Here are 10 bizarre natural phenomena.
Nature has been known to pull some amazing stunts, enlisting each of its elements to render observers awestruck and mystified.
Here are 10 bizarre natural phenomena.
Number 10. Fire tornadoes. Sometimes referred to as firenadoes for short, the whirling inferno funnels occur when ground winds pick up flames and escalate into ember-spitting forces. Thankfully, they often only last for a couple of minutes.
Number 9. Mammatus clouds. Their bumpy, bubble wrap-like texture typically forms on the underside of thunderstorm clouds that are losing their strength. Seeing one doesn’t mean all’s clear, though, as they have been known to be present during some pretty intense hail situations.
Number 8. Volcanic Lightning. If a volcano erupts with enough force, it can produce lightning in addition to spitting out loads of glowing magma. Little is known exactly how it happens including whether the lightening originates in the volcano or is created in the air above it, as studying the spectacle presents several unique challenges.
Number 7. Sailing Stones. How the rocks on the bottom of Death Valley National Park’s Racetrack Playa are able to move across the landscape, leaving trails in their wakes, puzzled many for decades. Dust devils and aliens were two popular theories, but a few years ago a scientist presented a theory that the rocks are simply moved by small ice sheets and weak winds.
Number 6. Mysterious booms. They’ve been reported as sounding like fireworks, explosions, and slamming doors, but what causes these random, and often quite loud, environmental noises is anybody’s guess. Paranormal activity and top-secret government work have been proposed by some.
Number 5. Namibia’s fairy circles. About 11 hundred miles of the brush covered Namibian dessert is dotted with barren round patches. Termites are one of the suspects in their creation, as is plant self organization due to the arid conditions, but sufficient proof is lacking.
Number 4. Ball lightning. Over time it’s been named and identified as many things – St. Elmo’s fire, UFOs, and even angels. Recent scientific study has suggested that they’re really just masses of energized soil nanoparticles that are shot into space when lightning hits the earth.
Number 3. Blood Falls. That there’s a waterfall in Antarctica is amazing on its own, but the fact that it flows red makes it even more extraordinary. The iron-rich source water is buried so deep that when it’s introduced to air it rusts instantly and looks a lot like blood.
Number 2. Penitentes. These frozen spikes occur at high, cold altitudes where the air is dry and the sun’s rays are direct. Rather than melt, the snow and ice just evaporate, making random depressions throughout the landscape and creating protrusions up to 12 feet tall.
Number 1. Lenticular clouds. These flat clouds form primarily in high altitudes where geographic features interrupt the airflow. Sometimes they layer upon one another, resembling everything from stacks of pancakes to, of course, alien space ships.
Which phenomenon do you find the most fascinating?
