The Most Striking Geological Wonders Of The World
Moeraki Boulders - New Zealand
These unusually large stone spheres with a diameter of one to two meters lie along the east coast of New Zealand in a place called Moeraki. About where they came from, the people there are many Maori legends, but scientists claim that these boulders - the result of coastal erosion.
White Desert - Egypt
White Desert - a small area in the east of the Sahara desert about 10 km x 30 km, located 45 kilometers from the town of Farafra. This place is famous creamy white color and bizarre limestone formations. Once it was the bottom of the ocean, and the white race - the remains of marine organisms. Over the centuries, sandstorms have made these limestone mountains in such a alien landscape.
Giants - Northern Ireland
The trail is a giant 40,000 interconnected basalt columns formed as a result of an ancient volcanic eruption. The tops of the columns form a sort of stone road going off into the sea. In 1986 this place was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Reed flute cave - Province Guilin, China
Reed flute cave is more reminiscent of the fantastic scenery of the film. Once upon a time this place was the ocean, but then the water gradually went away, exposing these amazing mountains with strange gorges, caves and caverns. This is a magical spectacle attracts people for more than 12 centuries. The name of the cave gave a special cane growing at its entrance, from which the masters did particularly melodious flute.
Mono Lake - California
Mono - extensive and shallow lake that has no outlet to the ocean. This has led to the isolation of a high concentration of salt in water. Although the abundance of alkali fish is not found, the lake has a surprisingly productive ecosystem - with brine shrimp that lives in the water and provides food to about two million migratory birds. One of the wonders of the lake are considered calc-tuff towers that were exposed after the decline of the water level in the lake.
Devils Tower - Wyoming
This monolith of volcanic origin is the oldest "national monument" of the U.S.. Devils Tower was formed about 200 million years ago from molten magma that rose from the depths of the earth, and stood in the form of elegant columns. Native American legend has it that once the seven little girls climbed on a flat rock, trying to escape from a grizzly bear. They desperately begged stone to save them, and then he began to grow, reached the sky and girls have become the Pleiades. A deep vertical furrows-string - it's a huge bear claw marks.
The Twelve Apostles - Great Ocean Road, Australia
The Twelve Apostles - a group of limestone rocks in the ocean near the coast in the National Park of Port Campbell, located on the so-called Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. Rocks were formed by erosion - strong ocean winds gradually wore away the soft rock, turning the cave into an arch. Then arches collapsed and were these amazing structures up to 45 meters high.
Cave of Crystals - Nike, Mexico
Crystal Cave is located at a depth of 300 meters below the Mexican city of Nike. The cave is famous for the giant selenite crystals, the largest of which reaches 11 meters in length, 4 wide, and weighs 55 tons. The cave is constantly heat up to 58 ° C at a humidity of about 100 percent. Because of this, it is very difficult to explore the cave. Even people with special equipment may be in the Crystal Cave no more than 20 minutes.
The Gates of Hell - Turkmenistan
The gates of hell called the gas crater in Turkmenistan. The history of this place is: v1971 year near the village Darwaza Soviet geologists discovered an underground accumulation of gas. The land in this place failed and formed a large, gas-filled hole. To bad for people and livestock gases do not go outside, they decided to set fire to. Geologists think that the fire was soon extinguished, but made a mistake. Since 1971, natural gas and continues to burn.
Chocolate Hills - Philippines
Chocolate Hills - a geological formation in the Philippine province of Bohol. On an area of 50 square kilometers is, at least 1,260 of these hills. During the dry season green grass covering the hills changed to chocolate brown - hence the name.
Salar de Uyuni - Bolivia
Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt marsh in the world - with an area of 10,582 square kilometers. This is a dried salt lake is located near the town of Uyuni in southwestern Bolivia. In the rainy season salt marsh covered with a thin layer of water and turns into the world's largest mirror surface. Salar de Uyuni, according to experts, contains a reserve of 10 billion tons of salt are produced annually about 25,000 tons.
Stone Forest - China
Stone Forest "grows" in China's Yunnan Province and covers an area of 350 square kilometers. Numerous limestone structures were formed by centuries of erosion and leaching of sea waters. High cliffs resemble stalagmites growing up from the ground, many of them look like petrified trees, and this creates the illusion of the forest of stone.
Socotra Island, Yemen
Socotra - one of the most isolated archipelagos in the world of the continental (or non-volcanic origin). It is located 240 kilometers from the Horn of Africa and 380 kilometers from the Arabian Peninsula. Due to this geological and biological containment and the climate of the archipelago formed its unique flora and fauna. For this reason, Socotra has been listed as World Heritage by UNESCO.
