10 Most Alien and Weird Places on Earth
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1. Aurora Borealis (North Pole)
Auroras sometimes called the northern and southern (polar) lights or aurorae are natural beautiful light displays in the sky, usually observed at night, particularly in the polar regions. They typically occur in the ionosphere. The Cree people call this phenomenon the “Dance of the Spirits. Its southern counterpart, the aurora australis or the southern polar lights, has similar properties, but is only visible from high southern latitudes in Antarctica, South America, or Australasia.
2. Spain Rio Tinto
Image Source: Unknown
The vast mines of Rio Tinto give a hypnagogic, almost martian landscape. Its growth has consumed not only mountains and valleys but even entire villages. This river has gained recent scientific interest due to the presence of extremophile aerobic bacteria that dwell in the water.The extreme conditions in the river are analogous to other locations in the solar system thought to contain liquid water, such as subterranean Mars. Río Tinto is notable for being very acidic (pH 2) and its deep reddish hue. It is metal solvent and surely not human-friendly!
3. McMurdo Dry Valleys (Antarctica)

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of valleys in Antarctica located within Victoria Land west of McMurdo Sound. The terrain looks like something not of this Earth; The region includes many interesting geological features including Lake Vida and the Onyx River, Antarctica’s longest river. The valley’s floor occasionally contains a perennially frozen lake with ice several meters thick. It is also one of the world’s most extreme deserts Under the ice, in the extremely salty water, live mysterious simple organisms, a subject of on-going research. Scientists consider the Dry Valleys perhaps an important source of insights into possible extraterrestrial life.
4. The Richat Structure, near Ouadane, Mauritania
The Richat Structure is a prominent circular feature in the Sahara desert of Mauritania near Ouadane. It has attracted attention since the earliest space missions because it forms a conspicuous bull’s-eye in the otherwise rather featureless expanse of the desert. The structure, which has a diameter of almost 50 kilometres (30 miles), has become a landmark for space shuttle crews.
5. Rotorua, New Zealand
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. Rotorua city is renowned for its unique “rotten eggs” aroma, which is caused by the geothermal activity releasing sulphur compounds into the atmosphere. Geothermal activity is at the heart of much of Rotorua’s tourist appeal. Geysers and bubbling mud-pools, hot thermal springs and the Buried Village (Te Wairoa) – are within easy reach of the city.This thermal activity owes itself to the Rotorua caldera on which the city lies. Waters of ivid colors, from yellow to orange to green which is partially possible to visit it.
6. Fly Geyser, Reno
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Fly Ranch features two geysers, one of which is dormant. The other, Fly Geyser, was accidentally formed by a water well drill that hit a geothermal source, and continuously sprays hot water. Fly Ranch is private property and does not allow visitors.
7. Spotted Lake, Osoyoos, British Columbia
Spotted Lake is a saline endorheic alkali lake located northwest of Osoyoos in British Columbia. In the summer, most of the water in the lake evaporates leaving behind all the minerals. Large “spots” on the lake appear and depending on the mineral composition at the time, the spots will be different colors. The spots are made mainly of magnesium sulfate, which crystallizes in the summer. Since in the summer, only the minerals in the lake remain, they harden to form natural “walkways” around and between the spots.
8. The Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil’s Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean in which a number of aircraft and surface vessels are alleged to have mysteriously disappeared in a manner that cannot be explained by human error, piracy, equipment failure, or natural disasters. Popular culture has attributed these disappearances to the paranormal, a suspension of the laws of physics, or activity by extraterrestrial beings. Apparently it doesn’t seem alien but it is really scary!
9. Kauai, Hawaii
Kauaʻi is the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands, it is the fourth largest of the main islands. Seaside lava ledges make for otherworldly experiences on this often-overlooked Hawaiian island.
10. Mount Roraima (Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana)
Since long before the arrival of European explorers, the mountain has held a special significance for the indigenous people of the region, and it is central to many of their myths and legends It is a pretty remarkable place. It is a tabletop mountain with sheer 400-metre high cliffs on all sides. There is only one ‘easy’ way up, on a natural staircase-like ramp on the Venezuelan side – to get up any other way takes and experienced rock climber. On the top of the mountain it rains almost every day, washing away most of the nutrients for plants to grow and creating a unique landscape on the bare sandstone surface.
Description Source: Wikipedia
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Comments (79)












I had a chance to travel for a year. I’ve been to Rotorua, very nice place. You can see more pictures and video on my blog http://podroze.ladnemiejsca.pl/dziennik-z-podrozy/mamy-swoje-auto/
Regards,
Thanks, Peter.
Rgds, Soendoro Soetanto
A w Kruzewnikach byl?
moze i byl, ale u nas na ziemiach odzyskanych najpikniejsze widoki
był
Looks amazing!
I didn’t know part of them.
Thanks a lot!
I’m shocked at the Yemen one (Although it is an island off it)
Yeah, Socotra may as well be Mars. http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/09/most-alien-looking-place-on-earth.html Remove Bermuda Triangle, add Socotra.
I’ve seen the northern lights! Spectacular! Eery!
Hard to believe the Bermuda Triangle myth is still being kept alive! It has long since been proven that no more ships and planes have disappeared here than in any other part of the ocean with as much traffic as there. I guess people will always believe what they want to believe.
The triangle is also located off the Puerto Rico trench- an area of the world with the least amount of gravity which could explain the numerous mechanical problems and crashes that have occurred here.
Number 6 looks like Fly Geyser, Nevada. Google it to see.
Never mind, It’s fixed.
When I was in the triangle we were attacked by a gigantic piece of poop with corn and nuts in it! Crazy stuff.
Still alive? I think we’re way overdue for a modern Bermuda Triangle movie!
I have been to spotted lake. When I was there it was green and blue. Very cool!
Your Bermuda Triangle image comes from this man:
http://extremeinstability.com/04-5-28.htm
What, no Darvaza, Turkmenistan? No Centralia, PA? You had to pad the list with the Bermuda Triangle?
Fly Geyser is not in Reno.
Actually it is about 100 miles Northeast of Reno , North of the Blackrock Playa.
Used by Burning Man attendees around 1997 , but closed to the public since about that time.
Cool place though!
You sure these aren’t unused set mockups for Avatar?
The photos are stunning. The ice at McMurdo Dry Valley looks outer-worldly.
Did the story’s author take all of them?
Can you please provide credits?
This really needs Mexico’s crystal caves. The pictures in National Geographic blew my mind.
What about the giant crystals caverns in northern Mexico?
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/geopedia/Crystal_Giants
Those are really amazing!!
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/crystal-giants/img/01-crystal-cave-665.jpg
Rio Tinto: http://bit.ly/9ldtlF
Dry Valleys: http://bit.ly/bu1lxM
The Richat Structure: http://bit.ly/cZRYwp
Rotorua: http://bit.ly/ccVaaY
Spotted Lake: http://bit.ly/cONksJ
The Bermuda Triangle: http://bit.ly/aKIibo
Kauai: http://bit.ly/arVvW5
I couldn’t spot the rest…. : (
Thanks much friend
“Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil’s Triangle”
Wrong. Bermuda triangle is off the coast of florida in the atlantic. Devil’s triangle is off the coast of australia. Strangely both triangles have cities near them named Melbourne.
Including the Bermuda Triangle in this list of real places is nonsense – it has long since been shown that most of the claimed “mysteries” are just bad reporting of ships and planes lost in storms or due to misadventure and the total losses in the area are on a par with or less than the losses in areas with similar traffic. Its presence spoils the list.
The author has never been to Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia (the world’s biggest salt flats).
No devils raceway??
Very good list.
Wow looks well lets say creepy, but amazing! Mount Roraima looks like something from the movie AVATAR.
Beautfiul…but the Bermuda Triangle is misplaced, and generally mischaracterized. There are several other oceans on the planet that share the same weather and magnetic anomalies…it is just that there is so much traffic around Bermuda, and it is off the USA, that gives it so much attention.
check out the paulding lights, you can find it on youtube. its this weird naturally occuring light show in upper peninsula michigan, ripleys believe it or not has offered $100,000 to anyone who can explain it. pretttty crazy
Sounds like the Marfa Lights.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfa_lights
Conspicuously missing is Arches National Park’s Fiery Furnace near Moab Utah, also Utah’s Coyote Butte and The Wave.
http://theworldinlight.com/thumbnails/coyote-buttes-photos.html
Um Jeff, you may want to consult a map and brush up on your geography a bit. Reno is in Nevada.
Mount Roraima (Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana) was where the house of Pixar´s Up landed.
Great list! Thanks so much for showing these. Me and my wife got a kick out of them.
-Michael
Thanks for the great pics
Roraima was the setting for Conan Doyle’s “Lost World” — prehistoric creatures surviving on the inaccessible (in his story) tableland.
any one know whats the reason behind “Bermuda Triangle”
The Spotted Lake photo is mine. How neat to stumble on this page and find my own photo for one of these 10 weird places on Earth.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/liem/1595504737/
Thanks for dropping by, adding your image link to the compilation
jako brate
anyone else noticed the unnecessary photoshop lens flare for #8 Bermuda triangle…
I’ve been fortunate enough to see the Northern Lights a few times and never fail to impress.
Ankit,
There’s really nothing remarkable about the “Bermuda Triangle”. Shipping and aircraft losses are the same there as anywhere else on earth based upon frequency of travel. Nothing mysterious, no so called “magnetic anomalies” or otherwise has EVER been documented. It’s all anecdotal, the stuff of myths and legends.
Loving the photography here…incredible shots. Many thanks for sharing.
Awsome List!!!
There’s a few more places like that on Explorra
http://www.explorra.com/travel/weird-and-bizzare
This is a fabulous list!Aurora Borealis is absolutely magical.Thanks for the great list and pictures as well.. Love this and can’t wait to visit a few!
it is nearly the end of the world and we are still not able to understand the planet on which we live. imagine what wonderful and surprising things the Creator might have made in the BIG universe.
Amazing places and gorgeous photos!
)
Aurora Borealis: Check (not on the North Pole, but close enough
The rest is yet to go.
Great List! These are the place looking beautiful in picture but when you reach then you know the truth.
What’s common for National Geographic and Playboy?
They both show holes that you’ll never get to reach
Great collection, I am sure the list could be endless. Thanks for sharing.
Denis
you should add my teenage son’s bedroom to your list of toxic, alien & inhospitable places
Wow this is a great resource.. I’m enjoying it.. good article
WEIRD ONLY TO THOSE THAT HAVENT EVER SEEN THESE. CHECK OUT UNDER THE OCEANS, IF YOU WANT TO SEE FABULOUS SIGHTS.
I have even seen the lights once here in southeastern Wisconsin. It was incredible…I had never seen anything in real life that looked like a spirit to me until that viewing. These were mostly only green as well.