10 Unique Places Around the World

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    10 Unique Places Around the World

    1 .Cao Cristales-Colombia

    Cao Cristales is a river located in the Serrania de la Macarena Mountains. The area where the

    river is found is so remote that you can only get there by horse, donkey, or on foot. Cao

    Cristales is filled with waterfalls, rapids, wells and hollows, with water so clear you can see all

    the way to the bottom. During most of the year the river seems like any other, with the water

    coursing over green algae rocks. Then during the period of time between the wet season and the

    dry seasonwhich happens between SeptemberNovemberthe river transforms, becoming a

    river of color. The algae in the water produce a riot of color; red, blue, green, black and yellow

    line the river. This river has no fish because of the complexity of the channels. Cao Cristales

    has been called The River of Five Colors, The Liquid Rainbow and The River That Ran

    Away From Paradise and its honestly easy to see why.

    2 .Vale Da Lua-Brazil

    Vale Da Lua is a stone basin that has been carved out by the San Miguel River. The name translates to

    valley of the moon and was given that name because the erosion of the rocks by the river has left them

    smooth, and in shades of gray similar to the look of the moon. The valley has some of the oldest rock

    formations in the world, with an estimated age of 1.8 billion years old. The river has created caves,

    grottoes, waterfalls and bizarre rock formations, to form a labyrinth in the narrow canyon walls. Seen

    from space, the area is the most luminous on earth. Quartz and the smoothness of the rocks cause the

    glow. The surrounding forest is abundant with wildlife and lays claim to many varieties of orchids. The

    river has made the area a work in progress, as it continues to erode and change the landscape.

    3 .Fly Geyser Reno-Nevada

    Fly Geyser was accidentally created in 1916 while drilling a well for water, though they didnt start

    forming until 1960. The spot picked had an unknown geothermal area. The heated water eventually

    found a weak spot in the well and pushed itself to the surface. The minerals started building up to create

    a mini volcano of about 5 ft. tall, with layers of terraces. The terraces have different colors from the

    minerals in the water and the geothermal water has found more weak spots to create two more geysers

    nearby. The water spouts continuously and fills holes and hollows in the terraces, to give the area a

    surreal look. Water where there isnt much water to begin with has attracted swans, ducks, and other

    animals to the area. Fish also swim through the ponds, introduced by an unknown human dropping the

    eggs in the water.

    4.Rio Tinto-Spain

    The Rio Tinto runs from the Sierra Moreno Mountains down to the Gulf of Cdiz in Huelva, Spain. Rio

    Tinto translates into red river and this is exactly how the river appears. High levels of iron in the water

    cause the red coloring of the river. The river has been mined for copper, gold and silver from ancient

    times, and continues as of today. The Rio Tinto has the oldest mines in the world, which are believed to

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    be the fabled King Solomons mines. Due to all the mining, the river has a high acidic content and is

    home to organisms that survive in extreme conditions. This has led to scientific study of the river, used

    in the study of the underground lakes of Mars and Jupiter. The link to outer space seems appropriate, as

    the Rio Tinto area has an alien lunar like landscape. The mining has created walls of terraced rock that

    has formed a natural amphitheater.

    5 .Chamarel Falls and the Colored Earth-Mauritius

    The Republic of Mauritius is an island nation located off the southeast coast of Africa. It is part of an

    archipelago formed from a now dormant undersea volcano. Mauritius is home to two natural wonders.

    The first is Chamarel Falls, which are three thin waterfalls that fall about 300 ft. down a plateau. They

    are the tallest waterfalls in Mauritius. Mauritius was once known only for its waterfalls, then in the

    1960s, the colored dunes were discovered. The colored sand was created from clay made of lava cooling

    off at different times. The effect caused the 7 different colors of sand to form; they include red, brown,

    violet, green, blue, purple and yellow. The most unique aspect of the sands is the fact that if you take all

    the colors and mix them together, they will naturally separate and rejoin the correct color grouping that

    they belong to. How this happens is a mystery to scientists who have tried to solve the strange

    properties of the sand. Another mystery of the sand is that there is no visible erosion. The area has a

    heavy rainy season so erosion should be a definite effect of nature.

    6 .Spotted Lake of Osoyoos-British Columbia Canada

    Spotted Lake of Osoyoos was sacred to the First Nations of Okanagan Valley Indians. Osoyoos

    means narrowing waters in the Okanagan language, and is used to describe what happens to the

    lake. The lake is a saline endorheic lake, which means it is a closed body of water with no

    outflow or inflow from other bodies of water. The lake has high concentrates of many different

    minerals, and contains some of the highest quantities of magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodiumsulfates in the world. There are also eight other lesser minerals in the water, including small

    amounts of silver and titanium. The minerals in the lake are very beneficial, and were mined

    during WWI to use in the making of ammunition for the war. The minerals are what give the

    lake its uniqueness. During the summer, as the water evaporates, spots are formed which have

    different colors depending on which mineral is most present. The spots crystallize and form

    walkways of different colors. The colors can be white, yellow, blue or green. The lake is on

    private property and they allow very little public access.

    7 .The Plain of Jars-Lao

    The Plain of Jars is one of the oldest archeological mysteries in Southeast Asia. Located on the plateau ofXieng Khouang, in the mountains of Indochina, there are about 90 different jars sites. Each site contains

    from 1 to 400 jars. It has been estimated that they were created 3,000 years ago, and are made of

    sandstone, limestone, granite, breccias and conglomerate, with the majority being made of sandstone.

    The tallest jar is about 9 ft. tall and all are made from their own individual slab of stone. At first glance

    they appear to be haphazardly placed, with some standing upright and others on their sides, pointing in

    different directions. Further studies have revealed that the jars are placed in positions that form the

    constellation patterns of the stars. There has been lots of speculation about the purpose of the jars

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    drinking glasses for a giant race, being used to collect rainwater, or as burial urns. Most of the jars are

    empty, but a few have been found with bodies or tools inside, or filled with miniature Buddha statues.

    Exploration is hard as the area is littered with unexploded bombs from the Secret War.

    8 .Sanqingshan

    -ChinaSanqingshan has been considered a sacred place. Used by Taoists for meditation, and believed to lead to

    immortality its easy to see why. Sanqingshan is shrouded in mists for 200 days of the year. The mist

    gives an otherworldly quality to the mountain, along with thousands of streams that pour into pools,

    granite formations that resemble silhouettes of humans and animals, and strangely shaped pine trees.

    The pools and vegetation create unique environments that lure many exotic and rare birds and animals

    to make their home there. Sanqingshan is home to about 2,500 plant species. This is one of the only

    places to find the plants that are used in making traditional Chinese medicines.

    9 .Nine Hells of Beppu-Japan

    Beppu is home to over 2,800 hot springs and is found on the island of Kyushu. The Nine hells of Beppu

    are some of the more unique springs in the area. Hell 1 is Umi Jigoku meaning sea hell. The pool is a

    turquoise blue and is hot enough to boil eggs. Hell 2 is Oniishibou, meaning shaven head hell and gets

    its name from the boiling gray mud. The mud bubbles to the surface and resembles the shaved head of

    Buddhist monks. Hell 3 is Shiraike Jigoku meaning white pond hell and is filled with boiling white water

    caused by the high calcium concentrations. Hell 4 is Yama Jigoku meaning mountain hell. Yama Jigoku

    was made by a mud volcano that spewed so much that it created a small mountain surrounded by small

    pools. Hell 5 is Kamada Jigoku cooking pot hell. This is a collection of boiling hot springs that are

    flanked by a red devil statue featured as the cook. Hell 6 is Oniyama Jigoku, meaning devils mountain

    hell. Oniyama is a very strong stream that can pull 1 train cars, and is also home to about 100 hellish

    crocodiles. Hell 7 is Kinryu Jigoku golden dragon hell. This spring is featured with a steaming dragon.

    The steam is supplied by the steam of the spring and is directed out of the dragons nostrils. The dragon

    gives the illusion of flying when water spouts out at sunrise. Hell 8 is Chinoike Jigoku, meaning bloodpond hell. Chinoike gets its name from the bright reddish colored water caused by ferrous (containing

    iron) minerals in the pond. Hell 9 is Tatsumaki Jigoku, meaning spout hell. Tatsumaki is a geyser that

    spouts every 30 minutes and has a temperature of about 105 degrees Celsius.

    10 .Pamukkale-Turkey

    Pamukkale means cotton castle, and has also been called the white castle because of the vast whiteness

    caused by the high concentration of calcite in the water. Travertine sedimentary deposits have created

    the white terraces, petrified waterfalls and mineral forests that make up the landscape. The 17 hot

    springs are heated by an underground volcano. The beautiful area of Pamukkale, Turkey, has been used

    as a healing spa for thousands of years. The healing properties of the area drew people from all over,and the Romans built the ancient city of Hieropolis there. To help preserve the area, hotels and access

    roads were taken down and man-made pools were created to help in keeping the natural beauty of

    Pamukkale.

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