Photos of Some Unique Naturalistic Outcomes on Earth

Rick

2010-03-27 21:12:32 UTC

Post by Pro-Humanist FREELOVER
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Antelope Canyon, Arizona
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/5557/slide_5557_75603_large.jpg?1269703127461
Antelope Canyon is located on the Navajo Reservation
near Page, Arizona. The unique erosion of the Navajo
Sandstone is formed mostly from flash floods, giving the
canyon its stunning appearance.
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Giant's Causeway, Ireland
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/5557/slide_5557_75604_large.jpg?1269703332988
At Giant's Causeway in Ireland, you can witness the unusual
pattern of around 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns, formed
from ancient volcanic activity. The natural wonder is Northern
Ireland's number one attraction.
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Bryce Canyon, Utah
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/5557/slide_5557_75607_large.jpg?1269703425598
Reaching 9,000 feet in elevation, southwestern Utah's Bryce
Canyon National Park is a spectacular marvel to witness.
Abundant in this area are curious geological formations known
as "hoodoos", totem-like spires of red sedimentary rock, some
exceeding the height of a 10-story building.
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Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/5557/slide_5557_75609_large.jpg?1269703501182
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia is the world's largest salt flat at over
4,000 square miles. It is a major breeding ground for pink
flamingos, and has multiple hotels built of salt bricks.
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The Wave, Vermilion Cliffs, Arizona
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/5557/slide_5557_75611_large.jpg?1269703585363
The Wave is located in the Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness of Arizona,
near the Utah border. Like Antelope Canyon, the hypnotizing
formation is made of Navajo Sandstone. Because of the delicacy
of the environment, the Bureau of Land Management limits access
to only twenty permits per day.
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Socotra Islands
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/5557/slide_5557_75614_large.jpg?1269703657998
Socotra is a small group of islands in the Indian Ocean. Visiting the
main island really is like a journey to another planet, as 1/3 of its
plant life isn't found anywhere else on Earth. The Dragon's Blood
tree pictured here is just one of the many extraordinary species
inhabiting Socotra, valued for its red medicinal sap.
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Fly Geyser, Black Rock Desert, Nevada
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/5557/slide_5557_75615_large.jpg?1269703810398
The Black Rock Desert is a dry lakebed in northwestern Nevada.
The flat and barren location has been ideal for attempting records
in land speed and rocketry. It is also the annual home of the Burning
Man Festival. Among its strange looking features is Fly Geyser.
Although on private land, the geyser can be viewed from the nearby
road.
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White Desert, Egypt
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/5557/slide_5557_75616_large.jpg?1269703841534
North of Farafara, Egypt, the White Desert is littered with strange
chalk formations, carved over long expanses of time from sandstorms
and high winds.
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Racetrack Playa, Death Valley, California
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/5557/slide_5557_75617_large.jpg?1269704239207
Racetrack Playa is a seasonally dry lake in Death Valley National Park,
California. The hot and arid landscape is home to a truly otherworldly
phenomenon: the sailing stones. Ranging from small rocks to large
boulders, these stones mysteriously move across the landscape, leaving
straight, curved, and even zigzagged trails in their wake. Though many
reasonable hypotheseshave been offered, the action has never been
witnessed in person, and there is still no absolute and verified explanation
for these odd traveling stones.
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~~~
Pro-Humanist FREELOVER
http://prohuman.net
(Freethinking Realist Exploring
Expressive Liberty, Openness,
Verity, Enlightenment, & Rationality)
~~~

Thanks for those great pointers. While it's true no one has yet
replicated the "sailing stones" one theory is that the sun heats
the sides of the rocks differently and the wind creates random
variations in that heating - the result is that a microscopic layer of
water forms under the leading-trailing edges of the rock and the
process reverses at night. As ice reforms slightly sooner on one side
than the other the ice lifts and moves the rock. Fascinating!