1.Danxia Landform (China)
This unique geological phenomenon, known as a ‘Danxia Landform‘, can be seen in several places inChina. This example is located in Zhangye, Gansu Province. Danxia, which means “rosy cloud”, is a special landform formed from reddish sandstone that has been eroded over time into a series of mountains surrounded by curvaceous cliffs and many unusual rock formations.
2.Great Blue Hole (Belize)
Part of the Lighthouse Reef System, The Great Blue Hole lies approximately 60 miles off the mainland out of Belize City. A large, almost perfectly circular hole approximately one quarter of a mile (0.4 km) across, it’s one of the most astounding dive sites to be found anywhere on earth. Inside this hole, the water is 480 feet (145 m) deep and it is the depth of water which gives the deep bluecolor that causes such structures throughout the world to be known as “blue holes.”
3.Fly Geyser (Nevada, US)
These look as if they were taken on another planet, or at least on the set of a new and very expensive science fiction movie. Yet these pictures are of the Fly Geyser which is very much of planet earth (Nevada, US to be exact). The geyser can be found in Hualapai Valley near Gerlach. It is a little seen phenomenon as the land upon which it sits is private. It can be seen from State Road 34 but unless you have permission the view from a distance is all you should attempt. Back in 1916 the owners of the place were looking for water in the hope of creating rich farmland in this desert area of the state. They came across water, yes, and the well worked for decades. However, the drill that was driven down a shaft hit a geothermal pocket of water and the result was a geyser.
4.Pamukkale (Turkey)
5.Enchanted Well – Chapada Diamantina National Park (Brazil)
6.The Wave (between Arizona and Utah – USA)
A red-rock stunner on the border of Arizona and Utah, The Wave is made of 190-million-year-oldsand dunes that have turned to rock. This little-known formation is accessible only on foot via a three-mile hike and highly regulated.
7. Antelope Canyon (Arizona – USA)
The most visited and photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest, the Antelope Canyonis located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona. It includes two separate, photogenic slot canyon sections, referred to individually as Upper Antelope Canyon –or “The Crack”– and Lower Antelope Canyon –or “The Corkscrew.” The Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tse’ bighanilini, which means “the place where water runs through rocks.” Lower Antelope Canyon is Hasdestwazi, or “spiral rock arches.” Both are located within the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation.
8.Wulingyan, Hunan (China)
The Hunan region is full of dramatic landscapes and the magnificent Wulingyan is one of their biggestattractions. This geological wonder is made up of over 3000 limestone karsts. There are scenic waterfalls and some of Asia’s biggest limestone caves.
9.The Valley of the Moon (Argentina)
Ischigualasto, meaning “the place where you put the moon” is a remote valley in Argentina. It is studded with geological formations left by wind erosion, amazing standing stones and boulders that are so rounded they look like enormous marbles. The valley’s once-fertile ground is now arid and contains so many plant and animal fossils that paleontologists come from all over the world to study them. Erosion over the millennia unearths the fossils as well as other geological formations such as a host of almost spherical concretions. The wind, inexorable and patient, has pounded the local bedrock for an age. Revealed, the boulders that mudstone – in its original wet form, helped to form look as if giants have been playing marbles.
10.Blue Lake Cave (Brazil)
Mato Grosso do Sul region in Brazil (and especially the quiet town of Bonito) boasts many marvelous underground lakes: Gruta do Lago Azul, Gruta do Mimoso, Aquário Natural. The world famous “Gruta do Lago Azul” (Blue Lake Cave) is a natural monument whose interior is formed by stalactites, stalagmites and a huge and wonderful blue lake. The beauty of the lake is something impressive. The Blue Lake Cave has a big variety of geological formation but impresses mainly for the deep blue colored water of its inside lake.
11.Eye of the Sahara (Mauritania)
This spectacular landform in Mauritania in the southwestern part of the Sahara desert is so huge with a diameter of 30 miles that it is visible from space. Called Richat Structure –or the Eye of the Sahara– the The formation was originally thought to be caused by a meteorite impact but now geologists believe it is a product of uplift and erosion. The cause of its circular shape is still a mystery.
12.Hell Gate (Turkmenistan)
Called by locals The Door to Hell, this place in Turkmenistan is situated near the small town of Darvaz. When geologists were drilling for gas, 35 years ago, they suddenly found an underground cavern that was so big, all the drilling site with all the equipment and camps got deep deep under the ground. None dared to go down there because the cavern was filled with gas, so they ignited it so that no poisonous gas could come out of the hole, and since then, it has been burning. Nobody knows how many tons of excellent gas has been burned for all those years but it just seems to be infinite.
13.Wave Rock (Australia)
The Wave Rock is a natural rock formation located in western Australia. It derives its name from the fact that it is shaped like a tall breaking ocean wave. The total outcrop covers several hectares; the “wave” part of the rock is about 15 meters high and approximately 110 meters long. One aspect of Wave Rock rarely shown on photographs is the retaining wall about halfway up the rock. This follows the contours and allows rainwater to be collected in a dam. It was constructed in 1951 by the Public Works Department, and such walls are common on many similar rocks in the wheatbelt.
14.Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks (New Mexico, US)
New Mexico’s Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, where erosion chisels rock formations formed by explosive volcanic eruptions between six and seven million years ago. While the formations are uniform in shape, they vary in height from a few feet to 90 feet throughout the 4,000 acre monument.
15.The Stone Forest (China)
The Shilin (Chinese for stone forest) is an impressive example of karst topography. Its rocks are made of limestone and are formed by water percolating the ground’s surface and eroding away everything but the pillars. It’s known since the Ming Dynasty as the ‘First Wonder of the World.’
16. Jeita Grotto (Lebanon)
Jeita Grotto is located 20 km north of Beirut in the Valley of Nahr al-Kalb. In this cave and galleries, the action of water in the limestone has created cathedral-like vaults full of various sizes, colors and shapes of stalactites and stalagmites, majestic curtains and fantastic rock formations. The total length of the cave is more than 9000 m and it is among the biggest stalactites in the world hanging 8,20 m. The grotto accommodates a huge hall with a distance of 108 m from the ceiling till the water level.
Cacahuamilpa Grotto (Mexico)
This is a protected Natural Area located two and a half hours from Mexico City. Its name, of Nahuatl origin, can be interpreted as “peanut land”. This grotto is considered to be among the most impressive in the world and open to the public. The Cacahuamilpa Grotto was discovered in 1835 and was opened to the public in 1920 and elevated to the rank of National Park in 1936.
Caves of Mira D’aire (Portugal)
This is Portugal’s largest caves system. The underground tour leads down through a series of colourfully lit caverns with some impressive speleothems. The last cavern, 110m below the surface contains a huge lake with artificial waterfalls and dramatic artificial fountains. Exit is via a fast elevator to the surface.
lp2011
September 7, 2012
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