Incredible Natural Phenomenon
Lake Hillier in Australia
From above the lake appears a solid bubble gum pink. No-one fully knows why the lake is pink. Scientists speculate that the colour comes from a dye created by bacteria that lives in the salt crusts.
Blood Falls
This strange glacial feature was discovered in Antarctica in 1911.This salt-water flowing out of a glacier is tainted with iron oxide causing the blood colour.
Red Tides
More correctly known as an algal bloom, the so-called Red tide is a natural event in which estuarine, marine, or fresh water algae accumulate rapidly in the water column and can convert entire areas of an ocean or beach into a blood red colour. This phenomena is caused by high levels of phytoplankton accumulating to form dense, visible clouds near the surface of the water. While some of these can be relatively harmless, others can be harbingers of deadly toxins that cause the deaths of fish, birds and marine mammals. In some cases, even humans have been harmed by red tides though no human exposure are known to have been fatal. While they can be fatal, the constituent phytoplankton in ride tides are not harmful in small numbers.
Sailing Stones
The mysterious moving stones of the packed-mud desert of Death Valley have been a center of scientific controversy for decades. Rocks weighing up to hundreds of pounds have been known to move up to hundreds of yards at a time. Some scientists have proposed that a combination of strong winds and surface ice account for these movements. However, this theory does not explain evidence of different rocks starting side by side and moving at different rates and in disparate directions. Moreover, the physics calculations do not fully support this theory as wind speeds of hundreds of miles per hour would be needed to move some of the stones.
Ice Circles
A rare phenomenon usually only seen in extremely cold countries, scientists generally accept that Ice Circles are formed when surface ice gathers in the center of a body of water rather than the edges. A slow moving river current can create a slow turning eddy, which rotates, forming an ice disc. Very slowly the edges are ground down until a gap is formed between the eddy and the surrounding ice. These ice circles have been seen with diameters of over 500 feet and can also at times be found in clusters and groups at different sizes.
Lunar Rainbows
This photo was actually produced using long-exposure. However, if the conditions are just right, you can see Lunar Rainbows with the naked eye, if you're paying attention to the sky opposite the moon. For once, the explanation is simple: Lunar Rainbows work exactly like rainbows and appear whenever bright moonlight refracts just so off of moisture in the air.
Grand Prismatic Spring
It's the largest hot spring in the United States. The colours of Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Spring are caused by bacteria and microbes growing around the water’s edge.
Crystal Caves
These gypsum crystals in the Naica Mine were formed over 500,000 years in underground hot springs. Unfortunately, the caves are closed to the public (as they are super toxic and dangerous).
Lake Hillier in Australia
From above the lake appears a solid bubble gum pink. No-one fully knows why the lake is pink. Scientists speculate that the colour comes from a dye created by bacteria that lives in the salt crusts.
Blood Falls
This strange glacial feature was discovered in Antarctica in 1911.This salt-water flowing out of a glacier is tainted with iron oxide causing the blood colour.
Red Tides
More correctly known as an algal bloom, the so-called Red tide is a natural event in which estuarine, marine, or fresh water algae accumulate rapidly in the water column and can convert entire areas of an ocean or beach into a blood red colour. This phenomena is caused by high levels of phytoplankton accumulating to form dense, visible clouds near the surface of the water. While some of these can be relatively harmless, others can be harbingers of deadly toxins that cause the deaths of fish, birds and marine mammals. In some cases, even humans have been harmed by red tides though no human exposure are known to have been fatal. While they can be fatal, the constituent phytoplankton in ride tides are not harmful in small numbers.
Sailing Stones
The mysterious moving stones of the packed-mud desert of Death Valley have been a center of scientific controversy for decades. Rocks weighing up to hundreds of pounds have been known to move up to hundreds of yards at a time. Some scientists have proposed that a combination of strong winds and surface ice account for these movements. However, this theory does not explain evidence of different rocks starting side by side and moving at different rates and in disparate directions. Moreover, the physics calculations do not fully support this theory as wind speeds of hundreds of miles per hour would be needed to move some of the stones.
Ice Circles
A rare phenomenon usually only seen in extremely cold countries, scientists generally accept that Ice Circles are formed when surface ice gathers in the center of a body of water rather than the edges. A slow moving river current can create a slow turning eddy, which rotates, forming an ice disc. Very slowly the edges are ground down until a gap is formed between the eddy and the surrounding ice. These ice circles have been seen with diameters of over 500 feet and can also at times be found in clusters and groups at different sizes.
Lunar Rainbows
This photo was actually produced using long-exposure. However, if the conditions are just right, you can see Lunar Rainbows with the naked eye, if you're paying attention to the sky opposite the moon. For once, the explanation is simple: Lunar Rainbows work exactly like rainbows and appear whenever bright moonlight refracts just so off of moisture in the air.
Grand Prismatic Spring
It's the largest hot spring in the United States. The colours of Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Spring are caused by bacteria and microbes growing around the water’s edge.
Crystal Caves
These gypsum crystals in the Naica Mine were formed over 500,000 years in underground hot springs. Unfortunately, the caves are closed to the public (as they are super toxic and dangerous).
