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The Painted Hills, located about 9 miles northwest of the town of Mitchell, Oregon, is named after the colorful layers of its hills corresponding to various geological eras, formed when the area was an ancient river floodplain. Distinguished by varied stripes of red, tan, orange, and black, this area is listed as one of the Seven Wonders of Oregon.
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A petrifying well gives objects a stone-like appearance. If an object is left into such a well for a period of weeks or months the object acquires a stony exterior. Notable example of petrifying well in England is the spring at Mother Shipton’s Cave in Knaresborough where objects left suspended in the calcium-rich water are gradually turned to stone. For many centuries, locals believed that this petrifying well was cursed by the devil . The fact that the side of the well looked like a giant’s skull fueled their fears that they too would be turned to stone.The Knaresborough petrifying well was first opened to the public in 1630 and still amazes visitors to this day.
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The Golden Bridge located in Vietnam, among the Ba Na Hills 1,400 meters above sea level, appears to be held up by a pair of giant stone hands. The bridge is 150 meters long. Visitors can admire the infinite scenery and majestic mountainscape.
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Mitchell Falls is a four-tiered waterfall located within Mitchell River National Park in Western Australia. Access to the falls is by helicopter or via the Mitchell Plateau track. The area is only accessible during the dry season. When ‘the wet’ comes, rains make rivers run in mighty torrents. As the torrents flood the high country, they fall in astounding waterfalls into deep gorges.
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Plougrescant, a small village in France, is best known for Castel Meur. A small stone house built between two huge granite rocks in the sea. Surrounded by a stone wall to protect itself from the strong winds that blow in the area, it was built in 1861. The access to the house used to be free but since some tourists climbed on the roof to be photographed and caused damage, the owner was pushed to protect his property. Now a perimeter wall prohibits access to the site.
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By J.C EVEN [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons
By PIERRE ANDRE LECLERCQ [GFDL or CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons
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Lava Tree State Monument is a public park located 2.7 miles southeast of Pāhoa in the Puna District on the island of Hawaii. It preserves lava molds of the tree trunks that were formed when a lava flow swept through a forested area in 1790. The lava covered the trees from bottom to top. As the lava drained away and the moisture inside the trees cooled the lava, a hard exterior shell was formed. Many of the trees are covered in moss, others have fallen to the ground and others remain standing for years as black charred skeletons.
Pretzelpaws at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
By Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada – China-7516, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
The Reed Flute Cave, also known as “the Palace of Natural Arts” in Guilin, Guangxi, China, is a natural limestone cave with multicolored lighting and has been one of Guilin’s most interesting attractions for over 1200 years. It is over 180 million years old.
The cave got its name from the type of reed growing outside, which can be made into flutes. Reed Flute Cave is filled with a large number of stalactites, stalagmites and other rock formations. It was rediscovered in the 1940s by a group of refugees fleeing the Japanese troops. Nowadays, multicolored lighting artificially illuminates the cave.
info: Wikipedia
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