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You could travel around the world and there would still be places that you have yet to see. Some of them could even be right under your nose! These are some of the most craziest places you just have to go see for yourself.
1. ‘Door to Hell,’ Turkmenistan
Known as “The Door to Hell”, this is a natural gas field in Derweze, Turkmenistan. It has a natural gas fire that was lit in 1971 by Soviet petrochemical scientists who thought it would burn out. However, it’s still burning strong to this day. (source)
2. Crescent Lake, China
Just south of the city of Dunhuang in Gansu Province, China, lies a crescent-shaped lake in a 2000 year old Oasis called Yueyaquan. It was in danger of being eaten by the desert as the sands encroached, but back in 2006, the government started to fill the lake and restore its original depth. (source)
3. Dragon’s Blood Trees, Socotra
The archipelago of Socotra is located in the northwest Indian Ocean, and is especially known as the home to dragon’s blood trees (Dracaena cinnabari). These trees looks like upturned umbrellas and are part of a surreal landscape with unique flora and fauna. (source)
4. Crooked Forest, Poland
A pine tree grove just outside Nowe Czarnowo in Poland, has approximately 400 trees with mysteriously bent trunks. No one knows exactly why. (source)
5. Great Blue Hole, Belize
Measuring 984 feet in diameter, and 407 feet in depth, the Great Blue Hole (aka Lighthouse Reef) is a large submarine vertical cave, and is thought to be the largest of its kind. It was originally made famous by Jacques Cousteau, who declared it one of the top 10 scuba diving spots on Earth. (source)
6. Split Apple Rock, New Zealand
New Zealand is home to a number of natural wonders and should be on any traveler’s itinerary. In Tasman Bay off the northern coast of the South Island, is a geological rock formation called Split Apple Rock. The rock has a natural cleft which looks like two sides of an apple. It isn’t known when this happened. (source)
7. ‘7 Giants’, Russia
In a far-flung area of Russia’s Komi Republic, in the northern Ural mountains, lies seven mysterious Manpupuner rock formations that tower 200 feet above the Siberian landscape. These gargantuan stone pillars have been sculpted by the weathering effects of ice and wind. The first person to climb these pillars was Red Bull athlete Stefan Glowacz in 2013. (source)
8. Eye of the Sahara, Mauritania
The Eye of the Sahara (The Richat Structure) is a prominent geological circular feature in the Sahara desert in Mauritania. It has a diameter of 30 miles and is actually used as a landmark for space shuttle crews. It was originally thought to be the result of a meteorite impact, but it is now argued that is an incredibly symmetrical and deeply eroded geological dome that collapsed. (source)
9. Red Beach, China
The Far East is known for providing a number of visual wonders in the spring and fall. One place in particular is Red Beach in Panjin (approximately 300 miles northeast of Beijing), China. It is a wetland with a unique variety of alkali-tolerant seaweed that turns from green to a vibrant crimson red in the autumn. (source)
10. Moeraki Boulders, New Zealand
Scattered along Koekohe Beach in New Zealand are the Moeraki Boulders. They are calcite concretions that formed about 65 million years ago. According to Maori legend, these boulders are eel baskets that washed up from an enormous, sunken canoe. (source)
11. Avenue of the Baobabs, Madagascar
The Baobab tree is a hypnagogic species of Adansonia, commonly referred to as the “upside down tree”. Close to the city of Morondova in western Madagascar, lies a mystical forest of Baobab trees – some that are up to 80 feet tall and around 800 years old. (source)
12. Fingal’s Cave, Scotland
Immortalized by Mendelssohn in his “Hebrides Overture”, after he visited the island of Staffa, Scotland in 1829, lies Fingal’s Cave. The island is uninhabited, save for the unique, cathedral-like structure with hexagonal columns. (source)
13. Cave of Crystals, Mexico
The picture above shows the Cave of Crystals in Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico (March 2008). Some of the gypsum crystal “beams” in the cave are 36 feet long and weigh approximately 121,000 pounds. The cave contains some of the largest natural crystals ever found. (source)
14. Spotted Lake, Canada
Spotted Lake is located just northwest of Osoyoos in British Columbia, Canada. It contains incredibly high concentrations of minerals, which leave behind “spots” when much of the water in the lake evaporates over summer. (source)
15. Marble Caves, Chile
The Marble Caves (Cuevas de Mármol) are located on a peninsula of solid marble in the center of Lake General Carrera, a remote glacial lake in Patagonia that is shared between Chile and Argentina. The caves have been formed over 6,200 years from wave erosion. (source)
16. Devils Postpile, California
The Devils Postpile is a 60 foot high symmetrical formation located in the north east of Madera County in California. It is a rarity in the geological World and is considered one of the best examples of columnar basalt. (source)
17. Waitomo Glowworm Caves, New Zealand
The Waitomo Glowworm Caves are naturally illuminated by thousands of glowworms. The caves are located in New Zealand’s north island, and can be traversed by boat. (source)
18. Champagne Pool, New Zealand
Known as the “Champagne Pool”, this 900 year old hot spring bubbles with carbon dioxide. The peculiar orange sand is caused by the minerals of orpiment and realgar, which are both sulfides of arsenic. It is located in the Waitapu geothermal area in the north island of New Zealand. (source)
