If you’ve spent any time amid suburban sprawl, you might be inclined to think that the world is a pretty dull place. But once you step beyond the strip mall — say, to one of these destinations — you’ll soon realize that Earth holds a plethora of beautiful landscapes that seem to belong to a world other than our own:
Caño Cristales, Colombia
A rare aquatic plant called Macarenia clavier causes this river to turn virtually every shade of the rainbow depending on the season.Wikimedia CommonsDeadvlei, Namibia
While it may look more like a surrealist painting than a landscape, this alien-looking orange "sky" is actually 1000-feet-high sand dunes looming in the distance. These trees are estimated to have died 600-700 years ago, yet remain because there is not enough moisture present for them to decompose.Vernon Swanepoel/FlickrSerranía de Hornocal, Argentina
The eroded minerals at this UNESCO World Heritage Site create mountain patterns that are both jagged and colorful.Wikimedia CommonsMarble Caves, Chile
Over the years waves formed the smoothed contours of Chile’s Marble Caves. Meanwhile, the ocean's reflection paints the walls a surreal blue.Javier Vieras/FlickrCoyote Buttes, Arizona
Aptly known as The Wave, this astounding sandstone formation -- as wide as 62 feet and as long as 118 feet -- consists of Jurassic age rock that has been slowly eroded over the millennia. Wikimedia CommonsGiant's Causeway, Ireland
One of the most unique coastline formations on Earth, Giant’s Causeway offers stones like honeycombs that create a stunning path along the ocean.Wikimedia CommonsWaitomo Glowworm Caves, New Zealand
New Zealand’s famous glowworms spatter the cave ceiling like stars in the night sky.Donnie Ray Jones/FlickrDallol, Ethiopia
While the hot springs of this Ethiopian volcanic vent might be stunning to the eye—painted vividly in shades of yellow and green—it achieves its distinct coloration via a deadly concoction of chloride and iron hydroxide. Achilli Family | Journeys/FlickrZhangjiajie National Forest Park, China
Zhangjiajie’s otherworldly mountains rise from the forest floor, resembling great stone pillars.Wikimedia CommonsFly Geyser, Nevada
While it may appear like some sort of alien structure, this surreal landscape formed on Earth after a manmade well brought scalding geothermal water to the earth’s surface.Wikimedia CommonsThe Great Blue Hole, Belize
This surreal work of nature is actually an enormous underwater sinkhole that plunges down 400 feet into the ocean, creating a perfect midnight-blue ring.Eric Pheterson/FlickrCave of the Crystals, Mexico
Broad and overwhelmingly large bridges of gypsum crystals span this old silver mine.Wikimedia CommonsRed Beach, China
Come autumn, the abundant seepweed that grows along Red Beach’s shores turns a stunning shade of crimson upon maturing. Wikimedia CommonsSalar de Uyuni, Bolivia
After a bit of rain coats the ground, Salar de Uyuni—the world’s largest salt flat—leaves visitors standing in a seemingly endless expanse of sky. Wikimedia CommonsTsingy De Bemaraha National Park, Madagascar
Tsingy Bemaraha presents another case of unbelievable erosion. Only this time, it's happened both vertically and horizontally in a way that turns the area's limestone plateaus into veritable forests of stone.Wikimedia CommonsPamukkale, Turkey
Rippling formations of pure white calcium hold natural pools of warm, mineral water in a terraced pattern more picturesque than perhaps anywhere else on Earth.Wikimedia CommonsSocotra, Yemen
This island in the Indian Ocean is home to an array of remarkable geologic and botanical features, typified by the dragon's blood tree (above), named for its distinctive red sap.Rod Waddington/FlickrSocotra, Yemen (continued)
Standing alongside the dragon's blood trees are Socotra's positively prehistoric looking bottle trees. The nearby island of Samhah may be the only other place on Earth where this tree exists.Wikimedia CommonsGrand Prismatic Spring, Wyoming
The Grand Prismatic Spring isn’t just the largest hot spring in Yellowstone National Park—it’s the largest in the United States.Wikimedia CommonsThe Richat Structure, Mauritania
Sometimes known as The Eye of the Sahara, this 25-mile wide eroded dome is so perfectly circular that scientists long thought it was created by a massive asteroid impact.Wikimedia CommonsBryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Over tens of millions of years, erosion formed the distinctive (and distinctively named) hoodoos of Bryce Canyon's amphitheater.Wikimedia CommonsNext, check out the world's weirdest natural places. Then, have a look at this planet's most mind-blowing natural phenomena. Finally, check out six of the most beautiful beaches on Earth and Nevada's bizarelly beautiful Fly Geyser.
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