Natural phenomena that are hard to believe (24 photos)

Our planet always knows how to surprise its inhabitants: here it displays fireworks, there it swirls glittering fish, and another time it builds bastions so massive it seems as if giants once played here.

We've collected 23 photos that prove nature has a rich imagination.







Mudstorms

Mudstorms occur when lightning strikes a volcanic plume.





Fairy Circles in Namibia

Researchers of the mysterious phenomenon suggest it is the work of sand termites.



Giant's Causeway

The eruption of an ancient volcano in Northern Ireland created an area covered with 40,000 tightly packed basalt columns.



Lenticular Clouds (© jollysailor1950)

Lenticular clouds in northern Georgia, USA, are a relatively rare natural phenomenon.



Catatumbo Lightning

Bright flashes over water occur 140-160 nights a year, 10 hours a night, and up to 280 times an hour.



Red Crabs of Christmas Island

Every year, approximately 43 million land crabs migrate en masse to the ocean shore to lay their eggs. Local authorities close most of the island's roads for a week to avoid disrupting the migration.



Great Blue Hole

This gigantic underwater sinkhole off the coast of Belize has a diameter of over 300 meters and a depth of 124 meters.



Asperatus Clouds

Undulatus asperatus, or rough-hummocked waves. This cloud type, which has a rather mystical appearance, was recently classified by the head of the Society of Cloud Research.



Lake Natron, Tanzania

This salt lake, fed by hot springs, is the only permanent breeding ground for lesser flamingos.



Spotted Lake (© Jeremy Hiebert)

Canada's Lake Kliluk is the world's largest reserve of magnesium sulfate, calcium sulfate, and sodium sulfate.



The Gates of Hell in Turkmenistan

A fire in a gas mine, sparked by the clumsy actions of explorers in 1971, still rages.



Spherical Boulders of New Zealand

Erosion has caused boulders with perfectly rounded outlines to emerge from the mudstone rocks of the coast.



Flammable Ice Bubbles (© Edwin Martinez)

Methane bubbles trapped in ice in Lake Abraham, Canada.



Frozen Flowers (© Jeffrey Bowman)

On the calm waters of lakes and seas, when the surface is just beginning to freeze over, fresh ice crystals of wondrous shapes form during sudden cold snaps (around -22 Celsius).



Black Sun

Up to 50,000 starlings gather in the sky in huge, chirping flocks. This phenomenon is also known as murmuring.



The Moving Stones of Death Valley (© Trey Ratcliff)

In a remote American valley, a unique geological phenomenon has been observed: rock fragments move unaided across the smooth soil, leaving long trails behind.



Underwater Circles

Off the coast of Japan, the dexterous male pufferfish create perfectly smooth circles with delicate edges. These works of art are designed to enchant and attract females.



Monarch Butterfly Migration

Covering thousands of kilometers, dense flocks of butterflies move briskly from Canada to the southern United States.



Blooming Desert

In years with heavier than usual rainfall in Chile, the Atacama Desert is covered in flowers and grasses.



Mammatus Clouds

These clouds are rare, occurring primarily in tropical latitudes, and are associated with the formation of tropical cyclones.



Bioluminescent waves on Maldivian beaches (© Doug Perrine)

Some species of phytoplankton exhibit luminescence.



Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees (© jwilsonnorton)

This occurs because the eucalyptus tree sheds its bark in chunks. Each piece of the trunk turns blue, purple, orange, and then maroon.



Sardine Run

From May to July, schools of billions of sardines move north along the east coast of South Africa.