visited and photographed slot canyons of the American Southwest.
It was formed over the years by flash flooding that eroded the sandstone. Floods are still a danger to visitors today with the last major flood occurred in 2006. Tourists can visit the canyon with a guide only, because of this flood hazard.
Even so, we challenge you to visit this spot with an unique aspect on the planet for its awesomeness.
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2. Blood Falls – Antarctica
The bloody color of these waters at Taylor Glacier, are due to the large amount of iron, which turn rust when in contact with air.
Another curious thing about this site is that there are 17 species of microbes trapped beneath this glacier, that even without contact with light and nutrients, and almost without oxygen, survived “breathing” with the iron.
https://youtu.be/P_fzqq0LdZ8 width=”853″ height=”480″
3. Chocolate Hills – Philippines
Reaching up to 121 meters high, these hills are made of limestone and contains marine fossils dating back over millions of years ago.
The formal origins of the hills is unknown, but legend has it that arise from the cry of a giant who mourned the death of his beloved human.
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4. Gate to hell – Turkmenistan
Derweze, Turkmenistan is known as Hell’s Gate.
Soviet geologists went into a cave full of natural gas during drilling, and due to the collapse of the soil, a large hole was created, resulting in this tower that burns gas from the depths.
This terrible attraction is located in the middle of the Karakum desert, about 260 kilometers north from Ashgabat.
https://youtu.be/_toNHvH1eus width=”853″ height=”480″
5. Geiseres Fly – USA
The Geysers Fly splashes scalding water 16 kilometers from where happens the famous festival of art and culture Burning Man, Black Rock Desert, Nevada.
Were accidentally formed in 1916, when the owners of the area drilled a well on site and reached the boiling water, which spread calcium carbonate deposits that accumulate until today.
The colored spots that run down the surface of the Geysers Fly, are thermophilic algae existing in hot and humid environments.
Unfortunately, Fly Geysers are not accessible to the public!
https://youtu.be/T7tWyIGRxYU width=”853″ height=”480″
6. Giant’s Causeway – Ireland
This bizarre landscape consists of approximately 40000 hexagonal basalt columns, from the North Channel to the Antrim Plateau.
Legend has it that the Irish giant Finn McCool built this passage would have to cross the channel and confront his rival, the Scottish giant Benandonner, who had challenged the Irish to a dispute.
The scientific version holds that the Giant’s Causeway first formed as a lava plateau when rocks erupted from fissures in the Earth. The columns were then formed due to the difference between index of lava cooling, process that would have lasted a long time, and finally weathering would have caused the rounded shape of the columns.
https://youtu.be/HjtqlhW1WMI width=”853″ height=”480″
7. Hillier Lake – Australia
There are several theories about the origin of the pink color of this unusual lake, and some believe it derives from a dye produced by two micro organisms called Halobacteria and Dunaliella salina, while others claim that the color is due to the presence of red halophilic bacteria.
The lake is about 600 meters long and is surrounded by a dense forest of eucalyptus and paperbark and a border of white salt. A narrow strip of land composed of sand dunes covered with vegetation separates the lake from the Southern Ocean.
https://youtu.be/idkwZ-t1DVI width=”853″ height=”480″
8. Kilauea Volcano – Hawaii
Kilauea has been erupting for more than three decades and it’s one of the most active and dangerous volcanoes in the world!
Reaching 1277 meters, Kilauea volcano is the mythical home of the volcanic goddess Pele.
https://youtu.be/6J6X9PsAR5w width=”853″ height=”480″
9. Laguna Colorada – Bolivia
This magnificent lake is characterized by its high amount of salt.
Small white islands, composed of salt, can be found on the edges of the lake, thanks to an excess of material found there.
The red hue is caused by the pigmentation of some algae and sediment.
Flamingos are common in Laguna Colorada landscape elements, contributing to the unique looks of the place.
https://youtu.be/RdDgKlow8Ew width=”853″ height=”480″
10. Mono Lake, California – USA
The twisted spiers are called tufa towers, and are made of limestone. Can reach up to 2.75 meters tall.
These towers only grow in the water, but as the tributaries of Mono Lake were diverted since 1941, the tufas were gradually getting exposed.
https://youtu.be/6XUCSvlUw80 width=”853″ height=”480″
11. Mount Roraima – Brazil / Venezuela
In this unique place, it is as if time does not exist!
On the other hand, abound legends and mysteries shrouded by the fog surrounding the tepuis, frightening and fascinating men long ago.
It was this atmosphere of mystery that led the British writer Conan Doyte, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, to write fiction “The Lost World”.
Mount Roraima, one of the highest points of Brazil with 2875 meters, is the home of God Macunaíma, according to legend of the Carib Indians to explain their formation, and the ecosystem diversity of Amazonian savannas.
To protect it, it was created in 1989 the National Park of Mount Roraima.
https://youtu.be/OuMiSmPelQE width=”853″ height=”480″
12. National Zhangjiajie Park – China
The various sandstone pillars of the National Park were formed by years of erosion of vegetation and ice expansion, and can reach up to 60 meters tall!
Known as “living fossils”, the trees of white flowers present in the park are survivors of the fourth glacial period occurred more than 2.5 million years ago.
https://youtu.be/_mMHDvDiwz8 width=”853″ height=”480″
13. Norris Geyser Basin – USA
The smallest Geysers bowl of Yellowstone Park presents the two major hydrothermal attributes of the park: Grand Prismatic Spring and Excelsior Geyser, which dumps 15140 liters of water per minute into the Firehole River.
The psychedelic color of the Grand Prismatic Spring is due to pigmented bacteria present in microbial mats.
The color of the carpet depends on the water temperature and chlorophyll content, responsible for the green pigment, and carotenoids, responsible for the yellow and red pigments.
In summer, carpets present reddish color, while in winter, gets dark green at the center.
https://youtu.be/5IBa_-vcPAc width=”853″ height=”480″
14. Pamukkale – Turkey
This place, located in southwest Turkey, is completely covered with white shapes made of carbonate, created by water from hot springs abundant in the region.
The name means “cotton castle” in Turkish.
https://youtu.be/jwhdN8Q6JPQ width=”853″ height=”480″
15. Panjin Red Beach – China
And when we think we’ve seen everything, behold, Red Beach in Panjin arises!
The beach gets its name from its appearance, which is caused by a type of Sueda algae that flourishes in the saline-alkali soil. This algae starts growing in April or May and stays green all summer. However, in autumn the algae begins to change color and the beach is seeming to be covered by a huge red carpet.
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16. Pitch Lake – Trinidad & Tobago
It is a lake of liquid asphalt tank. The world’s largest, in fact!
The color and texture of the lake is extremely peculiar, since in some areas the concentration of asphalt is so great that the water turns into something sticky, as if from a fiction film.
The lake covers an area of over 40 hectares, quite shallow and others who have more than 70 meters deep areas.
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17. Seven Cities Lagoon – Azores, Portugal
If there is a paradise on Earth, it is certainly in this spectacular spot! It presents us with an unexpected panorama: a large crater with two lakes separated by only a bridge.
However, contrary to expectations, a pond is green, another is blue.
The show culminates with lush vegetation giving the indescribable beauty that no camera is able to capture in all its grandeur.
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18. Spotted Lake or Kliluk Lake – British Columbia, Canada
Offers the viewer a show which is not comprehensible at first sight, leaving us with a question mark stamped on the face.
As Mono Lake, the Spotted Lake has no contact with the sea, and therefore presents salty, alkaline waters. During the summer, the water evaporates and leaves the minerals shows patterns “painted” colors of white, light yellow, green or blue, depending on the composition.
https://youtu.be/yuElvbSVQDY width=”853″ height=”480″
19. Underwater Waterfall – Mauritius Island
One of the most incredible scenes ever seen, is an amazing illusion located in Mauritius, an island nation in the Indian Ocean about 3218 kilometers off the southeast coast of the African continent.
Here you will find a fascinating illusion: when viewed from above, a flood of deposits of sand and silt creates the impression that there is a waterfall underwater. Satellite images are equally dramatic, where we see a seemingly underwater vortex on the coast of this tropical paradise.
https://youtu.be/31hBKv6mAQU width=”853″ height=”480″
20. Uyuni Salt Flat – Bolivia
It is the largest salt flat in the world with 10582 square kilometers.
It is situated between the highest city in the world, Potosi, and Oruro departments in southwest Bolivia at 3650 meters above sea level.
When it is covered with water, causes vertigo! The feeling is to see all the mountains and clouds reflected on the plateau, and there’s no telling if they are far away or where the sky begins or ends the earth.
Due to the flat surface, its size and high reflectivity when covered with water and the minimum deviation from its elevation, saline became the ideal spot to test high-precision equipment that will be placed in orbit to study the planet Earth.
https://youtu.be/rzM74J_3wuU width=”853″ height=”480″
Don’t you have the feeling like you’ve just read a book of Sci Fi?
But these places are for real. Indeed we do have fantastic places around the planet. Some of them definitely joined my list of places that I must meet before I die.
Which one would you choose?