These 12 Photos Prove How Strange Nature Is

 

 

 For all the things we think we know about the world around us, some things in nature are still inexplicable. But even in instances where we know what's going on, we can't help but be awed by it. These twelve photos show some of the most bizarre, breath-taking photos of nature's strange goings-on.

Think you know the world? Check out #2 and #8.

1.

A Strange Pattern

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These wings may look like a digital manipulation, but they aren't. What sports team does it play for?

2.

The Most Beautiful Tree

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No, that's not paint. That's the rainbow eucalyptus, a tree whose bark changes color and hue as it ages and strips off.

3.

That's Not Lava

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In the second week of February the setting sun hits Oregon's Horsetail Falls in such away that it glows orange, giving it the look of fire.

4.

Sea Circles

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These beautiful and intricate circles are the result of puffer fish flapping their fins. Looks like an ancient pattern to us.

5.

Welcome to Hell

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This is a natural gas field in Turkmenistan. It collapsed in 1971, expanding into an underground cave. It was set alight to prevent the spread of methane gas and has been burning since then. To put this into scale, it's roughly the size of a football field.

 

6.

A Different Sort of Collapse

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This is the result of two tidal waves slamming into each other. The technical name is “maelstrom.” The sinkholes can grow to the point that they destroy boats.

7.

Non-Rainbow

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These white rainbows are the result of reflected moonlight.

8.

Earth's Canvas

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The Danxia Landforms of China are the result of sedimentary rocks dating back to at least sixty-million years ago.

9.

The Ice Bleeds

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The blood-like appearance of this flow in the Taylor Glacier is the result of a high concentration of iron in a subterranean lake.

10.

Bad Clouds

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These scary-looking clouds are harbingers of bad weather, sometimes signaling a coming tornado or severe thunderstorm.

11.

Something's Crooked

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Over four-hundred trees are curved like his in Poland. Though there are several theories (most of them pointing to some form of human intervention), no one knows for sure how the trees got this way.

12.

Monuments of Nature

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The Seven Giants, a rock formation in Russia's Ural mountains, are the result of nature, not man, and stand at over two-hundred feet tall.