Take a tour of Earth’s weirdest natural places, from the roof of the world to the cave of crystals to the home of the dragon’s blood tree.
We often let our imaginations run wild, dreaming up some pretty surreal stuff that could surprise even the most well-seasoned of acid trippers. But we can’t compete with nature. From pink water to 50-ton crystals to the biggest cave in the world, here are six places around the globe that come by their “could be from a Salvador Dalí painting” vibe completely naturally.
Weirdest Natural Places: Mendenhall Ice Cave
Few people actually get to see a glacier in person. Even fewer get to see a cave inside the glacier, which is typically formed by a stream of water or volcanic vents. That is what made the Mendenhall Ice Cave special. Well…that and the fact that it looked like the inside of the Fortress of Solitude.
Why the past tense, you ask? While Mendenhall Glacier still exists (you can’t miss it; it’s 12 miles long and just outside the Alaskan capital of Juneau), the cave is now virtually inaccessible, after suffering a major roof collapse in 2014. Because getting inside the cave was so dangerous, difficult and time consuming, Mendenhall was, despite its singular, surreal beauty, never had all that many guests.
Weirdest Natural Places: Lake Hillier
Lake Hillier is located on an island in Australia’s Recherche Archipelago. It’s pretty big, but not incredibly so. It’s not very deep. It’s not a strange shape, nor does it have any rare, incredible creature living in it. It would be a perfectly average lake if not for one peculiar characteristic. It’s pink.
That’s not because someone spilled something in there. Pink is its natural color. However, we can’t say for sure why. Most theories point to its high salt content and the various bacteria or micro-algae that live in the lake and create a dye that gives it its distinct coloration. Whatever it is, it appears to be harmless to humans. You can feel free to jump in for a dip.
In fact, Lake Hillier is not the only one. There is also the creatively named Pink Lake, likewise in Australia, as well as Lake Retba in Senegal (which also means “Pink Lake”). But unlike those two, the mysterious Lake Hillier retains its pink color year-round, no matter the temperature or environmental conditions.
Weirdest Natural Places: Cave of the Crystals
The name of this cave in Chihuahua, Mexico makes it pretty clear what you are going to find inside of it: crystals. Like really, really big selenite crystals. And when we say big, we mean over ten feet in diameter and about 50 tons. The largest one ever found was 39 feet long and 13 feet wide.
The inside of this cave looks like a deadly chamber on set of an Indiana Jones movie. But just like the Mendenhall Cave, you can’t go see this one, either. Temperatures can reach a scorching 136 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity is always above 90%. Without proper protection, you would only withstand a few minutes before begging for mercy.
Weirdest Natural Places: Socotra
Technically, Socotra is an archipelago that consists of four islands. However, one of the islands takes up 95% of the total mass so people usually refer to that island when talking about Socotra. More interesting, though, is the fact that the island has been described as the most alien-looking place on Earth.
What gives the island its reputation? It’s the flora. Socotra is kind of like Madagascar, but for plants. It also broke off from the mainland hundreds of millions years ago, forcing life on the island to evolve in isolation. As a result, Socotra has hundreds of plant species found nowhere else on the planet.
Arguably the most famous feature of Socotra is the Dragon’s Blood Tree, known for its very peculiar branches as well as its red sap, from which the name of the tree comes. The island also has a ton of endemic species of birds and spiders. Of course, the number of species started taking a nosedive the minute man stepped foot on the island. We introduced harmful, non-native species like cats and goats. However, UNESCO made the island a protected World Heritage site in 2008.
Weirdest Natural Places: Mount Roraima
One could argue that the view from the top of any mountain is staggering. However, very few of those views could ever match the feeling you can get standing on top of Venezuela’s Mount Roraima. It’s not really the height that gets you. The summit is “only” about 9,000 feet high. It’s the feeling of standing on top of one of the world’s oldest geological formations, dating back to around two billion years ago.
And then there’s the shape. Tabletop mountains are always a thrillingly weird sight because such straight lines are so unusual in nature. Mount Roraima looks like it’s been carved or molded, not the product of a few billion years of natural erosion.
There is also an added bonus to tabletop mountains like this one. Because of its flat plateau, people who want to visit the summit can skip the whole pesky rock climbing thing and just take a helicopter up top. There’s also a footpath for those who want the illusion of putting forth an effort, but it’s nothing too dangerous. Actual thrill seekers can delight in Roraima’s steep, almost perfectly vertical mountain sides.
Weirdest Natural Places: Son Doong Cave
It really wouldn’t be too far-fetched to come across a pterodactyl gently nesting inside this place…Located in Vietnam, near the border with Laos, Son Doong Cave is the biggest known cave in the world.
Just how big is it? Son Doong stretches for about 30,000 feet, and its biggest chamber is over 650 feet tall. To put that in perspective, we could put the Gateway Arch from St. Louis inside the cave and there would still be room on top. The cave was only just found in 1991, and it wasn’t until 2010 that people actually managed to reach its end. This is because of a giant, 200-foot-high calcite wall later named the Great Wall of Vietnam.
Would you like to visit it? Good news! You can…possibly. In 2013, the first tourist group ever was taken inside and more tours are now happening. All you need is years of spelunking experience and about $3,000 (plus the money to get to Vietnam and back).
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