Most Surreal Places On Earth

Fly Geyser, Nevada

Not an entirely natural phenomenon, it was accidentally created by well drilling. The well wasn’t capped correctly and the minerals started bubbling out.

Derweze, Turkmenistan

In 1971 Soviets were drilling around the small village of Derweze. They tapped into a cavern filled with natural gas and when the ground collapsed they figured they would burn the gas off to avoid poisoning the local atmosphere. It was thought that the gas would burn off in a couple days but it is still burning today.

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

The world’s largest salt flat at 10, 582 square km this place holds 43% of the world’s lithium reserves.

Sossusvlei, Namibia

Located in the southern part of the Namib Desert in Namibia the name roughly means “dead-end marsh” because while it is a drainage basin, it has no outflows.

Mount Roraima, South America

It serves as a triple border between Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana. Because of its remoteness the plateau has its own flora and fauna.

Grand Prismatic Spring – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

The third largest hot spring in the world, the colors are the result of pigmented bacteria around the edges of the mineral rich water. The temperature of the water changes throughout the year, which in turn affects the color.

Hidden Beach near Puerta Vallarta, Mexico

The Marieta Islands off the coast of Puerta Vallarta are an archipelago formed by volcanic activity. The beach you see here wasn’t the result of any natural explosions though, it was actually created by a bomb blast from the Mexican military.

Pamukkale, Turkey

Meaning “cotton castle” in Turkish, this site in southwestern Turkey is completely covered in carbonate terraces left by water coming from the abundant hot springs in the region.

Socotra, Yemen

This small archipelago in the Indian Ocean is extremely isolated. In fact, one third of its plant life is found no where else on the planet.

Crescent Lake (Dunhuang), China

This entrancing crescent shaped oasis had been growing smaller and smaller for much of the 20th century until the local government stepped in. Today it is a popular tourist attraction.

Badab-e Surt, Iran

This is another terraced site created over thousands of years due to the flow of water from mineral hot springs.

Jiuzhaigou Valley, China

This nature reserve and national park is found on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. It is known for its multilevel waterfalls, colorful lakes, and snow capped peaks.

The Wave, Arizona

This sandstone rock formation located near the Arizona-Utah border is famous for its colorful, undulating waves and the trackless hike required to reach it.

Plitvice, Croatia

The oldest national park in southeast Europe and the largest national park in Croatia it is famous for its cascading lakes.

Preikestolen, Norway

This 604 meter high cliff in Norway is one of the most visited sites in the country and provides an incredible view of the surrounding valleys.

Borra Caves, India

Considered the deepest caves in India has an impressive variety of irregularly shaped stalactites and stalagmites.

Kelimutu Volcano, Indonesia

With three striking summit crater lakes of varying colors, the colors change over time due to fluctuations in volcanic activity.

Cave of the Crystals, Mexico

This cave connected to the Naica Mine is known for its enormous selenite crystals which are some of the largest ever found.

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil

In spite of abundant rain there is almost no vegetation in this national park. So, although it looks like a desert it actually isn’t. Interestingly enough, although the the scattered lakes disappear during the dry season they are usually full of fish because eggs are dropped in the pools by seabirds.

Plain of Jars, Laos

Scattered across the landscape of this plateau are thousands of megalithic jars. As of yet, archaeologists are not really sure who built the jars and for what purpose.