Baffling Phenomena of the Natural World You'll Want to Research

Bright Side

There are so many mind-blowing mysteries out in the natural world that you'll want to dive into. For example, the eerie hum that people hear around the world with no clear source or explanation. Then there's the crazy phenomenon of ball lightning, where glowing orbs appear during thunderstorms. And don't forget about the mysterious moving rocks of Death Valley – they leave tracks behind, but no one knows how they move!  Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV   Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

Transcript

00:00On the shores of the Baltic Sea, there's an enigmatic national park.

00:05The Dancing Forest is a place that no scientist has managed to explain so far.

00:10The pine trees of the forest are all crooked and twisted into loops and spirals.

00:15The forest didn't appear until the early 60s, when the pines were planted in order

00:19to make the sand dune in that area more stable.

00:22One theory is that it's the unstable sand that made the trees twist in such a way.

00:27Other theories for the crooked trees are strong winds, or even supernatural powers.

00:32Some people say the forest is a place where positive and negative energies meet, twisting

00:37the trees.

00:38Local legend says that if a person climbs through one of the rings of a tree, it'll

00:43add an extra year to this person's life, or they'll be granted a wish.

00:47I like that one.

00:49Speaking of bizarre trees, and I was, one grows in the region of Piedmont, Italy.

00:54There, a cherry tree grows on the top of a mulberry tree.

00:59The strange thing is that both trees are perfectly healthy.

01:04A continuous storm at Saturn's north pole has an odd shape – a hexagon.

01:10This is probably because of the gradient of the winds.

01:13The total length of this cloud pattern is 9,000 miles, which is about 1,200 miles longer

01:19than the Earth's diameter.

01:21The hexagon has been observed for many years, but it gets even more mysterious because it

01:26changes color too.

01:28It used to be turquoise, but it has recently shifted to a golden color.

01:32The reason for the color change is that the pole gets exposed to sunlight as the seasons

01:37change.

01:40Rain isn't unusual for Oakville, Washington.

01:43However, this one still doesn't have any solid scientific explanation.

01:48Instead of common raindrops, people watched translucent jelly-like blobs fall from the

01:53skies.

01:54These blobs covered about 20 square miles.

01:57Those who got really close to the rain experienced flu-like symptoms.

02:02What were the blobs?

02:03Researchers claim that the blobs contain human white blood cells.

02:08Later tests showed no presence of nuclei.

02:11Some people claim the blobs might've been evaporated jellyfish resulting in rain.

02:15Or maybe even waste from a commercial plane.

02:20Walking rocks, also known as sailing rocks, move across the Death Valley National Park

02:25in California without any external intervention, leaving long trails in the dirt and sand along

02:32their way.

02:33Various time-lapse footages of the moving rocks have been taken.

02:37Scientists even installed GPS navigators on some of the rocks, and it showed that the

02:42rocks move at a considerable speed.

02:45Some researchers believe that the movement is due to thin sheets of ice that form overnight

02:50at freezing temperatures in the valley, letting the rocks move until it melts during the day.

02:56Or there was a Rolling Stones concert.

02:59Nah.

03:01The Batageyka Crater in Siberia looks like a doorway to the underworld.

03:06It's about a half-mile long and over 280 feet deep, but it never stops growing.

03:12As it gets deeper, it exposes more underground layers.

03:15The layers show what our planet looked like thousands of years ago, as the slumps reveal

03:20the used-to-be climates.

03:22The crater appeared back in the 60s, and it all started with rapid deforestation.

03:28Trees no longer cast shade on the ground, and it got hotter.

03:31The permafrost melted, resulting in the crater formation.

03:36The throbbing hum in Taos, New Mexico has driven locals wild since the 1990s.

03:48The low-frequency hum deprives people of sleep and depletes their energy.

03:53Even though scientists have tried to find the source of the hum, they still haven't

03:56pinpointed its origin.

03:58Different variations of the hum have also been heard in the UK, Australia, Canada, and

04:03other areas of the US.

04:05Luckily, only about 2% of the world's population can hear it.

04:09The hums have been blamed on mechanical devices, multiple disturbances of auditory systems,

04:15and even animals.

04:16The West Seattle hum, for example, was blamed on toadfish.

04:22Fairy rings, also known as elf rings or pixie rings, are mysterious rings of mushrooms that

04:28appear in grasslands and forested areas.

04:31There's a lot of debate about why these fungi form a nearly perfect circle.

04:36Some superstitions claim that fairy dances would burn the ground, causing mushrooms to

04:41rapidly grow.

04:44In Costa Rica, there's an assortment of about 300 spherical stone balls.

04:49Locals call them las bolas, which is simply the balls in English.

04:54These stones have an almost perfect round shape.

04:57Some of them are huge, weighing up to 16 tons each.

05:00They're also made of different materials – gabbro, limestone, and sandstone.

05:05They're considered to have been put in straight lines in front of the chiefs' houses, but

05:09there's no precise information of their origin.

05:12Some myths claim that these stones originated in Atlantis.

05:19If you ever travel to the Mekong River in late October, you have a chance of seeing

05:23glowing balls rising from the water and beelining up into the air.

05:28Locals call these glowing balls the Naga Fireballs.

05:32The size of the lights vary.

05:34The reddish balls can be as tiny as a spark and as large as a basketball.

05:39There can be dozens to thousands of balls a night.

05:42Scientists don't have any solid explanation for why it happens, but it could be due to

05:46flammable gases released by the marshy environment.

05:50Some superstitious locals are sure it's all because of a giant serpent living in the

05:55Mekong.

05:56Nightballs of Fire In Minnesota, on the north shore of Lake Superior,

06:02there's a park known for the Devil's Kettle.

06:06This is a waterfall that splits in two.

06:09One part of the river continues, while the other part disappears into a hole in the ground.

06:14Whatever object you throw into the Devil's Kettle won't reappear.

06:18Scientists still haven't fully explained where the water that drops into the hole goes.

06:23Devil's Kettle is considered to be unsafe for people because it's nearly impossible

06:27to trace the flow.

06:29Yeah, not a place to go tubing.

06:33Grunions are fish known for their bizarre mating ritual.

06:36The females climb out of the water and onto the shore.

06:39They dig their tails into the sand in order to lay eggs.

06:43The legs stay hidden in the sand, waiting.

06:46Ten days later, the high tide comes, washing the newly hatched young to the sea.

06:51Scientists still can't give any solid explanation for this way of breeding.

06:57You come to sunny California and go for a hike in the Santa Lucia Mountains.

07:01There, you have a strange, unpleasant feeling, as if someone's watching you.

07:08You look around, but don't see a single soul.

07:11That's when you glance at the tops of distant mountains in front of you, and your heart

07:15skips a beat.

07:16Up on the peaks, you can see the outline of a giant humanoid figure.

07:21Some stretched out with a magnificent full rainbow circling it.

07:25This mysterious figure is dressed in all black.

07:28You can't make out any facial expressions or detail, but you can see it moving.

07:33Then it vanishes right before your eyes.

07:36Congrats, you've just witnessed the Dark Watchers, a phenomenon that's been terrifying

07:41hikers in the California mountains for over 300 years.

07:46Even now, scientists can't give an exact explanation for this mysterious appearance.

07:51What we do know is, it's completely natural… probably.

07:55One theory claims that there are no silhouettes at all.

07:58The human brain just thinks up images created by shadows the clouds cast on the mountains.

08:04Over the centuries, people share stories about this legend, and their minds begin to show

08:09it, building recognizable images.

08:11The same can happen to you.

08:13When you see the contours of a human face on a burnt piece of toast, or the shape of

08:18a dog in a passing cloud.

08:20The most accepted scientific explanation is what's called a Brocken Specter.

08:25It's when sunlight gets bent by drops of fog or clouds.

08:29That explains the rainbow surrounding these figures.

08:33As for the shadow, it's only your own being stretched and projected on the mountains before

08:38you.

08:39After all, these figures usually show up when the sun is behind the witness.

08:44Natural or not, the vanishing mysterious figure scared the wits out of you.

08:49So you head east and find yourself in the desert.

08:52The blazing sun beats down on your back.

08:54There's nothing for hundreds of miles around.

08:57Hard to believe this dry, lifeless plain was once the bottom of a lake.

09:02You notice a long trail in the sand, as if someone was pushing or pulling something really

09:07heavy across the ground.

09:09You follow the strange trail, and at the end you find a single large stone.

09:15But why would anyone drag a heavy rock across the middle of the desert?

09:19But nothing touched the stone.

09:21It moved by itself.

09:23It's a phenomenon called sailing stones.

09:26Every winter, ice covers the ground here.

09:28When a strong enough wind blows, the stone starts to glide across the slippery surface.

09:34Once the ice melts, all that's left is a winding trail behind a single, lonesome

09:39rock.

09:40Well, for some relief from the scorching California sun, we head to Antarctica.

09:45Snow, ice, and more blinding sun.

09:48Yep, it's a desert too.

09:50The light is almost blinding.

09:52You squint, and off in the distance, you see something red sticking out from all the surrounding

09:57endless white.

09:59As you get closer, you realize it's a waterfall, an ominous red cascade flowing from the glacier.

10:06Splashes fly in all directions and stain the white snow.

10:09Don't worry, these so-called bloodfalls are nothing of the sort.

10:15Millions of years ago, I wasn't around then, a glacier formed over a pond and blocked access

10:20to sunlight, heat, and oxygen.

10:22Then the pond managed to break through the glacier with a little trickle of water.

10:27When such salty water with high levels of iron meets oxygen, it creates that scarlet

10:32rust color.

10:33This is the only waterfall of its kind in the world.

10:38In the town of Taos, New Mexico, locals hear a strange hum every day.

10:43But not all of them.

10:44For some reason, only about 2% of the residents can hear the sound.

10:49Some theories propose it's caused by the location's unusual acoustics.

10:54Others put it down to some strange auditory hallucination or even something more sinister.

11:01Unexplainable sounds happen on other worlds as well.

11:04In 2020, the Mars rover recorded a strange hum coming from the red planet.

11:09It's a quiet, continuous drone that sometimes fluctuates because of Marsquakes.

11:15In the high altitudes of northern China, there is one mountain that remains frozen all year

11:19round.

11:20It's a naturally occurring spot of cold earth.

11:23A thick layer of permafrost lies underneath the mountain's top layer of soil, freezing

11:28everything above it.

11:30The climate-defying pocket of frozen land covers over 26 feet of a mountain slope in

11:35Pingxuyuan County, a place famous for its scorching hot summers, reaching highs of 90

11:40degrees Fahrenheit.

11:42This frozen spot of land manages to survive the blazing temperatures due to the coarse,

11:47blocky layer of soil covering the permafrost.

11:50This coarse soil prevents the hot climate from reaching and melting the permafrost,

11:54allowing the ground to stay frozen all year round.

11:57Argentina may be famous for its beautiful beaches and hot sun, but in southern Argentina,

12:03you can find Perito Moreno Glacier.

12:06This stunning blue glacier covers over 100 square miles and is constantly growing.

12:11When visiting this natural wonder, you might notice an archway of ice forming off the side

12:15of the glacier, reaching out to the nearby land.

12:18Suddenly, the archway ruptures and the ice collapses into the water below.

12:23This is completely natural.

12:25The glacier goes through a process of forming these arches until they collapse.

12:29It'll form another one in no time.

12:32On California's Glass Beach, there is no sand and only colorful gemstone-like pebbles

12:37called sea glass.

12:38Surprisingly, these beautiful pebbles are the result of garbage.

12:42For decades, the beach was used as a massive dumping ground for locals to abandon their

12:46glass, appliances, and even cars on the beachfront.

12:49The state eventually prohibited anyone from disposing of their garbage on the beach.

12:54Over the years, the waves broke down all the remaining junk and turned it into brightly

12:58colored pebbles that attract tourists from all over.

13:01The highest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls, can be found in southern Venezuela.

13:06The water there travels along one of the biggest tabletop mountains in Venezuela and plummets

13:112,500 feet down into the jungle below.

13:14It's three times taller than the Eiffel Tower.

13:17The water falls from so high that most of it evaporates into mist before even reaching

13:21the ground.

13:23Visitors can feel the mist settling on their skin from over half a mile away.

13:28In Scotland, hidden away from the main roads and tucked deep within the woodlands, is Fiddick

13:32Glen.

13:34This area looks like something out of an ancient fairy tale, with looming glass moss-covered

13:38rock formations and crimson red waters.

13:41The water's red color is due to the red sandstone lying beneath the shallow river.

13:46To get to this stunning natural beauty, you have to embark on a dangerous hike down steep

13:50muddy hills, clambering onto trees to stop you from falling.

13:54But when you reach the bottom, it'll all have been worth it to watch the sunlight shine

13:58off the ruby waters and see the towering rocks of this enchanting world.

14:03With bubblegum pink water and a surrounding circle of emerald green forests, it's hard

14:08to believe that Lake Hillier is a real place.

14:11Located in Western Australia, no one can truly explain why the lake has pink color.

14:16However, scientists have theorized that the high quantities of salt in the lake have attracted

14:20a salt-loving pink bacteria called Halobacteria, responsible for the lake's trademark shade.

14:27In a small peninsula in South America, there is one of the most beautiful natural wonders

14:31in the world, the marble caves.

14:34These look like any other caves from the outside.

14:37Inside these caves, the walls consist of smooth, swirling blue marble formations.

14:42Over thousands of years, water has eroded the marble deposits within these caves, forming

14:47this unique cave system.

14:49So while deep blue color seems like it's part of the marble, it's the reflection of the

14:53water that causes these blue shades along the cave walls.

14:58Azerbaijan's mud volcanoes are exactly what they sound like.

15:02Over 300 of these natural phenomena are located in Azerbaijan.

15:06More than anywhere else in the world, there have been over 200 eruptions since records

15:11began.

15:12Mud volcanoes are landforms caused by the eruption of mud, water, and gases.

15:17Pockets of gas form underground and force their way to the surface, eventually erupting

15:22and splattering mud everywhere.

15:25These volcanoes can be pretty dangerous.

15:27In 2006, a mud volcano erupted in Indonesia and coated an entire nearby village in thick

15:33mud.

15:35Pamukkale is a marvelous hillside of tiered thermal pools.

15:39The name of the Turkish city translates to Cotton Castle.

15:42The pools are made of travertine, a type of limestone that gives the hillside its stunning

15:47white color.

15:48In addition, the stone has geothermal properties making the pools hot springs.

15:53There are 17 pools in total, and all are open to the public seven days a week.

15:58The temperatures range from 95 degrees Fahrenheit all the way to 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

16:03They are essentially nature's version of a hot tub.

16:06North Yungas Road in Bolivia is one of the most picturesque and most hazardous roads

16:12in the world.

16:13Just imagine biking along a cliff trail at a mind-numbing height overlooking the lush

16:18Bolivian jungle and misty mountains at a distance.

16:22What a view!

16:23But as soon as you realize you're riding on a 10-foot-wide stretch of road, some of

16:27which isn't even paved, you might get skin crawls.

16:31And for a good reason.

16:33Over 200 folks tumble to their demise each year on this devious mountain climb.

16:38And the absence of any guardrail doesn't help at all.

16:43Now if you're more into walking, consider the Husseini Bridge in Pakistan.

16:47It's officially the most dangerous hanging bridge in the world, but hardly the only one

16:52in the country.

16:53It's a long and nerve-wracking traverse over Lake Borut, with many planks of the bridge

16:58missing and the whole construction creaking ominously in the wind.

17:03Still, the place has become a major tourist attraction, although the old and broken bridge

17:08visible nearby only adds to the impression that you're inevitably going to fall to

17:14a screaming end.

17:16Well, at least you can be thankful that the lake beneath is not Lake Natron in Tanzania.

17:22If you fall into water, you still have a chance of survival.

17:26If you fall into the waters of Natron, not so much.

17:29The pH levels here are a skin-melting 10.5.

17:33What passes for water is more like an alkaline soup.

17:37No wonder this place is so peaceful.

17:39Pretty much nothing wants to live here.

17:41And yet, flocks of flamingos come to Lake Natron to breed every few seasons, and it

17:46becomes a white-pink paradise for the period.

17:50Positively.

17:53Which can't be said about the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia.

17:57Despite its beautiful, otherworldly landscape, it's perhaps the loneliest place on Earth.

18:03Yellow, orange, and green mounds are made of salt, sulfur, and iron, creating views

18:08like nowhere else on the planet.

18:11Yet the combination of temperature and toxic minerals makes this place absolutely unlivable.

18:17Researchers coming here haven't found even microscopic life in this valley.

18:21Really, like another planet.

18:23Beautiful and desolate.

18:26On the other hand, there's an island that's bubbling with life, yet still, you don't

18:31want to be there.

18:32It's called Snake Island, and the name says it all – it's chock-full of snakes.

18:37In fact, there are so many of them, especially the venomous varieties, that Brazil has forbidden

18:43access to the island to any and all visitors.

18:47Even if it wasn't closed off, not many would be brave enough to go to a place where a single

18:52step offshore could land you a venomous bite.

18:56I'll bet that Fly Geyser in the middle of the Nevada desert was created partly because

19:02humans became jealous of that.

19:05This place had been just another bit of desert until 1916.

19:09People came here to drill a water well.

19:12They quickly saw the error of their ways, though.

19:14The water came out boiling hot and unfit for drinking.

19:18Fifty years later, there was another attempt, but the same thing happened.

19:22We don't learn, do we?

19:24Anyway, hot water never stops spewing from under the ground, and today, we have a massive

19:29geyser cluster colored in shades of red, orange, and yellow.

19:35Now I say let's take a break from things that could bite, burn, or crush you, and take

19:39a walk in a serene forest.

19:42We're in Japan, and it's Sagano Bamboo Forest, a marvelous natural park where you

19:47can't help but hush your voice and just look.

19:50And listen, too.

19:52Because the sound of the wind in the bamboo trees is the first ever officially recognized

19:57soundscape.

19:59All the more surprising to find such a place just half an hour's ride from Kyoto, one

20:04of the busiest cities in the country.

20:07Take a deep breath of fresh air now, you're gonna need it.

20:11We're going underwater!

20:13Behold the Great Blue Hole, apparently named by Captain Obvious.

20:17It's one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

20:21Located off the coast of Belize, this giant sinkhole is a massive tourist attraction,

20:26especially popular among divers.

20:28It's actually a whole cave system, and they say it gets weirder and more picturesque the

20:33deeper you dive.

20:35Beware though, it's popular among sharks too, and both bull sharks and hammerheads

20:40have been spotted here more than once.

20:43That's it for today!

20:44So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your

20:48friends!

20:49Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

Category

Transcript

Recommended