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00:00:00You're in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, one of the driest places on Earth.
00:00:06But this desert has a beautiful secret.
00:00:09Every 3 to 5 years, flowers pop up out of nowhere.
00:00:12It's so famous, it's also called the flowering desert.
00:00:16Seeds lie around in the ground just waiting for some rain.
00:00:20When the desert gets enough water, about 200 types of flowers sprout up.
00:00:25The yellow sands of the Atacama turn purple, white, green, and even pink.
00:00:30Another mystical phenomenon that can be seen in the desert is called a sand waterfall.
00:00:36When the wind brings a lot of sand to the edge of the canyon, it begins to fall down.
00:00:41Now amplify this effect 100 times, and you get a sand waterfall in Saudi Arabia.
00:00:47It really is like Niagara Falls, only there's not a drop of water.
00:00:51The locals say this phenomenon warns of an impending sandstorm.
00:00:56Fairy rings, also known as elf rings or pixie rings, are mysterious circles of mushrooms
00:01:02that appear in grasslands and forested areas.
00:01:05There's a lot of debate about why these fairy rings form a nearly perfect circle.
00:01:10Some superstitions claim that fairy dances would burn the ground, causing mushrooms to
00:01:15rapidly grow.
00:01:17In southern India, between July and September 2001, people witnessed one of the strangest
00:01:23weather phenomena in recorded history.
00:01:26The rain was red.
00:01:28What many would've thought to be a typical rainstorm left them shocked.
00:01:33The color was bright enough to stain clothes.
00:01:35There were other colors too, such as green, yellow, brown, and even black.
00:01:40In the middle of a monsoon, red rain started to fall, and so did periodically for several
00:01:45weeks.
00:01:46Many researchers have found this unusual rain is stained either by dust or algae, so don't
00:01:52try to catch any on your tongue.
00:01:54Scientists aren't entirely sure how the algae got all the way up there.
00:01:58This does make events like this a little unsettling.
00:02:03People who live in rural central Norway, over the Hestalen Valley, can often witness floating
00:02:08lights of white, yellow, and red cross the sky.
00:02:12The lights appear both at day and night, and once back in the 80s, ahem, the 1980s,
00:02:18they were spotted 15 to 20 times in a single week.
00:02:21The Hestalen lights can last just a few seconds, but sometimes they can last more than an hour.
00:02:28The lights move, seeming to float or even sway around.
00:02:32Some scientists believe that the reason for these lights is due to ionized iron dust.
00:02:37Others say it's a combination that includes sodium, oxygen, and hydrogen.
00:02:42Many people claim they're just misidentified aircrafts.
00:02:46Norway!
00:02:47Snow doughnuts are one of the rarest meteorological sights to see, with perfect weather conditions
00:02:52needed just to create them.
00:02:54Found in any snow-covered mountain area, like the Rocky Mountains, the wind, temperature,
00:02:59snow, ice, and moisture all have to work together for us to see these phenomenal rings.
00:03:05A thin layer of wet snow on the ground.
00:03:08Under that layer, ice or powdered snow.
00:03:11And a strong enough breeze to roll the doughnut down a hill, just like a snowball.
00:03:17Once it stops rolling, it can be the size of a baseball or as large as a car tire.
00:03:22It all depends on how strong the wind is.
00:03:24A newly formed snow doughnut won't stay around for very long, so hurry up with that
00:03:29camera and watch your head!
00:03:32Can you believe there's another place on Earth with its own ecosystem and atmosphere,
00:03:36similar to another planet?
00:03:38Well, start believing!
00:03:40Smoviel Cave, located in southeastern Romania, remained closed in complete darkness for a
00:03:46whopping 5.5 million years.
00:03:48It wasn't until workers discovered the cave, when they were looking for a place to build,
00:03:53that anyone learned about it.
00:03:55Scientists carved out an opening to the cave and found that a completely sustained ecosystem
00:04:00was thriving inside.
00:04:02As a pathway was carved through the rock past numerous tunnels, scientists found a lake
00:04:07of sulfuric water that stank like rotten eggs.
00:04:11The air was filled with hydrogen sulfide and had 100 times more carbon dioxide than Earth's
00:04:16atmosphere contains.
00:04:18Needless to say, this air is completely toxic.
00:04:21What's even crazier is that a whole ecosystem has been existing in this cave, with 33 species
00:04:27that can't be found anywhere else on Earth.
00:04:30This cave gives us a glimpse of what could possibly exist on other planets with completely
00:04:35different atmospheres.
00:04:37How it managed to exist on Earth all this time without anyone knowing is rather unbelievable,
00:04:43isn't it?
00:04:44Now, check these trees out.
00:04:46They're called Indian rubber trees.
00:04:48Their strong roots grow not underground, but on the surface.
00:04:52With the help of special frames and fasteners, people have learned to control how these roots
00:04:57grow.
00:04:58Let's say a tree is next to a small pit.
00:05:00You need to make a bridge from one end of this pit to the other.
00:05:04You direct the growing tree roots in the needed direction.
00:05:08Over time, the roots penetrate the ground and strengthen under endless downpours.
00:05:13It takes about 15 years to create one bridge.
00:05:17Here's another amazing tree called the Tree of Life.
00:05:20It grows in Bahrain's desert.
00:05:22The tree has been standing on top of this sandy hill for more than 400 years, surrounded
00:05:27by miles of sand.
00:05:28It's extremely hot here, and there's no moisture.
00:05:32Despite this, the tree has green leaves, and it continues to grow.
00:05:36So far, scientists haven't figured out yet how the tree gets moisture and nutrients.
00:05:41There are only places with oil deposits around.
00:05:45Locals think the tree is sacred.
00:05:47After all, it demonstrates the magic of life and the power of nature.
00:05:51Some experts are sure it's all about the roots.
00:05:54They go so deep that they can reach underground sources of water.
00:05:59So there you are.
00:06:01You've been driving for hours through the night.
00:06:03You didn't have any chance to sleep, so your mind is hanging by a thread.
00:06:08You stop the car and go out to stretch your limbs.
00:06:11And then you look up into the sky and see a beautiful sunrise.
00:06:15Whoa, wait, there are three suns in the sky.
00:06:19You rub your eyes, but nope, there are still three bright stars in the sky.
00:06:24No, our home star hasn't been torn into three pieces, nor has it been visited by two
00:06:29other stars.
00:06:31This is called a sun dog.
00:06:33It occurs mostly during severe frosts.
00:06:36Small ice crystals in the sky bend the light.
00:06:39As a result, you may see three bright spots in the sky instead of just one.
00:06:43This phenomenon is officially called a halo.
00:06:46Usually it's just a circle around the sun.
00:06:49You can even see a halo at night, too.
00:06:51Just look at a street lamp, and you'll see a bright circle around it.
00:06:55Sometimes, a halo can take on a fancier shape.
00:06:58If there's a lot of ice in the air, the light is warped even more.
00:07:02Just like in a room with a dozen mirrors.
00:07:05Then the halo can take on the shape of a human eye.
00:07:09Because of this phenomenon, a false dawn can also occur.
00:07:13While you're looking at the horizon, the dawn begins, and the edge of the sun appears.
00:07:18A little bit more, and wait, the sun starts to just dissolve in the sky.
00:07:24After a few moments, it's dark again.
00:07:27And only a minute later, the real sun shows its face.
00:07:31It was the same light curvature effect you saw before with the three suns.
00:07:35Only now, the light is curved vertically, not horizontally.
00:07:39And instead of the real sun, its reflection in ice crystals in the sky appeared.
00:07:44But the sunrise with three stars on the horizon is actually real.
00:07:49Not on Earth, though, but 340 light-years away.
00:07:53There's a star system at the center of which lurks a star almost twice the size of the
00:07:58sun.
00:07:59And there are two smaller stars orbiting around this giant.
00:08:02The strange world has a planet too.
00:08:05Sunsets and dawns there really happen with three stars.
00:08:09If you brought your significant other to a park bench to watch a sunset here, your date
00:08:14would go just fine.
00:08:16Whatever that means.
00:08:18And since we're talking about the most baffling natural phenomenon, it would be a crime not
00:08:23to mention snow in a desert.
00:08:25Yep, in the winter of 2018, the inhabitants of the Sahara Desert, one of the driest and
00:08:31hottest places on this planet, woke up to discover a thick blanket of snow covering
00:08:36the sand.
00:08:37In some places, the layer of snow enveloping the dunes reached a staggering 15 inches.
00:08:43Meteorologists, however, had an explanation for this exciting phenomenon.
00:08:48They stated that cold pools of air, combined with the precipitation from the most recent
00:08:53storm, resulted in a snowfall instead of rain.
00:08:57So what do you do in that case, build snow camels?
00:09:01One hump or two?
00:09:03The Baltic Sea Anomaly In 2011, a diving team came down to the bottom
00:09:08of the northern part of the Baltic Sea.
00:09:11They went on a treasure hunt, but what they came upon was a pretty weird object.
00:09:16When they took photos and showed them to others, many believed it was a sunken spaceship of
00:09:21another civilization.
00:09:25Other people thought that some natural causes formed the object, but the metals inside the
00:09:30structure definitely couldn't have been formed naturally.
00:09:33Now, some scientists even believe it was something that appeared way back in the Ice Age.
00:09:39Maybe it was even a meteorite that ended up trapped under ice back then.
00:09:45A maelstrom is a whirlpool, some sort of a powerful rotational current that forms when
00:09:51two currents collide and create a circular vortex.
00:09:55Even fearless Vikings were afraid of maelstroms because those were forces so powerful that
00:10:00they could sink large ships.
00:10:03These whirlpools remain dangerous even today, but luckily not for big modern ships that
00:10:08are large enough to withstand the power of maelstroms.
00:10:13But a cruise ship that gets into a maelstrom usually faces massive waves that can rock
00:10:18even big vessels from side to side pretty intensely.
00:10:23A maelstrom can be so strong it can turn into some sort of an underwater black hole.
00:10:29Yep, black holes are not only present in the cold expanse of space, you can find them here
00:10:34on our home planet too, swirling in the oceans.
00:10:38They're similar to those in space since they're compacted so tightly that nothing they trap
00:10:43can escape.
00:10:46Underwater black holes often span up to 93 miles in diameter, and if you got into one
00:10:52of those, you probably wouldn't even know it.
00:10:55These black holes act like vortices, but because of their size, even professionals can hardly
00:11:01see their boundaries.
00:11:04Here's something relaxing.
00:11:06Next time you go to the beach, pay attention, and maybe you'll see an optical phenomenon
00:11:11called the green flash.
00:11:13You can see it shortly after sunset or right before sunrise.
00:11:17It occurs when the sun is almost completely below the horizon, while its rim, the upper
00:11:22one, is still visible.
00:11:25For just a second or two, that upper edge of the sun will appear green.
00:11:31It's because you're looking at the sun through thicker parts of the atmosphere as it's moving
00:11:35down in the sky.
00:11:37As it's dipping below the horizon, light refracts, or bends, in the atmosphere and
00:11:42gets dispersed.
00:11:45Wait for a clear day with no clouds or haze on the horizon to see this phenomenon better.
00:11:52You've been looking forward to a nice swim, only to realize that the water in the ocean
00:11:57is red?
00:11:59Better avoid going in.
00:12:01Florida is known for its red tides.
00:12:04It occurs when the concentration of specific microscopic algae is higher than normal.
00:12:11Thousands of species of algae in marine and fresh waters are mostly harmless to animals
00:12:16and humans.
00:12:17They even help us, since they're an important source of oxygen.
00:12:21But some, like the algae that makes the ocean red, can be extremely dangerous for marine
00:12:26animals like sea turtles, fish, and seabirds.
00:12:31This kind can grow out of control and produce neurotoxins harmful to humans, especially
00:12:37those who have some respiratory issues.
00:12:40Such people should avoid red tide areas, especially when winds are strong enough to push the algae
00:12:45toward the shore.
00:12:49Volcanoes can spew poisonous gas, ash, and red-hot lava.
00:12:53Those are the most obvious dangers most of us already know about.
00:12:58Submarine volcanoes can be very tricky in their own way.
00:13:01Sometimes, when they're located in shallow waters, they reveal their presence by blasting
00:13:06debris of rock and steam high above the surface.
00:13:11Since submarine volcanoes are surrounded by an unlimited supply of water, they can behave
00:13:16differently from those on land.
00:13:18When they erupt, seawater gets into active submarine vents.
00:13:24Hot lava can be spreading across a shallow seafloor, or sometimes even flowing into the
00:13:28sea from land volcanoes.
00:13:31When in water, it may cool down so quickly that it shatters into rubble and sand.
00:13:36So, there are large amounts of volcanic debris left there.
00:13:40You know those popular black sand beaches in Hawaii?
00:13:44That's how they formed.
00:13:47Hot lava and powerful eruptions certainly don't sound safe, but submarine volcanoes
00:13:52in deeper waters are equally dangerous.
00:13:55Even though they're not necessarily erupting, they produce pockets of bubbles.
00:14:00These bubbles reduce the density of the surrounding waters, which can even sink ships.
00:14:07The worst thing is that when you look at the surface of the ocean, you can't understand
00:14:11something's wrong, but at the same time, tiny bubbles are there, causing ships to lose buoyancy
00:14:18and with very little warning.
00:14:22Cross sea is a rare phenomenon, beautiful to observe, but also very dangerous.
00:14:28It's when you see square waves, which are more common in shallow parts of the ocean.
00:14:33That's something you can often see in France or on certain beaches of Tel Aviv, but it
00:14:38can also happen in many coastal areas across the world.
00:14:43A cross sea occurs when two wave patterns travel at oblique angles.
00:14:48They form this checkerboard-like pattern.
00:14:51It mostly happens when two swells meet, or when a swell pushes waves in one direction,
00:14:56while a strong wind pushes them in another.
00:15:00These square waves can be dangerous for swimmers and boaters.
00:15:04The waves produced by strong ocean currents can be pretty unpredictable and tall, sometimes
00:15:09up to almost 10 feet.
00:15:11This phenomenon is sometimes called white walls.
00:15:15These waves can be so powerful that they can turn over even big boats.
00:15:21If you fill a clear glass with some ocean water and take a closer look, you'll see
00:15:26it's full of very small particles.
00:15:29Seawater contains dissolved salts, fats, algae, proteins, detergents, and other bits of artificial
00:15:35and organic matter.
00:15:38If you shake that glass, you'll see tiny bubbles forming on its surface.
00:15:43That's how seafoam forms when waves and winds agitate the ocean.
00:15:47When you see thick seafoam, algal blooms might have caused it.
00:15:52When big blooms of algae fall apart in the sea, large amounts of that matter move in
00:15:56the direction of dry land.
00:16:00Most kinds of seafoam aren't dangerous to humans.
00:16:03But when blooms of algae fall apart, it can have a negative impact on both the environment
00:16:08and people.
00:16:10For example, when seafoam bubbles pop, the toxins they contain get released into the
00:16:15air and they can irritate your eyes or cause some other health issues.
00:16:21You can see a tidal bore in the areas where a river empties into a sea or an ocean.
00:16:27It's a powerful tide that goes against the current and pushes up the river.
00:16:32A tidal bore falls into a category of something called the surge, which is a sudden change
00:16:37in depth.
00:16:38A tidal bore is a positive surge, which means it pushes up a river, making it much deeper.
00:16:45A negative surge is when the river suddenly becomes very shallow.
00:16:51You won't see tidal bores everywhere.
00:16:53The river must be fairly shallow with a narrow outlet to the sea.
00:16:57The place where the sea and the river meet must be flat and wide.
00:17:01Also, the area between low and high tide must be at least 20 feet across.
00:17:08Of course, there are some exceptions, like the Amazon River, the world's largest one.
00:17:13The mouth of the Amazon is not narrow, but the river experiences tidal bores.
00:17:19That's because its mouth is shallow and has many sandbars and low-lying islands.
00:17:24The tidal bore is so strong there that the river doesn't even have a delta.
00:17:29Its sediment goes directly into the Atlantic Ocean, where fast-moving currents take it
00:17:34away.
00:17:36A tidal bore is often unpredictable and can be extremely rough.
00:17:39In many cases, it changes the color of the river from greenish or blue to brown.
00:17:45It can damage vegetation or even tear trees out of the ground.
00:17:49So, recreation sports like kayaking and river surfing can be hazardous in these areas.
00:17:57Even if you just want to take a look at a tidal bore, be careful.
00:18:01Tidal waves can sweep over lookout points and drag whatever or whoever is there into
00:18:06the churning river.
00:18:09You're hiking in the wilderness, looking for a safe spot to set up camp.
00:18:13All you can hear are leaves and branches crackling under your footsteps.
00:18:17Some squirrels are running up a tree over there.
00:18:19But suddenly, something unexpected happens.
00:18:23You notice something weird in the distance in between the trees.
00:18:26It kind of looks like a concrete structure of some kind.
00:18:29Weird.
00:18:30At this point, you're at least 20 miles deep into the woods, and there are no nearby
00:18:35towns or villages, as far as you know.
00:18:38So, you decide to go off the trail with your friends to get a closer look.
00:18:43But as you get nearer, you realize that it's leading to…nowhere.
00:18:47Hmm, what's it doing here, in the middle of literally nowhere?
00:18:52And it doesn't even lead to anything!
00:18:54You put on your Sherlock Holmes cap and investigate.
00:18:58So, maybe there used to be an old house or mansion here that collapsed over the years,
00:19:04and the only thing left is a staircase?
00:19:07But weirdly enough, after circling the bizarre structure, you realize there's no trace
00:19:12of any ruins or even foundations.
00:19:15It's like someone just sliced a staircase off their house, cake-style, and plopped it
00:19:21here, for no reason, okay?
00:19:24You and your friends aren't really into getting a whole lot closer.
00:19:29But something feels wrong.
00:19:30The longer you look at this weird structure, the more you feel a super creepy presence.
00:19:36Something tells you you should probably leave the area as fast as possible.
00:19:41As weird as this sounds, discoveries of random staircases, illogically found in the woods,
00:19:46are surprisingly common.
00:19:48Some are made of wood, others of brick or stone.
00:19:52Some look ancient, while others look like they were finished yesterday.
00:19:56But one thing they all have in common – they all lead to absolutely nowhere, and they're
00:20:01all found in super mysterious locations.
00:20:04One of the most famous ones is in Chesterfield, New Hampshire.
00:20:08A long, medieval-looking staircase, made of stones with Roman arches in the middle of
00:20:13the woods.
00:20:14It's believed to have been part of Madame Antoinette Sherry's castle.
00:20:19She was a big singer back in Paris.
00:20:21The castle dates back about 100 years, and it was later discovered again in 1962.
00:20:27This time, there was nothing but a staircase.
00:20:31Another mysterious ancient staircase dates back to 9,000 years ago.
00:20:36It's in a forest in Italy.
00:20:38It looks like a series of stairs that lead to a tiny platform at the top.
00:20:43Now why go through all the trouble of building the thing if it leads to… nowhere?
00:20:48Some scientists think it could've been some sort of ritual tower, but your guess is as
00:20:53good as theirs.
00:20:55There's an anomaly in the Indian Ocean, known as the Indian Ocean Geoid Low, or IOGL.
00:21:03It produces the largest distorting natural gravitational force in the world.
00:21:08Heavy mineral deposits, many deep-sea trenches, and magma reservoirs disturb the magnetic
00:21:13field in this area.
00:21:15This gravity changes in different places around the planet.
00:21:19It allows researchers to look for patterns and figure out what's happening beneath
00:21:23the surface.
00:21:25Higher gravity fields usually mean denser materials below, and vice versa.
00:21:30Some scientists believe that the anomaly might be a dent in the planet's mantle that is
00:21:34working its way up to the crust.
00:21:38The Niihau Island actually rejects the fruits of today's advancements.
00:21:43There are no cars in sight since the locals get around on foot or by bicycles.
00:21:48No wonder their legs have great definition.
00:21:52They thrive without running water, internet, or shops.
00:21:56The only school on the entire island is powered by solar energy with a backup generator.
00:22:01And what's awesome is that it's the only school in the state that's powered by the
00:22:05sun.
00:22:06Being a resident of the island, the local explains some ground rules the permanent residents
00:22:11must abide by.
00:22:13If they do break these rules, they can be evicted.
00:22:18Not far from Bangkok, in northeastern Thailand, there's a 75-million-year-old rock formation.
00:22:25These rocks look like three whales swimming together.
00:22:28The beautiful design created by nature became known as Three Whales Rock.
00:22:34Millions of years ago, this area was just a desert, but the land was changing.
00:22:39Gradually, sandstone got pulled apart by the movements of tectonic plates and erosion.
00:22:44That's how these spectacular formations were created.
00:22:48If you decide to explore this system of trails around Three Whales Rock, you'll find waterfalls
00:22:53and an abundance of fauna and flora there.
00:22:58Located on Gamal and Gaiden peninsulas, these expansive pit holes were discovered in 2014.
00:23:04They seem to be still changing and evolving.
00:23:07The pits grow wider, and people find them more often.
00:23:10Of course, there's no shortage of theories about how they appeared.
00:23:14Suggestions range from meteorite impacts to the activity of other civilizations.
00:23:20But the most common explanation is that methane gas reacted to water molecules after the planet's
00:23:25permafrost started to melt.
00:23:28This resulted in bubbles of methane bursting through the ice.
00:23:31The craters could be thousands of years old, but nobody knows for sure.
00:23:37You're driving to the state of New Mexico, to the small town of Taos.
00:23:42Two percent of the locals hear a strange buzzing in the air every day.
00:23:47Some residents believe the sound is somehow connected with technologies used by guests
00:23:52from other galaxies.
00:23:55Also there is a theory that something sinister lives in the town.
00:23:59They say Taos is cursed.
00:24:01An evil spirit or a phantom punishes people for something their ancestors did in the past.
00:24:08Scientists still can't explain the nature of this sound.
00:24:11Another theory says it's caused by unusual acoustics of the location, while others think
00:24:16the buzzing is a hallucination.
00:24:18Some can hear it because everybody talks about something, and our minds create an illusion
00:24:23of the sound that doesn't really exist.
00:24:26The sound isn't the same for everyone either.
00:24:28For some, it's a low hum.
00:24:31For others, it's more of a buzzing sound.
00:24:33But this is not the only place where you can hear the strange noises.
00:24:38It's called the hum, and people worldwide claim to have heard it.
00:24:42Some dwellers of a small village in Scotland describe it as a low, thick hum, while some
00:24:48residents of Florida heard a similar sound too.
00:24:52It's not exactly known where this phenomenon appeared, but the first time the media started
00:24:57talking about it was in the 1970s in England.
00:25:00Also, there are written records of a mysterious buzzing dating back almost 200 years.
00:25:07According to some estimates, only about 2% of people on the planet can hear the hum.
00:25:12Perhaps their ears pick up some low frequency waves, or the reason is something else entirely.
00:25:18Maybe, just maybe, they hear humming because the person doing it doesn't know the words
00:25:24to the song.
00:25:25Yeah, that joke is also 200 years old.
00:25:29A volcano in Indonesia spews bright blue lava and produces electric blue and purple flames.
00:25:37This phenomenon occurs because the volcano has some of the highest levels of sulfur in
00:25:42the world.
00:25:43You can also know you're near it by its foul stench.
00:25:46But I digress.
00:25:49And when sulfuric gases interact with scorching hot air and get lit by the molten lava, they
00:25:54turn blue.
00:25:56You can also find the world's largest acid lake inside this crater.
00:26:00Yep, it's a real stinker.
00:26:04Underwater rivers and lakes are called brine pools for a reason.
00:26:08High salinity makes the water in them denser than the seawater around.
00:26:12That's why it sinks to the bottom, forming rivers and lakes.
00:26:16Those have waves of their own, and these waves can sometimes lap up against the shorelines.
00:26:22If you went down there in a submarine, it would easily float on the surface of a brine
00:26:26pool.
00:26:27But without a submarine, swimming in such a lake would be too risky.
00:26:31They contain too much toxic methane and hydrogen sulfide.
00:26:34Yeah, I'd pass on that too.
00:26:36But hey, be my guest!
00:26:39Cave of Crystals in Mexico is home to the world's most unique crystal formations.
00:26:44Thanks to super-rare conditions in the cave, crystals there grow to unbelievable sizes.
00:26:50The air inside is incredibly humid.
00:26:52The water contains tons of minerals that boost the growth of the milky white giants.
00:26:58Some of them are longer than telephone poles.
00:27:01Cylindrical snow doughnuts occur when a wind gust starts to roll some snow across a snowy
00:27:07area, as if making a snowball.
00:27:10If it was a real thing, it would eventually become too heavy for the wind to move.
00:27:15But a snow doughnut's center is hollowed out.
00:27:18This happens because its inner layer is too thin and is blown away when the doughnut is
00:27:22formed.
00:27:23This makes the thing lighter than a snowball.
00:27:26That's also why it rolls further.
00:27:28Unfortunately, snow doughnuts are rare because they need very precise conditions to appear.
00:27:35The Danikil Depression in Ethiopia is probably one of the most bizarre-looking places you'll
00:27:40ever see.
00:27:42It started with neon-colored hot springs, lava pools, and vast salt flats.
00:27:47But you gotta be especially careful there.
00:27:50Toxic gases are swirling over hydrothermal fields, and many pools are super-acidic.
00:27:55So don't go swimming… until at least 30 minutes after lunch.
00:28:00Just kidding.
00:28:02And finally, there's nothing mysterious about 28,000 rubber ducks found in the sea in 1992.
00:28:09That's when a ship transporting bath toys got lost in the ocean while traveling from
00:28:14Hong Kong to the US.
00:28:16Some of these ducks are still floating in the ocean several decades later.
00:28:19They've been spotted in South America, Alaska, Hawaii, and even Australia.
00:28:25And they make bath time lots of fun.
00:28:28Ooh, rubber ducky!
00:28:37You feel some rumbling from below.
00:28:39No, it's not your tummy.
00:28:40It's low and ominous.
00:28:42You look up and see strange lights hanging above the ground.
00:28:46They look like shimmering balls of light hovering high up in the sky.
00:28:50Your throat goes dry, and you gulp.
00:28:53That's what they call the earthquake lights.
00:28:56This phenomenon is poorly understood, but witnesses say they've seen it in different
00:29:00shapes and sizes.
00:29:02It could be in the form of light balls, sheet lightning, streamers, and a steady glow in
00:29:07the sky.
00:29:08Soon after, a strong earthquake follows.
00:29:12Scientists can't explain why those lights appear, and they don't always do either.
00:29:16Some believe that's a reaction of underground gases released into the atmosphere.
00:29:22Sure enough, an earthquake begins.
00:29:24But lucky you, it's not as strong as you expected.
00:29:28The ground is shaking, but you even manage to keep your balance.
00:29:31It stops as abruptly as it began, and you walk home.
00:29:35On the way home, you see a flash and hear a whip crack.
00:29:40Something has struck a lone tree near where you just stood.
00:29:43It's caught on fire, and there's a column of flames rising to the sky.
00:29:48Still no rain, and the pillar becomes taller and taller.
00:29:52Have you heard of such a thing as a fire tornado?
00:29:55These phenomena occur when the wind is caught in a circle close to the ground because of
00:30:00the difference in air pressure.
00:30:02Such mini-tornadoes are usually easy to notice.
00:30:05Small rubble, dust, sand, and leaves rise into the air and start flying in rapid circles.
00:30:11But then, if there's a source of fire nearby, the funnel can catch it and blow it stronger
00:30:17like bellows.
00:30:18The flames go round and round, reaching ever higher and eventually creating a swirling,
00:30:24blazing tower.
00:30:25Luckily, fire tornadoes are short-lived and don't normally cause much damage.
00:30:31But don't try to hide from the storm under that tree.
00:30:34You can find this unusual plant in Florida and in some parts of the Caribbean coast.
00:30:38Externally, it doesn't look special at all.
00:30:41A gray trunk, green leaves, and fruit similar to small apples.
00:30:45What you must remember is never to pluck these apples and never stand next to the tree, especially
00:30:51if it's raining.
00:30:53This is the Manchineel tree, which is considered the most dangerous in the world.
00:30:58Its trunk, bark, branches, and fruit contain poisonous juice.
00:31:04One drop of this corrosive, acidic liquid can harm your skin, a lot.
00:31:08The tree can secrete this juice, and if you accidentally touch it, you risk burning your
00:31:13hand.
00:31:15When it rains, water droplets fall on the tree and mix with the poison.
00:31:19Water can also bounce off the bark and get on your skin.
00:31:23That's why you shouldn't stand nearby either.
00:31:26There are almost no other shrubs or mushrooms growing around, animals avoid these trees,
00:31:31and people don't chop them and don't pluck the fruit.
00:31:34You can't make a bonfire from their branches.
00:31:37Burning wood emits poisonous smoke that can damage your eyes.
00:31:41Locals know this tree well, but tourists and travelers might accidentally get harmed.
00:31:46That's why most Manchineel trees are marked with paint or have a warning sign.
00:31:53In western Venezuela, locals living close to the Catatumbo River aren't afraid of lightning
00:31:58because they see it almost every single night.
00:32:01It starts at around 7 o'clock and doesn't stop until dawn.
00:32:05The everlasting Catatumbo lightning did once stop for a few months, from January to March
00:32:112010.
00:32:12It was probably due to drought, or maybe the charge ran out.
00:32:16In 1991, a scientist suggested that the phenomenon happens because of cold and warm air currents
00:32:22meeting in the area.
00:32:24Another theory is that the lightning could be due to the presence of uranium in the bedrock.
00:32:30Not all lightning happens inside clouds.
00:32:33There's a rare phenomenon called a dirty thunderstorm.
00:32:36The lightning happens above a volcano.
00:32:39The most famous is in Japan.
00:32:41It erupts almost every day and spits black clouds high into the air.
00:32:46So it's super scary volcano clouds plus lightning.
00:32:51Regular lightning happens during a storm when ice crystals bump into each other.
00:32:55In a dirty thunderstorm, bits of volcanic ash collide, create friction, and spark up
00:33:01the sky.
00:33:03In the hottest and one of the driest places on Earth, Africa's Doniquil Desert, temperatures
00:33:08often rise above 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
00:33:12The out-of-this-world landscape has many active volcanoes and geysers that spit out toxic
00:33:17gases like chlorine and sulfur.
00:33:19The vibrantly green, electric blue, and yellow waters are all rain and seawater warmed up
00:33:25by magma.
00:33:27One wrong step here and you'd be gone for good.
00:33:31This happened in June 2009.
00:33:33People in certain areas in Japan left their homes after a heavy downpour, only to find
00:33:38fish, frogs, and tadpoles everywhere.
00:33:42Fields, roads, lawns, and rooftops were littered with these aquatic creatures.
00:33:48One man was shocked to see 13 carp on and around his truck.
00:33:52Apparently, he stopped to count them.
00:33:54No one knows for sure where the bizarre rain came from, but the most popular theory claims
00:33:59that a powerful water spout picked up all these creatures.
00:34:03Then it carried them through the upper atmosphere and dropped the animals on the unsuspecting
00:34:07people below.
00:34:09And now, welcome to Abraham Lake in Canada.
00:34:12It's completely frozen.
00:34:14You step onto the transparent ice and look down at what lies beneath.
00:34:18No fish, just some mysterious frozen bubbles.
00:34:22They look like small clouds frozen in ice, or jellyfish who forgot to pack a winter jacket.
00:34:27There are thousands of these little bubbles made up of methane.
00:34:31But don't try to dig a hole in the ice to touch it.
00:34:34Methane is highly flammable.
00:34:36It's created by methane-producing bacteria that eats leaves, grass, insects, or any other
00:34:42organic stuff that gets into the lake.
00:34:44When the methane touches the frozen water, it turns into tens of thousands of frozen
00:34:49little balls.
00:34:50When the ice melts, they burst open and sizzle.
00:34:54Similar lakes can be found near some shores of the Arctic Ocean.
00:34:57There, the size of the bubbles can reach several times the size of hot air balloons.
00:35:02Beautiful for sure, but not exactly safe.
00:35:06The next shocking lake is in Indonesia, the island of Java.
00:35:10You come to a majestic volcano, overgrown with grass and trees.
00:35:15The volcano seems to be asleep, but smoke is pouring out of it.
00:35:20You climb to the summit.
00:35:21Exhausted, tired, sweaty, you're ready to cool off.
00:35:25Nice work, you made it to the top.
00:35:28You look into the mouth of the volcano.
00:35:30No boiling lava, just a beautiful, bright, turquoise lake down there.
00:35:35It looks like an oasis.
00:35:37Perfect time for a refreshing dip.
00:35:39You run down and get ready to jump in, but that's not water, that's acid!
00:35:44Sulfurous gases get into the lake from under the volcano.
00:35:48The lake itself is full of metals.
00:35:50When the gases touch them, they form that beautiful turquoise water.
00:35:54I mean, acid.
00:35:56Better head back to the nearest village, rest, and come back at night when it's cooler.
00:36:01In the dark, the lake seems to glow.
00:36:03Right above it, you see light-filled, exploding little clouds.
00:36:07The sulfurous gases rise out of the lake, combine with the air, and flash bright blue.
00:36:13Still, don't get too close.
00:36:16The sea turns sinister red, and no living being can survive in it.
00:36:21Must be some dark magic.
00:36:23In fact, it's tiny algae that spread uncontrollably, giving the water this specific tint called
00:36:29the red tide.
00:36:31They have toxins that destroy sea mammals, birds, and turtles, as well as creatures that
00:36:36feed on them.
00:36:37For humans, contact with it ends in breathing problems or seafood poisoning.
00:36:43Sometimes even huge ships sink in the open seas for no visible reason.
00:36:48That reason is often the pockets of bubbles that underwater volcanoes produce even while
00:36:52they're sleeping.
00:36:54Those productive magma factories are hidden under 8,500 feet of water.
00:36:59When they wake up, they act just like land volcanoes, and they can cause destructive
00:37:03tsunamis.
00:37:05This tree looks like a bottle.
00:37:07No wonder it's called the bottle tree.
00:37:10It grows in Namibia and attracts many tourists.
00:37:13But don't get too close to the tree because it's one of the most dangerous on Earth.
00:37:18Milky juice flows inside the trunk.
00:37:21It's highly toxic to the human body.
00:37:23On the bright side, though, the trees have beautiful pink-white leaves with a red core.
00:37:28There's a tree growing in Western Australia that was once used as a prison.
00:37:33A cell for criminals existed inside the Boab prison tree for a long time.
00:37:38People were usually kept there temporarily just for one night.
00:37:41After that, they were taken to their final destination.
00:37:44The prison was built more than 1,500 years ago and has been perfectly preserved to this
00:37:50day.
00:37:51Tourists visiting this place can sneak a peek inside.
00:37:56Kwajen Volcano in Indonesia is not your ordinary lava belching mountain.
00:38:01Instead of producing black smoke and red lava, as most volcanoes do, this eccentric
00:38:06guy lets out a blue flame and electric blue lava.
00:38:10This phenomenon occurs because the volcano contains some of the highest levels of sulfur
00:38:15in the world, and when the sulfuric gases interact with scorching air and get lit by
00:38:20the molten lava, they start to turn blue.
00:38:23Unfortunately, you can see this mesmerizing sight only at night, but you can smell it
00:38:28all day long.
00:38:30By the way, the world's largest acid lake is also located inside this crater.
00:38:35The Dead Sea has a high concentration of salt and minerals compared to other seas, even
00:38:40though it's technically a lake.
00:38:42Swimming is almost impossible, but people go there for the natural chemicals for the
00:38:46body.
00:38:47Floating on the surface is a great way to relax.
00:38:50This ancient body of water got its name because no macroscopic organisms can live there since
00:38:56it's 9.6 times saltier than oceans.
00:38:59Only a few bacteria and fungi can be found enjoying the salt.
00:39:03It's also Earth's lowest elevation on land at 1,400 feet below sea level.
00:39:10An underground crystal cave exists in Mexico, and it looks like some interstellar world.
00:39:16It's roughly 1,000 feet beneath the surface, with each spike measuring up to 35 feet in
00:39:21length and weighing up to 55 tons.
00:39:24These are some of the largest crystals in the world.
00:39:28Eskintire Beach is an endless strand of white sand dunes and azure water.
00:39:33But don't let the tropical vibes fool you.
00:39:35It's located in Scotland.
00:39:37That's why it mostly looks like this during May and June only.
00:39:41In December, the place gets only an average of one hour of sunshine per day, making it
00:39:45way more dramatic and monochrome.
00:39:49The Georgia Guidestones is a collection of giant stones in a star pattern.
00:39:54It has inscriptions in 8 languages, including Hindi, Chinese, and Swahili.
00:39:59It also has an astronomical calendar finished in 1980 and was built to last centuries.
00:40:05No one knows who built it or why.
00:40:09All the way over in sunny California is Sequoia National Park, home to the giant forest.
00:40:15It's been around for thousands of years.
00:40:17More than 8,000 of these colossal trees rule the land, including 10 of the largest living
00:40:22plants in the world.
00:40:24The General Sherman Sequoia is estimated to be up to 2,700 years old and is recognized
00:40:30as the world's largest known living tree by volume.
00:40:35The famous stone heads of Easter Island have been around for hundreds of years.
00:40:40No one knows exactly why they were built.
00:40:42Some scientists think that local people believed the statues would make the soil more fertile.
00:40:47Soil analysis proved the heads did their job well.
00:40:50It's the best agricultural spot on the island.
00:40:54The chemical composition of the ancient hot springs in Pamukkale, Turkey, makes the water
00:40:59pouring over the edge look magical.
00:41:02They're not only good for cleansing your body, but the mind too.
00:41:06All the way in Saudi Arabia is a rock sliced perfectly in the middle with two pieces sitting
00:41:11parallel.
00:41:12What makes al-Nasla so unique is that it wasn't artificially done, but is a result of nature's
00:41:18work over the years.
00:41:20This glacier may look like someone dropped tons of red paint in the middle of Antarctica,
00:41:25but it's actually the natural color.
00:41:27Blood falls is a result of extreme salted water mixed with iron oxide, giving out this
00:41:33eerie vibe in the middle of nowhere.
00:41:36In early May 2018, New England observed one of the scariest and most dangerous phenomena
00:41:42ever, a super long-track tornado.
00:41:45The frightening natural phenomenon started not far from Charleston, New Hampshire and
00:41:50traveled toward the town of Webster in Merrimack County.
00:41:53It took the tornado 33 minutes to cover 36 miles and become the third on the list of
00:41:58the longest track tornadoes in New England.
00:42:02In the Philippines, you can swim in some of the most crystal-clear waters and discover
00:42:06an underwater world below you in the province of Palawan.
00:42:11The municipality of Coron has white sandy beaches with many small boats riding through
00:42:16the many amazing sceneries.
00:42:19Tristan da Cunha is a small volcanic archipelago in the Atlantic, with the only neighboring
00:42:24cities of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Cape Town, South Africa.
00:42:28It takes 7 days by ship to get to this unique place.
00:42:32If you want to escape from the rest of the world, staying with the 280 locals will make
00:42:37you feel like you're away from everything.
00:42:41During the first week of January 2018, unusually cold weather in the Northeast United States
00:42:47froze the Atlantic Ocean in North Thalmouth, Massachusetts.
00:42:51What's more, the ocean was frozen so thoroughly that people were walking on the waves.
00:42:56Now that's obviously something you don't see every day.
00:43:00Red sand is what makes this beach unique and why tourists flock to Tianjin, China.
00:43:05A red-colored plant called a suede salsa dwells in the salt water.
00:43:10The whole beach is covered in red, with only the top layer of the sea visible.
00:43:15If there ever was a thing that said, I defy gravity out loud, it's the stone of Devasco
00:43:21in Argentina.
00:43:22The huge 300-ton boulder stands precariously on the edge of a cliff and rocks a little
00:43:28bit from side to side in the wind.
00:43:31People even checked it by putting glass bottles under one of its edges.
00:43:34They exploded with another movement of the rock.
00:43:37Unfortunately today, you can't see this wonder of nature as it was a century ago.
00:43:42In 1912, the boulder suddenly dropped from its perch, which it had occupied for literally
00:43:48hundreds of years.
00:43:49The people of the nearby town of Tandil were so sad about this event that 95 years later,
00:43:55in 2007, they decided to restore the stone.
00:43:59They made a plastic replica of the rock and put it on the same spot and even in the same
00:44:03position.
00:44:04So, even today, coming by Tandil, you can see its famous balancing boulder.
00:44:10More of a symbol now, of course, because it's no longer rocking and only weighs 9 tons,
00:44:15but instantly recognizable nonetheless.
00:44:19Socotra is an alien-like island off the coast of Yemen in the Indian Ocean with one of the
00:44:24most unique trees ever seen.
00:44:27It's called the Dragon Tree, and it can only be found on this amazing island.
00:44:32In 2008, it was labeled as a World Heritage Site.
00:44:37If you ever see a tight-burning column of air, don't panic – it's not the end
00:44:41of the world!
00:44:42The creepy combination of whirlwind sounds and scorching inferno means that you have
00:44:47crossed paths with a fire tornado, also known as fire twister or fire whirl.
00:44:53This dangerous phenomenon occurs mostly during wildfires.
00:44:57These fires create a big area of super-hot air just above the ground.
00:45:01When this scorching air gets mixed with the cooler air higher up, it results in a whirlwind
00:45:06that churns up burning debris and flames.
00:45:09The most powerful fire tornadoes can stretch hundreds of feet into the air.
00:45:14The House of Mystery in Gold Hill, Oregon amazes its visitors with gravity-defying effects.
00:45:20You can't stand straight there, always leaning to the side and having to hold on to something
00:45:25for balance.
00:45:26Balls roll upwards.
00:45:28There's also a broom that stands perfectly still wherever you put it, unlike virtually
00:45:33everything else in the shack.
00:45:35The local Native American tribes called this place the Forbidden Ground, even before the
00:45:40house was built there, and they avoid approaching it.
00:45:44The owners of the shack, though, decided to turn it into an attraction, and they succeeded.
00:45:49They created an atmosphere of mystery around the place, and spread the news about it in
00:45:53newspapers and later on the Internet, and voila, a perfect anomaly is made.
00:45:59In fact, it's no more than a curiosity.
00:46:01A human-made optical illusion that tricks your eyes and other senses.
00:46:07If you travel to the Philippines, Indonesia, or Papua New Guinea, you'll have a chance
00:46:11to see some of the most unusual and cheerful trees in the world.
00:46:15The trunk of the Rainbow Eucalyptus looks as if it had been painted orange, green, red,
00:46:21purple, yellow, brown, blue, you name it.
00:46:24Some trees are so bright that they seem artificial.
00:46:28The Rainbow Eucalyptus regularly sheds strips of bark, which reveals a bright green layer
00:46:33underneath.
00:46:34A bit later, this green layer gradually changes its color, and since the shedding happens
00:46:39at a different time in different places on the trunk, the tree starts to look multicolored
00:46:44and very attractive.
00:46:47Yemen is home to the oldest skyscrapers in the world and the oldest metropolis.
00:46:52The ancient city of Shabam is considered to be the Manhattan of the desert due to the
00:46:57collection of mud buildings popping out of the desert floor.
00:47:00It used to be a caravan stop during ancient times.
00:47:05Let's head to the Middle East.
00:47:09There's a large desert here, and it's completely dark, except for one spot.
00:47:15It's a big circle that glows with a bright orange light, the Darvaza Crater, and it's
00:47:21just a giant gas burner.
00:47:23Years ago, geologists found gas here and they started mining for it, but when they excavated,
00:47:29they came across a void underground.
00:47:32The void collapsed, and it formed a crater.
00:47:36It's as wide as half a soccer field and as deep as a five-story building.
00:47:41Gas began to come out of the cracks in the crater, and since animals were often grazing
00:47:46near this place, the geologists decided to set these gas streams on fire to exhaust the
00:47:51source.
00:47:53Geologists thought the fire would be over in a day or two, but if you come here now,
00:47:58you'll see this gateway to the underworld is still burning, and it's been going on for
00:48:03almost 50 years.
00:48:05In 2013, a man descended to the bottom of the burning crater for the first time.
00:48:10He collected many different samples there, and scientists were able to find bacteria
00:48:15that aren't found anywhere else on Earth.
00:48:18They're quite comfortable at the bottom of this endless burning frying pan.
00:48:23In 2009, a man in L'Aquila, Italy, saw flickering lights dancing above the stone street.
00:48:30He immediately knew what to do and moved his family to a safer place.
00:48:35Only seconds later, a massive 8.3-magnitude earthquake hit the whole region.
00:48:41His knowledge of the strange lights saved his and his family's lives.
00:48:45So what are those mysterious warnings?
00:48:48For centuries, people interpreted the lights as something otherworldly.
00:48:52The scientific community didn't take them seriously, just put them down to a false recollection,
00:48:58a mind trick, or pure imagination.
00:49:01With the introduction of surveillance cameras and smartphones, the amount of evidence grew
00:49:06enormously.
00:49:07Now, the connection was obvious.
00:49:09Lights appear, and an earthquake hits.
00:49:12So experts finally started taking it seriously and started digging for the truth.
00:49:18But after years of research, to this day, geologists are still not fully sure what the
00:49:23source of the lights is.
00:49:25But they have recognized five types of them.
00:49:28Light flashes that light up the sky, looking like storm lightning or a strong camera flash.
00:49:34Rays in the sky that can look like light columns.
00:49:38Different-sized flames that come through the ground.
00:49:41Diffused blows over the mountains.
00:49:44And slow-moving balls of light that can be misinterpreted as ball lightning.
00:49:49Another equally little-understood atmospheric phenomenon, these are literal balls of lightning
00:49:55that can float and explode, leaving a sulfuric odor behind.
00:49:59But unlike ball lightning, these spherical EQLs seem to be harmless, if you don't count
00:50:05what's coming afterward.
00:50:07But with all these types of lights, experts can't know how exactly they're connected to
00:50:13earthquakes.
00:50:14They don't only show up before one hits.
00:50:16Some have been reported during and after earthquakes.
00:50:19They can also appear with other phenomena, like meteorite crashes, volcanic eruptions,
00:50:25or auroras.
00:50:27For now, scientists can only come up with theories to explain the unexplainable.
00:50:32One of the recent ones claimed the lights were electric lines being broken during an
00:50:37earthquake.
00:50:38But this theory doesn't explain how the phenomenon was observed hundreds or even thousands of
00:50:43years ago.
00:50:44Like the ancient Chinese tale of dragon-looking clouds appearing in the sky as a warning of
00:50:50an upcoming quake.
00:50:52Or how an ancient Roman historian reported huge flame-like lights bursting out just before
00:50:58a huge earthquake occurred.
00:51:00The electric line theory was quickly dismissed.
00:51:04Another theory suggested it was escaping gas.
00:51:07During an earthquake, the underground rocks expand and shrink under pressure and heat.
00:51:12This opens and closes small spaces between them.
00:51:16Different gases make their way through these new openings.
00:51:19Radon, for example, can get released during seismic activity.
00:51:24It can ionize the air, making it electrically charged.
00:51:28But radon doesn't do it enough to create bright sparks of light.
00:51:32This theory is close, but doesn't quite hit the mark.
00:51:36One of the most accepted theories is that it might be from electricity traveling up
00:51:40from underground.
00:51:42When underground igneous rocks, ones that form from magma deep within the Earth, are
00:51:47under stress, they release ionized, or electrically charged, oxygen.
00:51:52It travels through the surface and up into the atmosphere, where it creates a localized
00:51:57electric field.
00:51:59That can produce brief flashes of visible light.
00:52:02Some aren't even that quick, and can go on for minutes at a time.
00:52:07So there you are.
00:52:08You've been driving for hours through the night.
00:52:11You didn't have any chance to sleep.
00:52:13So your mind is hanging by a thread.
00:52:16You stop the car and go out to stretch your limbs.
00:52:19And then you look up into the sky and see a beautiful sunrise.
00:52:24Whoa, wait!
00:52:26There are three suns in the sky!
00:52:28You rub your eyes, but nope.
00:52:30There's still three bright stars in the sky.
00:52:33No, our home star hasn't been torn into three pieces.
00:52:37Nor has it been visited by two other stars.
00:52:40This is called a sun dog.
00:52:43It occurs mostly during severe frosts.
00:52:46Small ice crystals in the sky bend the light.
00:52:49As a result, you may see three bright spots in the sky instead of just one.
00:52:54This phenomenon is officially called a halo.
00:52:58Usually it's just a circle around the sun.
00:53:01You can even see a halo at night, too.
00:53:03Just look at a street lamp, and you'll see a bright circle around it.
00:53:08Sometimes, a halo can take on a fancier shape.
00:53:11If there's a lot of ice in the air, the light is warped even more.
00:53:16Just like in a room with a dozen mirrors.
00:53:18Then, the halo can take on the shape of a human eye.
00:53:23Because of this phenomenon, a false dawn can occur, too.
00:53:27While you're looking at the horizon, the dawn begins, and the edge of the sun appears.
00:53:33A little bit more, and...
00:53:35Wait, the sun starts to just dissolve in the sky!
00:53:38After a few moments, it's dark again.
00:53:41And only a minute later, the real sun shows its face.
00:53:45It was the same light curvature effect you saw before with the three suns.
00:53:50Only now, the light is curved vertically, not horizontally.
00:53:54And instead of the real sun, its reflection in ice crystals in the sky appeared.
00:54:00And now, moving on.
00:54:02This cloud looks like a dinosaur.
00:54:04And this one looks like a cat.
00:54:06And this...
00:54:07Whoa, it looks like these clouds are falling down!
00:54:11Oh, phew, that's just a mammatus cloud.
00:54:14Their shape really makes them look like chunks of cloud about to slam on the ground.
00:54:19Well, that's not going to happen, but you better start seeking cover anyway.
00:54:24Such clouds are a sign of a severe thunderstorm coming.
00:54:27It takes a lot of moist air with ice crystals at the top
00:54:31and dry air at the bottom to create such clouds.
00:54:34Then, vertical currents of air appear between these layers.
00:54:38And these currents make the clouds take the shape of a human brain.
00:54:45And this giant cloud looks like a dome that's going to cover an entire city.
00:54:49In fact, that's exactly what happens.
00:54:52A huge cloud covers a large area and then rains heavily on it.
00:54:56Sometimes, the front of such a cloud takes a bizarre shape,
00:55:00like in these pictures.
00:55:02It looks more like several giant spaghetti clouds,
00:55:05or even giant cloud worms.
00:55:08This phenomenon can often be seen in Australia,
00:55:11and it's called morning glory.
00:55:13It happens because a strong wind twists part of the cloud on both sides.
00:55:18And then, the huge sheet of air dough splits into thick strips.
00:55:22And sometimes, you can see clouds in the sky made of... birds!
00:55:27Wow, that cloud moves quickly and changes shape.
00:55:31It becomes more transparent, but then denser and darker again.
00:55:35The birds seem to be involved in some kind of dance or performance.
00:55:39But they're not doing it for beauty,
00:55:41or for the crowds of spectators gathered below.
00:55:44They're doing it for protection.
00:55:46When birds group themselves into such a cloud,
00:55:49they intimidate birds of prey.
00:55:51An eagle or hawk would have a hard time picking out a single target
00:55:56among the endless number of birds.
00:55:58And they move quickly, covering each other.
00:56:02Fish are huddled together in schools in the same way.
00:56:05Such a cloud might just spook a hungry predator.
00:56:08Grab some sunglasses, and you're good to go.
00:56:12This phenomenon lasts around 40 minutes.
00:56:15These clouds are the same ones that can cause a spooky ring
00:56:18around the moon at night sometimes.
00:56:20Nature sends early signs of disasters in many different ways.
00:56:24J-shaped trees might mean there's a landslide coming.
00:56:28Since the ground is moving slowly,
00:56:30the trees grow into this super-selfiable shape.
00:56:34Try to find a flat area and avoid going near any trees
00:56:38unless you have superhuman strength.
00:56:40Another mystical phenomenon can be seen in the desert.
00:56:44A sand waterfall.
00:56:46When the wind brings a lot of sand to the edge of the canyon,
00:56:49it begins to fall down.
00:56:51Now amplify this effect 100 times,
00:56:54and you get a sand waterfall in Saudi Arabia.
00:56:58It's really like Niagara Falls,
00:57:00only there's not a drop of water.
00:57:03The locals say this phenomenon warns of an impending sandstorm.
00:57:09The Liquid Rainbow, or the River of Five Colors, exists,
00:57:13and it's located in La Macarena, Colombia.
00:57:16Here, you'll be able to see red, yellow, green,
00:57:18and purple waters flow down the river.
00:57:21And the color depends on the water or light conditions.
00:57:24The Macarena clavigera, an aquatic plant,
00:57:27is the one responsible for this beautiful natural phenomenon.
00:57:31It latches onto the rocks found in the riverbed
00:57:33and gives the river that particular reddish hue.
00:57:36It also helps that the water here is really clear
00:57:39since there are almost no nutrients or other small particles.
00:57:43The hottest place on Earth,
00:57:45and the lowest point in all of North America,
00:57:47is called the Death Valley.
00:57:49While traveling there, you may be tricked into thinking
00:57:51you're suddenly surrounded by ice.
00:57:54But that's not frozen water, it's actually salt.
00:57:57As rain mixes with minerals,
00:57:59they dissolve the outer layer of rocks surrounding the area.
00:58:02When the water evaporates, we're only left with the salt.
00:58:06This surreal landscape becomes even more striking
00:58:08once you see the dunes.
00:58:10They only account for a small portion of Death Valley,
00:58:13but are some of the most memorable sights,
00:58:15some rising over 680 feet.
00:58:18Should you ever be at the top of the dunes,
00:58:20you may be lucky enough to experience
00:58:22one of the strangest wonders of the desert, singing sand.
00:58:26Truth is, we've yet to fully understand this phenomenon.
00:58:29One explanation could be that the sand
00:58:31that slides down the dunes actually creates this sound
00:58:35because of the friction between its grains.
00:58:37When listening to it,
00:58:38it's similar to an airplane flying in the distance.
00:58:41This is one of the few places on Earth
00:58:43where the sand makes such a loud noise
00:58:46that it can be heard by visitors,
00:58:48along with the Namib Desert in Africa
00:58:50or the Barking Sands of Hawaii.
00:58:53Earthquake lights can appear before, during,
00:58:56or immediately after an earthquake.
00:58:58These white and blue lights
00:58:59generally last for just a few seconds,
00:59:02but you might catch one of those rare 10-minute ones
00:59:04too at times.
00:59:06It's difficult to study this natural phenomenon
00:59:08because earthquake lights seem to appear
00:59:10at different distances
00:59:12from the epicenter of the earthquake.
00:59:14Sometimes they happen directly over the epicenter,
00:59:16other times as far as 250 miles away.
00:59:20What we do know is that they only happen
00:59:22when the earthquake is strong enough,
00:59:24a Richter scale rating of 5.0 or above.
00:59:27It may have something to do
00:59:28with the release of ionized oxygen
00:59:30by the breaking of certain stone types.
00:59:33This unusual occurrence is called the Hestalen lights
00:59:36and only happens on a small patch of land in Norway.
00:59:39They were first noticed in the 1930s.
00:59:42They also neither hover over the valley
00:59:44or move at great speed,
00:59:45lasting just a couple of seconds.
00:59:47They are rainbow-colored patches in yellow, white, and red.
00:59:51On average, people have seen them
00:59:53between 10 and 20 times per year.
00:59:55The rare element called scandium
00:59:57might be responsible for this weird phenomenon.
01:00:01The Hestalen lights might be the effect of it
01:00:03combusting with deposits of hydrogen, oxygen, and sodium.
01:00:07This solar phenomenon makes vertical objects
01:00:10look like they have no shadows in broad daylight.
01:00:12For this to happen, the sun needs to be at a 90-degree angle
01:00:16directly above our planet.
01:00:17It's called Lahaina noon.
01:00:19It translates to cruel sun in Hawaiian.
01:00:22To see it, you'll need to visit any location
01:00:25like Singapore, Nicaragua, and parts of the Philippines
01:00:28that has a zero-degree latitude.
01:00:30In any of these places,
01:00:31you can enjoy Lahaina noon twice a year.
01:00:35People can see a clear reflection of the sky
01:00:37in the waters of Sassaran Beach, Hualalampur, twice a month.
01:00:42That's because the tides are the lowest
01:00:43during the new moon and full moon days.
01:00:46The thin layer of water stretches across the smooth sand
01:00:49and makes it look like a mirror.
01:00:51Locals call it Mirror of the Sky,
01:00:54and it's a great place to take pictures
01:00:55that almost look Photoshopped.
01:00:58The Namib Desert in Namibia is unlike any other desert.
01:01:01These weird circular patches spread all across the Namib
01:01:05in an area of about 1,553 miles.
01:01:09They're also nicknamed the Fairy Circles,
01:01:11and the mysterious phenomenon that causes them
01:01:14was discovered a few years ago in 2017.
01:01:17For starters, since there is little water in the desert,
01:01:20plants compete for food and eventually disappear.
01:01:23Here's where the patches come from.
01:01:25But then the patches are taken over by termites,
01:01:28so nothing can grow back in the same area.
01:01:31The mountainside of Zanzhai National Geopark in China
01:01:35is known for its splashes of rainbow
01:01:37and thick straight lines.
01:01:38The rocks here are also smooth, sharp,
01:01:41and several hundred meters tall.
01:01:43The resulting colors are caused by deposits of sandstone
01:01:46and other minerals dating back over 24 million years.
01:01:50Wind and other weather conditions
01:01:52sculpted these stunning shapes over time,
01:01:54giving them varying colors, sizes, and patterns.
01:01:57To preserve the location,
01:01:59tourists are not allowed to climb directly on these rocks.
01:02:02Underneath the frozen waters of Lake Abraham in Alberta,
01:02:06you'll be able to spot some weird objects beneath the ice
01:02:09that look like frozen jellyfish.
01:02:11These creepy formations are just frozen methane bubbles,
01:02:14meaning pockets of gas that were trapped underwater
01:02:17and got stuck there after the lakes turned to ice.
01:02:20They're made when leaves and grass fall into the water
01:02:22and are eaten by bacteria,
01:02:24which transforms them into methane.
01:02:26It's nice to look at, but dangerous,
01:02:28since it can easily become highly flammable.
01:02:32When the temperatures rise during the spring,
01:02:34the ice melts and these gassy bubbles pop and fizz.
01:02:38It's a spectacular sight.
01:02:40Just remember not to have any fire source nearby.
01:02:43Scientists have found these types of methane bubbles
01:02:46out there stretched over 3,000 feet long areas.
01:02:49The Kjerug Bolton Boulder got trapped there
01:02:52during the alternating melting of Norwegian glaciers
01:02:55in the flooding of the valleys.
01:02:56It's become a popular hiking location
01:02:59and an even more popular one for taking pictures.
01:03:02Visiting it does take you more than 3,280 feet high.
01:03:06These are lenticular clouds,
01:03:08and they create a lovely illusion.
01:03:10If you look at them, you might think they look like mountains
01:03:13that are somehow wearing white, fluffy hats.
01:03:16These clouds are most common
01:03:17where strong, wet winds blow over harsh terrain.
01:03:21Mount Fuji is famous for its lenticular clouds,
01:03:24but they were also seen at Mount Rainier
01:03:26in Washington and Mount Aragal in Ireland.
01:03:30This forest of giant limestone spikes is called Syngi,
01:03:34which translates to where one cannot walk barefoot
01:03:37or walk on tiptoes for people living in Madagascar.
01:03:41To see these needle-like formations from this national park,
01:03:45a bridge was set in a place where tourists can walk across,
01:03:48covering more than 580 square miles.
01:03:51This forest has some rock pinnacles
01:03:53reaching over 2,500 feet high.
01:03:56In the colder season, New York's Letchworth State Park,
01:03:59sometimes called the Grand Canyon of the East,
01:04:02has its own phenomenon.
01:04:04Water from a natural spring-fed fountain freezes mid-flight,
01:04:07making a sharp ice volcano.
01:04:10It also grows larger and larger as winter days pass,
01:04:13sometimes growing as tall as 50 feet.
01:04:16Selenisurus grandiflorus.
01:04:19Meh, let's leave it on the screen for now.
01:04:21Right, this one looks like a wilted cactus on any given day.
01:04:25But on one magical summer evening,
01:04:27this mysterious plant makes up
01:04:28these vanilla-scented white blooms.
01:04:31Unfortunately, it only lasts until the next morning.
01:04:34For botany enthusiasts, there is an annual show
01:04:37at Tucson's Tohono Chul Botanical Gardens,
01:04:40which features the largest collection of such plants.
01:04:43The annual show is quite tricky to organize too
01:04:45since the bloom can only be predicted on the day it happens.
01:04:49To witness a rare, golden waterfall,
01:04:52you'll just have to drive out to Yosemite National Park
01:04:55at the Horsetail Falls.
01:04:57Plan your trip in winter or early spring.
01:04:59That's the only time during the year
01:05:01when this weird phenomenon can be spotted.
01:05:03It's nothing more than sunlight at dusk
01:05:06hitting the waterfall in such a unique way
01:05:08that it makes it look like a river of lava
01:05:10or gold, the viewer's choice.
01:05:13That's the reason why during this time of year,
01:05:15the Horsetail Falls is also named the Fire Fall.
01:05:19This site is becoming less and less visible
01:05:21in recent years because of drought.
01:05:23Now, picture this.
01:05:25You're watching a volcano erupt,
01:05:26which is a scary view by itself.
01:05:28But suddenly, you notice ominous, bright flashes
01:05:32lighting up the sky over the volcano.
01:05:34It takes the nightmarishness of the experience
01:05:37to a whole new level.
01:05:39One causes static electricity,
01:05:41which occurs when dense ash particles rub together
01:05:44not very high above the ground.
01:05:46The other source of volcanic lightning
01:05:48is high above the surface, near the stratosphere,
01:05:51where chaotically moving ice crystals
01:05:53set free powerful jolts.
01:05:57Salar del Uyuni feels like you're standing
01:05:59on top of a large mirror,
01:06:01but it's actually a salt flat
01:06:02of more than 4,000 square miles.
01:06:05It's located in Bolivia,
01:06:06South America's highest elevated country.
01:06:10This natural mirror is a remnant of prehistoric lakes
01:06:13that had evaporated a long time ago.
01:06:16Even though it may look flat,
01:06:18GPS technology proved that some of the landscape
01:06:21has some little defaults
01:06:23that are all less than an inch small.
01:06:25The place is so bogged
01:06:27that it has around 10 billion tons of salt.
01:06:30If you get there at the right time,
01:06:32some of the nearby lakes overflow
01:06:34with a small layer of water,
01:06:35which acts as the mirror of the sky.
01:06:38Many locals extract salt and lithium from there.
01:06:41Don't forget to pass by the world's first salt hotel
01:06:44when you visit.
01:06:45You can find a real rainbow mountain in Peru.
01:06:48Scientists still can't explain it.
01:06:50The colorful peak is hard to reach,
01:06:52but seeing the blue, red, green, yellow,
01:06:54and pink colors in nature is something to remember.
01:06:59Now, what looks like frozen flying saucers
01:07:01is, in fact, pockets of highly flammable
01:07:04and combustible methane gas.
01:07:07Trapped underwater,
01:07:08it forms psychedelic landscapes and stunning patterns.
01:07:11Typical for northern lakes,
01:07:13such as Lake Abraham in Alberta, Canada,
01:07:16these bubbles appear when dead animals,
01:07:18leaves, and plants fall into the water
01:07:20and get consumed by bacteria.
01:07:22These bacteria later excrete methane gas.
01:07:25Wow, I can smell it from here.
01:07:28In late March, 2018,
01:07:30Eastern Europe witnessed an event
01:07:32as beautiful as it was spooky.
01:07:35Skiers glided down tangerine slopes
01:07:38under the red-tinted sky.
01:07:40Puzzled and excited,
01:07:41people described this experience as walking on Mars
01:07:44or skiing down sand dunes.
01:07:47But however mysterious this phenomenon seems,
01:07:49it has a disappointingly simple explanation.
01:07:53The sponsor of the extraterrestrial landscape
01:07:56was a powerful sandstorm
01:07:57that had arrived from the Sahara Desert.
01:08:00This storm had brought along dust,
01:08:01sand, and pollen particles that colored the snow orange.
01:08:05It's not a one-time natural phenomenon.
01:08:07Meteorologists say that orange snow
01:08:10covers the lands of Eastern Europe
01:08:11at least once every five years.
01:08:13Meanwhile, don't eat the orange snow.
01:08:17On February 20th and 21st of 2018,
01:08:21people in the northeastern part of the US
01:08:23experienced one of the most extraordinary weather events
01:08:26of recent times, and it was a heat wave.
01:08:29Yep, in February.
01:08:31In fact, it was the most impressive winter heat wave
01:08:34since official weather records started in the 1800s.
01:08:38For example, in Freiburg, Maine,
01:08:39people were taking off their coats
01:08:41after the temperature had risen
01:08:43to a baffling 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
01:08:45In Fitchburg, Massachusetts,
01:08:47confused people put on sandals
01:08:49when they saw the temperature outside, 80 degrees.
01:08:52The same was happening in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,
01:08:55where the temperature reached 83,
01:08:57and in Wells, Maine,
01:08:58where the thermometer showed 77 degrees.
01:09:02Now, around 11,000 years ago,
01:09:04in present-day Turkey,
01:09:06with no cities or metal tools whatsoever,
01:09:09some incredibly skilled craftsmen completed Gobekli Tepe.
01:09:13How they managed to chip and lift limestone blocks
01:09:16three times as heavy as a T-Rex
01:09:18and what they symbolize is still unknown.
01:09:23One mind-blowing fact about Devil's Tower in Wyoming, USA,
01:09:27is that scientists can't explain
01:09:29how it came to existence in the first place.
01:09:31You see, it's an 867-foot rock formation
01:09:35with walls so steep they're basically vertical.
01:09:39This piece of stone just arose
01:09:41amid the rolling plains of Wyoming
01:09:43with nothing like it for miles and miles around.
01:09:46So how is it that such a flat landscape
01:09:48could've suddenly given birth to something so tall?
01:09:51Theories abound, but nobody has the answer yet.
01:09:57Croatia's Plitvice Lakes National Park
01:10:00is a major tourist attraction and a World Heritage Site
01:10:03with many unique animals and plants teaming around.
01:10:06It looks like an epic movie set
01:10:08with infinite waterfalls flowing from every direction
01:10:12and the clear lakes all around.
01:10:15In the mid-1980s, a scuba diver discovered
01:10:18the Yanaguni Monument off the coast of Japan.
01:10:21Scientists are positive this collection of structures
01:10:24is thousands of years old,
01:10:26but they still can't decide if it's natural or man-made.
01:10:29In case it proves to be an ancient city,
01:10:32the new mystery is what lost civilization built it
01:10:35and how did it make it to the bottom of the sea?
01:10:39The shape and formations of these rocks
01:10:41aren't a result of some human's work.
01:10:43They were created by intense volcanic eruptions.
01:10:46Scientists are still confused why the Giant's Causeway
01:10:50in Ireland is shaped in such a weird way.
01:10:54Back in 1812, for an unknown reason,
01:10:57an English farmer paid a local painter
01:10:59to remove tons of soil on a hillside
01:11:02and fill the contours with chalk.
01:11:04The painter ran away with the money,
01:11:06so the farmer had to pay a second time
01:11:09to get the Alton Barn's white horse finished.
01:11:13Black Falls in Iceland get their name
01:11:15from the dark lava columns surrounding it.
01:11:18The base of the waterfall has sharp rocks.
01:11:20The entire structure was the inspiration
01:11:22for Icelandic architecture
01:11:24seen in some of their famous buildings.
01:11:27You can see hair ice in the forest on a humid winter night.
01:11:32Resembling cotton candy or a white hair wig,
01:11:35unusual ice crystals grow on rotting wood.
01:11:38Unfortunately, this beauty melts as soon as the sun comes up.
01:11:42Only recently have scientists discovered
01:11:44what creates hair ice.
01:11:46All this time it was, are you ready?
01:11:48Fungus, yep.
01:11:50It allows the ice to form super thin hairs
01:11:53and helps them to support this form throughout the night.
01:11:56When this particular type of fungus isn't present,
01:11:58instead of fragile hair,
01:12:00ice forms a crust-like structure.
01:12:04Now, one of the most common causes of wildfires
01:12:06is lightning from thunderstorms.
01:12:09But have you ever heard of a wildfire
01:12:11that triggered a thunderstorm?
01:12:13Well, now you know.
01:12:15It happened on May 11th, 2018,
01:12:17not far from Amarillo, Texas.
01:12:19Then the super powerful Mallard Fire
01:12:22not only created a massive dense cloud high in the air,
01:12:25its heat also caused a violent thunderstorm
01:12:29that later dumped tons of quarter-sized hailstones
01:12:3260 miles away in Wheeler County, Texas.
01:12:37Carhenge is the weirdest landmark of Nebraska.
01:12:40Its author studied the real Stonehenge
01:12:42and created his own version out of old cars
01:12:45as a tribute to his father.
01:12:47Some cars stand like monoliths.
01:12:50Others are connected into arches.
01:12:53When asked why he did all this,
01:12:55the creator of the construction said,
01:12:57why not?
01:12:59Another Stonehenge lookalike was found
01:13:01on the bottom of Lake Michigan in 2007.
01:13:04There's a group of rocks in a circle
01:13:06and carvings of a mastodon.
01:13:08This beast ceased existing over 10,000 years ago,
01:13:12so the carving has to be older than that.
01:13:14Its location is kept secret from the public.
01:13:17Good luck finding it.
01:13:18Canada's Hudson Bay is probably the only place in the world
01:13:21where gravity is indeed lower
01:13:23than anywhere else on the planet.
01:13:26Even skeptics can't smirk at it
01:13:27because the difference has been measured
01:13:29with precision equipment.
01:13:31So does it mean that the gravity here
01:13:33is as low as, say, on the moon?
01:13:36Eh, unfortunately, or is it luckily?
01:13:38I'm not sure yet.
01:13:39The difference is minuscule.
01:13:41The exact value is 0.005,
01:13:44or 0.005 times the mass of the Earth.
01:13:470.005, or one 200th of a percent.
01:13:51You won't be able to feel it even if you try your hardest,
01:13:53but it's still there.
01:13:55Scientists say this anomaly exists
01:13:57because of the ice sheet that covered the area
01:13:59about 10,000 years ago.
01:14:01It compressed the rocks so much
01:14:04that they still can't fully recover,
01:14:05shifting the gravitational field in Hudson Bay.
01:14:08Sometime in the future, though,
01:14:10the gravity will return to normal in this area as well.
01:14:14In 2010, fossilized fish were uncovered
01:14:18250 miles west of the Nile River,
01:14:20where the Sahara Desert was as arid as ever.
01:14:23This chance finding led scientists to believe
01:14:26there could've been a sea where the Sierra is now.
01:14:29So they conducted a geological survey of the area,
01:14:32and it yielded unexpected results.
01:14:35They found evidence of something huge under the sands,
01:14:38and it wasn't part of any sea at all.
01:14:43For several months, the research continued
01:14:45with GPS equipment on land,
01:14:47and later, when all the ground data was collected,
01:14:50scientists took a look at the area from a satellite.
01:14:52The view was astounding.
01:14:54It turned out there was an enormous basin
01:14:57underneath the desert, with another smaller one nearby.
01:15:01Along the shores of these basins,
01:15:03ancient human settlements had been found previously,
01:15:06and now the researchers finally had the answer
01:15:09as to why exactly they had chosen those spots to live.
01:15:12There had been a lake of impressive proportions,
01:15:15over 42,000 square miles of freshwater in total,
01:15:19about half the size of Lake Michigan.
01:15:23That's it for today.
01:15:24So hey, if you pacified your curiosity,
01:15:26then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
01:15:29Or if you want more, just click on these videos
01:15:31and stay on the Bright Side.