Thursday, November 22, 2012

5 Strange Places on Earth

1. RACETRACK PLAYA - USA
Located in one of the flattest places on the face of this planet are the strange and unexplained Sailing Stones of Racetrack Playa - Death Valley - California - USA. Once a year the "Playa" or flat desert pan experiences short winter rains and becomes slippery as the hexagonal desert floor turns back to mud. During this time the boulders and rocks move leaving clearly visible tracks behind them. Although scientists believe that high winds are responsible, some of the rocks will suddenly change directions and move at almost perfect right angles to their previous direction. All the evidence suggests that this is not a hoax although it is also said that the movement of these rocks has never been captured on film or video. In this technological age we wonder why time lapse photography hasn't been used?
The Sailing Stones add mystique to Death Valley but the real strangeness of this place is its desperate isolation, heat and incredible flatness
2. FLY GEYSER
The Fly Geyser, near Gerlach, Nevada, is strange because it somehow grows up. It is three meters high at the moment. It is interesting that this geyser is located on private area, so nobody can enjoy it from close. The owner is Bill Spoo, a man who rejects the opportunity to make a fortune from the tourists, and keeps the beautiful view just for himself and the few researchers and photographers who have to schedule a visit weeks before arriving.
Source
3. AURORA BOREALIS (North Pole)
Auroras sometimes called the northern and southern (polar) lights or aurorae are natural beautiful light displays in the sky, usually observed at night, particularly in the polar regions. They typically occur in the ionosphere. The Cree people call this phenomenon the “Dance of the Spirits. Its southern counterpart, the aurora australis or the southern polar lights, has similar properties, but is only visible from high southern latitudes in Antarctica, South America, or Australasia.
4. SALAR DE UYUN
Salar de Uyuni is located on the Andes in Bolivia and is the world’s largest salt flat. It’s a dried salt lake which has created an amazing flat few meters high salt crust and consists from 50 to 70% of the world’s reserves of lithium. However, it’s not the reason why this place is so famous. During the raining season the water creates the world’s largest mirror. You can see the sky and clouds under your feet and feel like you’re walking on them. Although it’s a quite remote place, there are still a lot of tourists who make their best photos in Salar de Uyuni.


5. GREAT BLUE HOLE - BELIZE
The Great Blue Hole in Belize is world wide known as one of the greatest diving sites. The almost perfect circular hole is part of the Lighthouse Reef and is 450 meters deep. The analysis of stalactites found in Great Blue Hole confirms that formation has taken place during billions of years when the ocean level was much lower. When it arose the great hole was filled with water and now we have one of the world’s greatest geological wonders.

                                     

Found on both land and in the ocean throughout the Bahamas and the national waters of Belize are deep circular cavities known as Blue Holes which are often the entrances to cave networks, some of them up to 14 kilometres in length. Divers have reported a vast number of aquatic creatures some of which are still new to science. In addition, they've recorded chambers filled with stalactites and stalagmites which only form in dry caves. For the explorers this was proof that at one time, nearly 65,000 years ago, when the world was in the grip of the last major ice age, the sea level of the Bahamas was up to 150 meters lower than it is today. Over time the limestone of the islands was eroded by water and vast cave networks created. When sea levels rose again about 10,000 years ago some of these collapsed inwards and the Blue Holes were formed.