There’s no better reminder of nature’s beauty than a place that’s so different, so unique, it feels like it must be of another planet.
Reboot your appreciation for our planet’s diversity and splendor with these six otherworldly places.
(Our epic featured image is courtesy of NASA.)
Devils Postpile – California, United States
The Devils Postpile is undoubtedly one of the most handsome examples of what geologists would call “columnar jointed volcanics” (Northern Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway is a famous example). This 100,000-year-old lava flow isn’t epic just for its looks – the sheer wall of columns is 60 feet high, so it’s breathtaking in scale too.
Carlsbad Caverns – New Mexico, United States
We’ve said it before (see our posts on Halong Bay, Pamukkale and the Zhangjiajie National Forest), and we’ll say it again – special things happen when limestone and water are driven together. Exquisitely intricate, the 100-plus caves at Carlsbad are right up there with the most beautiful karst formations in the world.
Fly Ranch Geyser – Nevada, United States
When drilling for water in 1916, the owners of a private ranch in the middle of a Nevada valley set in motion a sequence of events that eventually produced this magnificent feature. Having unwittingly broken the seal on a geothermal pocket, they unleashed a slow, never-ending flow of warm water. Fifty years later, that water finally seeped to the surface, dragging copious amount of minerals along with it. The geyser you see today includes another half a century’s worth of multi-colored mineral deposits.
“Blood Falls” – Taylor Glacier, Antarctica
Extremely low humidity, freezing temperatures and thundering winds all help make The McMurdo Dry Valleys in eastern Antarctica one of the most inhospitable spots on the planet. Yet, despite such harsh conditions, an ecosystem of microbes thrives beneath the Taylor Glacier. No one would know it, were it not for this iron-rich primordial ooze sliding out and over the edge of the glacier’s five-story-high face.
Mud Volcanoes – Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan
It’s said there are 400 mud volcanoes along Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea and Black Sea coastlines. The product of a relatively rare coincidence of high tectonic activity occurring beneath heavy sedimentary deposits, they mostly lie dormant; tame methane bubbles at the surface are the only sign of their life. But every now and then, a dramatic fireball explosion stands as a reminder to locals, and to the world, of their ferocious power.
Cueva de los Cristales (Cave of the Crystals) – Naica, Mexico
It many ways, it’s sheer good fortune that we know of the Cueva de los Cristales – miners happened across it when seeking an altogether different bounty in 2011. The stunning beams of gypsum lie around 980 feet beneath the surface, yet their deep subterranean location isn’t the only reason they remain relatively unseen. A nearby hot spring heats the chamber to a temperature of 136° F, ensuring intrepid visits last only a miserly 10 minutes.
Written by insider city guide series Hg2 | A Hedonist’s guide to…
