This big earth has many places & things which are in harmony. But there are some places which seem to be quite weird. When seen for the first time, one wants to visit these places again and again. Some of those places are explored below. I bet you will not stop admiring nature after having a glimpse on these wonderful places.
1. Spotted Lake, British Columbia, Canada
Spotted Lake has long been revered by the native Okanagan (Syilx) people and it’s easy to see why they think of it as sacred. In the summer the water of the lake evaporates and small mineral pools are left behind, each one different in color to the next. Large “spots” on the lake appear and are colored according to the mineral composition and seasonal amount of precipitation. The unique lake can be viewed on Highway 3, northwest of the small town of Osoyoos, although visitors are asked not to encroach on tribal land.
2. The Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland
The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption, which then solidified and contracted as it cooled, creating the cracks that can be seen today. There are an estimated 37,000 polygon columns at this World Heritage Site, so geometrically perfect that as if they were created by a giant.
3. Thor’s Well, Oregon, USA
In rough conditions at Thor’s Well, also known as Spouting Horn, the surf rushes into the gaping sinkhole and then shoots upwards with great force. It can be viewed by taking the Captain Cook Trail from the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area visitor centre, but for your own safety stay well back, especially at high tide or during winter storms. It appears as if the Pacific Ocean is being drained away down a giant bottomless hole on the Oregon coast. It is big enough to swallow a large boat.
4. Pamukkale, Turkey
Pamukkale is a town in western Turkey known for the mineral-rich thermal waters flowing down white travertine terraces on a nearby hillside. Water cascades from natural springs and down the white travertine terraces and forms stunning thermal pools perfect for a quick dip.
5. Lake Hillier, Western Australia
Lake Hillier is a saline lake on the edge of Middle Island, the largest of the islands and islets that make up the Recherche Archipelago in the Goldfields-Esperance region, off the south coast of Western Australia. This remarkable lake was discovered in 1802. The lake keeps its deep pink color year-round, which some scientists say it’s down to high salinity combined with the presence of a salt-loving algae species known as Dunaliella salina and pink bacteria known as halobacteria.
6. Badab-e-Surt, Iran
Badab-e-Surt is a natural site in Mazandaran Province in northern Iran, 95 kilometers south of the city of Sari, and 7 kilometers west of Orost village. These beautiful travertine terraces are an incredible natural phenomenon that developed over thousands of years. Travertine is a type of limestone formed from the calcium deposit in flowing water, and in this case it’s two hot springs with different mineral properties. The unusual reddish color of the terraces is down to the high content of iron oxide in one of the springs.
7. Socotra Island, Yemen
Socotra, also spelled Soqotra, is an island and a small archipelago of four islands in the Arabian Sea. The territory is part of Yemen, and had long been a subdivision of the Aden Governorate. Separated from mainland Africa more than six million years ago, this remote island looks like the set of a sci-fi film. Socotra’s incredible and unique biodiversity means that there are plants and trees here not found anywhere else in the world – particularly bizarre are the ancient and twisted dragon’s blood tree and the bulbous bottle tree.
8. Chocolate Hills of Bohol Island, the Philippines
Bohol’s 1700-odd conical hills dot the middle of the island; they range in height but are so regular in shape that they could be mistaken for being man-made. However, according to UNESCO they are the uplift of coral deposits and a result of rainwater erosion. The hills only earn their ‘chocolate’ nickname in the dry season when the foliage goes from lush green to brown. There are at least 1,260 hills but there may be as many as 1,776 hills spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometers (20 sq mi).
9. Red Beach, Panjin, China
Very cool and very weird, this beach is covered in a type of seaweed called Sueda, which turns bright red in autumn. Thirty kilometres southwest of Panjin, these tidal wetlands are an important nature reserve for migrating birds. Only a small section of the beach is open to the public, but it can be explored via a wooden walkway that stretches out to sea. It is based in the biggest wetland and reed marsh in the world.
10. The Catacombs, Paris, France
The Catacombs of Paris are underground ossuaries in Paris, France, which hold the remains of more than six million people in a small part of the ancient Mines of Paris tunnel network. Most are anonymous, skulls and bones taken from the city’s overcrowded graveyards during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; it wasn’t until the authorities realized its potential as a tourist attraction that the bones were arranged in the macabre displays seen today.
