#8.Crooked Forest, Poland
Deep within a forest near the town of Grafino in Poland is a phenomenon that has confused researchers and visitors alike ever since it was first discovered called the Crooked forest there is an estimated 400 pine trees that have for some reason grown very differently from normal. It’s tough that they were planted during 1930 when the regime was part of Germany and after emerging from the ground like usual they bent towards the north for several feet before growing upwards again. It’s not known why this has happened and why it something that only these 400 trees have done there is a couple of theories. the first is that it’s the result of human design perhaps because of a tool that was used when they were first planted or the alternative suggestion is that they were all subject to a freak weather event such as a snowstorm while they were young in their development no records exist to support either theory however so it’s quite possible we’ll never know for certain.
#7. Stone Forest, Madagascar
Madagascar is usually thought of as a place with an unparalleled amount of biodiversity but its geographical features are equally impressive the stone forest which is within the Singly Deba Marahan National Park began life hundreds of millions of years ago as a lagoon. Limestone deposits formed the bed and suir tectonic activity was lifted above the water surface. As the lagoon receded more limestone was revealed and was worn away by the monsoon rains over the following millennia. this combined with groundwater erosion that formed caves that subsequently collapsed has left a series of towers with canyons between them which has resulted in the largest such formation in the world its name means where one cannot walk barefoot and that’s an apt warning these pillars some of which are up to 2600 feet high are sharp enough to easily cut through flesh or equipment so have to be traversed with the utmost of care.
#6. Lake Baikal, Russia
Lake Baikal in southern Siberia is the largest known freshwater lake in the world which contains almost a quarter of our planet’s non-saline surface water. At 5 387 feet deep it’s the world’s deepest lake and is also thought to be the oldest forming around 25 million years ago. As you’d expect there is a wealth of plant and animal life in the region and it supports countless villages and tribes but the thing that’s particularly amazing about this place is what happens when it freezes over because it’s formed in a valley it’s exposed to freezing winds that blow across its surface and this leads to the creation of unbelievable ice structures that is hard to believe from naturally methane bubbles are often trapped in the ice small particles are blown together frozen and re-frozen to join unusual shapes and rocks can even be seen sitting on their own icy pedestals at the right time of year this is one of the most serene and awe-inspiring places on earth and well worth a visit if you get the chance.
#5. Richard Structure, Mauritania
Also known as the Eye of Africa the rich structure is a strange formation in the desert rock near the small town of Oidane in Mauritania. The inverse dome is 25 miles in diameter and has exposed various layers of rock that appear like concentric rings. It is one of the easiest natural structures to see from space amazing it” very hard to see from ground level and if were there you’d probably be unable to notice anything different about it from the surrounding land. Quite how it was formed has been the subject of scientific debate ever since it was discovered in the 1930s. The first assumption was that it was an impact crater from a meteorite but the lack of evidence of any superheated rocks has ruled this out instead it’s been formed by millions of years of erosion of softer that was probably deposited during a time when the region was underwater. Quite why this happening in such a circular fashion is still unclear. There are ridges and valleys that follow the concentric lines of the Richat structure and evidence has been found that humans have lived here for hundreds of thousands of years. Ancient artifacts have been on earth that date back to the stone age such as tools and spears strangely however none have been found at the center of this depression which also discounts any possibility that this was a prehistoric mine of some sort with such declined rock there are calls to make the structure a protected site to ensure it can be studied for years to come and hopefully reveal some of the secrets as to how this strange place came to be.
#4. Fly Geyser, Nevada, USA
Fly Geyser looks like it would be at home on an alien planet but amazing it’s only about 20 miles north of the town of Gerlock in Nevada. Although you might think this to be a natural formation it actually is the result of human activity when a well was drilled in 1916 with a view to irrigating water due to the geothermal activity in reason the water was close to boiling point so the well was abandoned but a calcium carbonate cone began to form around the opening a second hole was dug in 1964 by an energy company but the water wasn’t hard enough so they abandoned too and the structure that formed around it is what we see today. It is a number of openings in which the water shoots five feet high and the entire structure is currently between 25 and 30 feet tall various platforms and pools have also been created across 74 acres the water’s unusually high silica content and the presence of algae that thrive in the conditions are responsible for the multi-colored deposits that have solidified around it and because it’s heated to a temperature of around 200 degrees Fahrenheit it produces quartz something that usually takes 10 000 years to happen in another group. Even though there are a couple of other geysers nearby that have been formed in a similar way none are as large as impressive as the fly geyser is therefore one of a kind and something you won’t see anywhere else in the world
#3. Nike Mine, Mexico
What’s the biggest crystal you’re ever seen well however large you thought it was it’s nothing compared to what a team of miners discovered near Naika in Chihuahua Mexico in 1910 a cavern was found at a depth of 390 feet which has become known as the cave of swords and to their astonishment. It was full of gypsum crystals that were up to three feet three inches long ninety years later another mining took things a step further when they were drilling a new shaft and found the giant crystal cave which itself was 980 feet beneath the surface this cave had once been flooded with hot water which allowed minerals to deposit in crystalline structure the largest of the crystals to have seen was 39 feet long and 13 feet wide and thought to weight as much as 55 tons which makes it the largest one ever to have been found conditions in the cave aren’t exactly inviting to people though with temperatures reaching 136 degrees fahrenheit and a 99 humidity can only be in there for up to 10 minutes without full safety equipment even if you were prepared for this it’s not possible to visit the cave currently after a robber tried to steal a crystal and ended up suffocating and dying it was shut permanently and allowed to refill with water in the hope that the crystals can be preserved and continued to grow until improved methods of exploration become available.
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