The Mystery of the Baigong Pipes (10 photos)

On the remote slopes of Mount Baigong in China, hundreds of mysterious metal pipes rust. For centuries, locals considered them evidence of an alien visit, while scientists puzzled over their origin. The solution turned out to be even more surprising than the cosmic hypothesis.





Are these prehistoric metal pipes evidence of alien plumbing? No, but that doesn't make them any less unique.



The Baigong Pipes often top lists of mysterious objects that defy time and logic.





Local legends call Mount Baigong in Qinghai Province an ancient alien laboratory. In addition to the mysterious pyramid crowning the peak, three triangular entrances gape at its foot. They lead deep into the depths, where hundreds of dilapidated, pipe-like structures of unknown origin are located.



Rusty pipes, ranging in size from needles to forty centimeters in diameter, extend from the mountain's depths to a salt lake eighty meters away. Many of the hollow pipes are perfectly identical. These ancient structures are embedded so deeply in the rock that modern human intervention is impossible. The harsh terrain around the mountain is almost deserted. Only the occasional herdsmen roam here. Unless these wanderers possessed the secrets of advanced metallurgy, the pipes are clearly not the work of human hands.



The first scientists to investigate the underground phenomenon concluded that the pipes were composed of 92% common minerals and metals and 8% an unknown material. The most obvious conclusion was obvious: the crimson pipes were delivered here from space as part of some alien infrastructure project. This Martian theory gained so many supporters that a monument topped with a rusty plate was even erected near the mountain.



However, recent research has shed light on the mystery. Modern scientists believe the metal molds are actually fossilized casts of tree roots.



The rusty pipes are the result of the processes of pedogenesis (soil formation) and diagenesis (the transformation of soil into rock) experienced by ancient roots. Subsequent analysis confirmed that the pipes contain organic plant material and even microscopic growth rings. Streams of water from a long-vanished lake once carried and preserved these roots in their current position.



So, although these pipes are not part of a stellar sewer system, they are a brilliant example of our planet's amazing ability to create strange and magnificent works of art, the decipherment of which will puzzle humanity for centuries to come.