A rare phenomenon in Lake Baikal in Siberia called “Baikal Zen”, Rocks lying on the surface of the frozen lake are heated by sunlight that melts the ice below. When the sun sets, the ice freezes again, creating these incredible frozen structures.
Category: places
Bimmah Sinkhole – A lake of turquoise waters
Hawiyyat Najm, known as Bimmah Sinkhole in English, is a water-filled sinkhole in the limestone of eastern Muscat Governorate in Oman. The sinkhole was formed by a collapse of the surface layer due to dissolution of the underlying limestone. However, locals used to believe this sinkhole in the shape of a water well was created by a meteorite.The Arabic name Hawiyyat Najm means “the deep well of the (falling) star”.
The Baatara gorge triple waterfall
The Balaa gorge sinkhole is a waterfall in Lebanon. The waterfall drops 255 metres (837 ft) into the Balaa Pothole, a cave of Jurassic limestone. The cave is also known as the Cave of the Three Bridges. The three natural bridges, rising one above the other and overhanging a chasm descending into Mount Lebanon.
Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Dark Hedges – An atmospheric tunnel of trees
The Dark Hedges is an avenue of beech trees in Northern Ireland. In about 1775 James Stuart built a new house, named Gracehill House after his wife Grace Lynd. Over 150 beech trees were planted along the entrance road to the estate, to create an imposing approach. According to legend, the hedges are visited by a ghost called the Grey Lady, who travels the road and flits across it from tree to tree. She is claimed to be either the spirit of James Stuart’s daughter (named “Cross Peggy”) or one of the house’s maids who died mysteriously, or a spirit from an abandoned graveyard beneath the fields, who on Halloween is joined on her visitation by other spirits from the graveyard.
The trees form an atmospheric tunnel that has been used as a location in HBO’s popular television series Game of Thrones, which has resulted in the avenue becoming a popular tourist attraction.
info: wikipedia
Ungry Young Man, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Danakil Despression
The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is a geological depression that has resulted from the divergence of three tectonic plates in the Horn of Africa. Τhe Danakil Depression is the hottest place on Earth in terms of year-round average temperatures. It is also one of the lowest places on the planet (100 m below sea level, and without rain for most of the year. Among the geological points of interest to tourists are the hydrothermal system of Dallol and the Yellow Lake.
Lover´s Leap
The rock that juts out from the side of Lookout Mountain in Georgia gets its name from the Cherokee legend of two young lovers, a brave named Sautee and a maiden named Nacoochee, from two feuding tribes. According to the legend, Sautee was captured and thrown from the top of Lover’s Leap. Nacoochee, distressed from the loss, jumped to her own death. Rock City has claimed that it is possible to see seven states from the top of Lover’s Leap aka High Falls.
Covão Dos Conchos – A sinkhole in a lagoon that looks like a portal to the underworld
Covão dos Conchos is an artificial lake in the Serra da Estrela mountains in Portugal that is famous for its Bell-mouth spillway. The spillway was built in 1955 with the aim of diverting water from Ribeira das Naves to Lagoa Comprida. This sci-fi-looking spillway was little-known until photos of the hole went viral in 2016. Over the last 60 years moss and foliage has grown onto the mouth of the funnel, adding to its ethereal allure. The tunnel that collects the water is 1519 meters long. The sinkhole creates the illusion that the dam is broken.
info: wikipedia
The Hungry Tree
The Hungry Tree is a tree in the grounds of the King’s Inns in Dublin, Ireland. The 80-year-old plane tree has become known for having partially consumed a nearby park bench. The tree was planted next to a cast iron bench dating from the early 1800s. Over decades the tree has grown to encompass the bench and is said to be “eating” the bench, which is how the tree’s name originated. The tree has been listed as one of the country’s “Heritage Trees” by the Tree Council of Ireland and it has been listed largely for its value as a curiosity and tourist attraction rather than its age or rarity.
The Hanging Lake
Hanging Lake in Colorado. Early tales of the discovery of the lake tell of a man searching for gold in the canyon. The man found a dead horse at the opening of a gulch (the possible origin of the name of Dead Horse Gulch). When he followed the gulch up through the steep hillside through the canyon he came around the back side of the lake. This is how he first saw the small bowl-like basin hanging onto the cliffs below.
Ice Volcano in Kazakhstan
“Iceberg” is located in the Kegen district of the Almaty region between the villages of Kegen and Shyrganak. Thanks to the fine particles of water that are sprayed high into the sky, the “iceberg” looks like a smoking ice volcano. The “volcano” appears every winter with the arrival of cold weather as a result of an underground spring. When temperatures drop below zero, the water freezes in the form of a volcano cone.
