17 World's Strangest Natural Wonders [PICS]

The world is so beautiful, don't you agree? At times, we find it perplexing to know that mother earth can really, really strangely beau...

The world is so beautiful, don't you agree? At times, we find it perplexing to know that mother earth can really, really strangely beautiful. There are so many creations of God that will leave your jaw gaping, wondering how on earth these wonders were invented by Him. Sometimes these strange wonders are so weird...that you find it is impossible for them to exist in the first place. Then again His magic has conjured strange miracles and beautiful creatures that we have learnt to admire and appreciate. Let us look at the World's Strangest Natural Wonders, shall we?

1~Marble Cave, Chile

What happened when you put something under wave erosion for six thousand years? You will get these undulating patterns that give these caves their amazing marbleized effect, enhanced by the reflection of the blue and green water of Carrera Lake, near Chile’s border with Argentina. Even though the area is being threatened by a sinful to build a dam nearby, for now, fortunate visitors can kayak throughout the caves on days when the waters are calm. Just imagine yourself in these mystifying caves.

2~Lake Retba, Senegal

Someone must have accidentally poured a lot of Pepto-Bismol into Lake Retba—that’s how deeply pink the waters here are. This drastically pink is actually caused by a particular species of algae called Dunaliella salina that produces a pigment. The salt content is extremely high, scaling as high as 40% in some spots and allowing the algae to thrive (and swimmers to float effortlessly on the surface of the 10-foot-deep lake). Blinding white piles of salt line the shores, and locals work several hours a day harvesting salt from the bright pink water every day. Pink is the new in huh!

3~Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

What happens when a lake dried up? What is at the bottom? You see, when a prehistoric lake dried up about 30,000 years ago, it left an endless expanse of white hexagonal tiles that stretch to the horizon. I give you-the world’s largest salt flat, stretching for 4,000 square miles—25 times the size of Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats. The site provides more than 25,000 tons of salt per year to local miners, supports a thriving community of thousands of flamingos, and attracts tourists who can check into the Palacio de Sal, a 16-room hotel made entirely from salt blocks. So it must be quite salty over there huh!

4~Travertine Pools Pamukkale, Turkey

What if there is really a "fountain of youth" to make you younger and healthier? That is why People have sought the reputed healing effects of bathing in these Travertine Pools Pamukkale for thousands of years. The water that flows from 17 subterranean hot springs into the pools has an amazingly high concentration of calcium carbonate, which forms soft deposits when it hits the surface of the pools. Those viscous white deposits will harden over time until the springs resemble a fountain made of chalk or, as indicated by the poetic translation of Pamukkale, a “cotton castle” visible from more than 10 miles away. Goodness! It's like CGI has been used to build this place.

5~Sailing Stones, Racetrack Playa, Death Valley

Rocks can move on its own? No one has ever seen nor recorded one of the “sailing stones” on Death Valley’s Racetrack Playa move. However strong evidence of their travels is visible in the long track marks that trail behind them in the dusty terrain. Scientists aren’t sure exactly how these rocks—which can weigh hundreds of kilos—sail across the dry lake bed. The most plausible theory is that when the rocks are wet or icy, they could be pushed along the flat playa by strong winds. The deep groove marks they leave behind indicate they may travel up to 700 feet from their point of origin. So do you think they are alive?

6~Moeraki Boulders, New Zealand

You will be surprised if you happen to go to Moeraki Beach one day...why? Because there are so many so-called out-of-place stone over there. These are no ordinary stones...they are huge stone. The spherical stones that line New Zealand’s Moeraki Beach reach up to seven feet in diameter and have been compared to everything from the marbles of giants to colossal dinosaur eggs to half-submerged prehistoric turtles, ready to stand up and shake off the sand at any moment. Then again, as all have known by now they’re actually concretions, masses of compacted sediment formed below ground more than 50 million years ago. As the sand that surrounds them erodes, they seem to rise to the surface as if pushed up from the center of the earth. They really look familiar. From the movie The Day The Earth Stood Still?

7~Caño Cristales River, Colombia

Tourists from all walks of life make the journey into central Colombia’s Serranéa de la Macarena national park to see for themselves why Caño Cristales has inspired nicknames like the River of Five Colors, the Liquid Rainbow, and even the Most Beautiful River in the World. Timing is everything should you want to admire the spectacle of the colourful river: when the water reaches the perfect levels (usually between July and December), it becomes a kaleidoscope of blue, pink, green, and yellow as a plant called the Macarenia clavigera, which lives on the river floor, gets the sun it needs to bloom into an explosion of colors.

8~Spotted Lake, British Columbia

It doesn't look like a lake at all from afar. In fact it resembles a garden where different plants are being planted? Each summer, most of the water in this mineral-rich lake evaporates, leaving behind large concentrations of salt, titanium, calcium, sulfates, and other minerals that form a polka-dot pattern in shades of green, yellow, and brown circles of varying size. If you are thinking about taking a dip in this mineral-rich lake, you will be disappointed. The lake is a sacred site to the First Nations of the Okanagan Valley, and the land on which it sits is private property owned by the Indian Affairs Department. You won’t actually be able to get up close to the lake, but you can get a good look from the nearby road.

9~The Stone Forest (Shilin), China

This has gotta be one of the forests that I wanna be in. Many of the "trees" within the forest in China’s remote Yunnan Province are hard-rock, literally. This Stone Forest, which spans nearly 200 square miles, was underwater 270 million years ago, and the sea floor was covered with limestone sediment. Gradually, the seabed rose and the water dried up. As rain and wind eroded the weaker rock, the stronger limestone spires began to take shape. Now they rise skyward, surrounded by leafy trees. What a majestic sight don't you think so?

10~The Cave of Crystals, Naica, Mexico

This must be Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. A thousand feet underground in a working lead and silver mine in Chihuahua, Mexico, opaque crystals of gypsum—some as large as four feet wide and 50 feet long—sprout at all angles from the volcanically heated water below. Temperatures in the cave, which was discovered only 13 years ago in 2000, can reach up to 150 degrees Celsius with nearly 100 percent humidity, conditions that only Superman, himself, could survive in for long. Any more than 10 minutes in a cave without proper gear can lead to heatstroke. So are you willing to risk it to witness the place where Superman calls it home?

11~Giant Causeway, United Kingdom

Claimed to be one of Northern Island's most popular tourist attractions, this Giant Causeway got its name from the 40,000 giant basalt columns that interlock with each other to form what appears like causeway from  the giants. The basalt columns, mostly hexagonal in shape, were formed around 60 millions years ago when underground lava  flows cooled into formation as high 39 feet and 18 inches in diameter. However they are only visible recently-15,000 years ago to be precise, when the soil around  the seaside stones eroded. Guess the giants used to walk across this causeway huh.

12~The Wave, Coyote Buttes, AZ and UT

This must have been God's another work of art. Wind and rain have weaved their wands and worked their magic, eroding lines that swoop and swirl across the sandstone formation. The result, which resembles a cresting wave, is one of the most photographed—if not easy to reach—spots in the American West. A permit is required to make the unmarked hike to the Wave, and only 20 are given out daily. Very strict entrance. It’s almost easier to make the journey to southwest Australia to see the Wave’s down under counterpart, Wave Rock. It's like watercolor!

13~Ice Towers of Mount Erebus, Antartica

The Hobbit should have been shot here. On the frozen slopes of Mount Erebus, above the world’s most southerly active volcano, superheated gas rises through steam vents to form caverns in the ice. When the volcanic gas passes through the caves, some of it freezes inside, forming gnarled chimney towers that can reach heights of more than 60 feet. The result is a landscape of icy smokestacks belching steam into the freezing Antarctic air like a cluster of magical factories. What a sight to behold. Guess Santa is enjoying this every single day. Definitely worthy of your bucket list.

14~Sarisariñama Sinkholes, Venezuela

Apparently sinkholes can appear almost anywhere. On the flat-topped mountain of Cerro Sarisariñama in southwest Venezuela, gravity has punched four perfectly circular holes nearly 1,000 feet deep into a landscape of remote rainforest. Hundreds of miles from the nearest road, the area is so far removed from civilization that the sinkholes weren’t discovered until 1961, when they were spotted by a pilot flying over the mountain. I wonder if anyone has actually gone down these sinkholes? Is it me or these Sarisariñama Sinkholes do look like those appeared in Avatar?

15~Chocolate Hills, Philippines

Look ma! The hills have chocolate. There are two very popular legends surrounding the formation of the Chocolate Hills, the nearly 2,000 symmetrical mounds that rise as tall as 400 feet above the surrounding farmland of Bohol Island. One claims that these Chocolate Hills are the mess left behind by two giants who had a boulder fight. The other legend says that the hills are the tears of a giant mourning the death of his lover. However many visitors may prefer the sweeter image of the grass-covered limestone hills, which turn a rich shade of brown in dry season, as resembling the massive Hershey’s Kisses that inspired the landscape’s name. This must be where Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory is right now.

16~Waitomo Glowworm Caves, New Zealand

Want to know what it feels like to be in space with clusters of stars overlooking you? Step into Waitomo Glowworm Caves. Quarter-inch-long bioluminescent glowworms that radiate a tiny blue light dangle from the ceiling of these caves deep in the lush, subtropical hills of New Zealand’s North Island. You will ride in an inflatable raft along the underground Waitomo River. Slowly adjusting to the darkness, you will be able to admire what looks like a turquoise starscape. Do you know that these Glowworms that dangle sticky, filamentous “fishing lines” to catch insects, are scattered throughout many other caves, but their densely concentrated numbers here make this Waitomo Glowworm Caves very unique in the world.

17~Socotra Archipelago, Yemen

In Socotra Archipelago, Mother Nature has evolved in many weird and wonderful ways, weaving Her magiv into this place. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to exotic flora (trees that ooze bloodred sap; some that bear foul-smelling, poisonous cucumbers; and others shaped like bottles), 180 exotic birds, and 700 plant and animal species found nowhere else on earth. It's certainly a place where you can find all those bizarre creatures that you could only imagine.

So which is your favourite strange natural wonder?

So what do you about all the 17 strangest natural wonders that are listed above? Have you visited any of them? I have not left my footprints on any of these strange but beautiful wonders. They are definitely the top tourist attractions around the world. These places show Mother Nature at her best. Hopefully I can visit at least one of them before my time is up. Haha :D To see even more World's Strangest Natural Wonders, click here.