Pamukkale means cotton castle, and has also been called the white castle because of the vast whiteness caused by the high concentration of calcite in the water. Travertine sedimentary deposits have created the white terraces, petrified waterfalls and mineral forests that make up the landscape. The 17 hot springs are heated by an underground volcano. The beautiful area of Pamukkale, Turkey, has been used as a healing spa for thousands of years. The healing properties of the area drew people from all over, and the Romans built the ancient city of Hieropolis there. To help preserve the area, hotels and access roads were taken down and man-made pools were created to help in keeping the natural beauty of Pamukkale.
Nine Hells Of Beppu (Japan)
Beppu is home to over 2,800 hot springs and is found on the island of Kyushu. The Nine hells of Beppu are some of the more unique springs in the area. Hell 1 is Umi Jigoku meaning “sea hell”. The pool is a turquoise blue and is hot enough to boil eggs. Hell 2 is Oniishibou, meaning “shaven head hell” and gets its name from the boiling gray mud. The mud bubbles to the surface and resembles the shaved head of Buddhist monks. Hell 3 is Shiraike Jigoku meaning “white pond hell” and is filled with boiling white water caused by the high calcium concentrations. Hell 4 is Yama Jigoku meaning “mountain hell. Yama Jigoku was made by a mud volcano that spewed so much that it created a small mountain surrounded by small pools. Hell 5 is Kamada Jigoku “cooking pot hell”. This is a collection of boiling hot springs that are flanked by a red devil statue featured as the cook. Hell 6 is Oniyama Jigoku, meaning “devil’s mountain hell”. Oniyama is a very strong stream that can pull 1 ½ train cars, and is also home to about 100 hellish crocodiles. Hell 7 is Kinryu Jigoku “golden dragon hell”. This spring is featured with a steaming dragon. The steam is supplied by the steam of the spring and is directed out of the dragon’s nostrils. The dragon gives the illusion of flying when water spouts out at sunrise. Hell 8 is Chinoike Jigoku, meaning “blood pond hell”. Chinoike gets its name from the bright reddish colored water caused by ferrous (containing iron) minerals in the pond. Hell 9 is Tatsumaki Jigoku, meaning “spout hell”. Tatsumaki is a geyser that spouts every 30 minutes and has a temperature of about 105 degrees Celsius.
Great Blue Hole Of Belize (Bahamas)
In the oceans of Bahamas and the national waters of Belize,there are some strange and wonderful deep circular cavities commonly known as Blue Holes.These holes are suggested to be the entrances to the cave networks.Some of them are reported to be around 14 km in length.According to the divers,deep inside of these cavities,there is a great variety of sea life and many of them are still new to science.Moreover the chambers there are filled with stalactites and stalagmites which are found in dry caves only.
Sanqingshan (China)
Sanqingshan has been considered a sacred place. Used by Taoists for meditation, and believed to lead to immortality it’s easy to see why. Sanqingshan is shrouded in mists for 200 days of the year. The mist gives an otherworldly quality to the mountain, along with thousands of streams that pour into pools, granite formations that resemble silhouettes of humans and animals, and strangely shaped pine trees. The pools and vegetation create unique environments that lure many exotic and rare birds and animals to make their home there. Sanqingshan is home to about 2,500 plant species. This is one of the only places to find the plants that are used in making traditional Chinese medicines.
Spotted Lake of Osoyoos (Canada)
Spotted Lake of Osoyoos was sacred to the First Nations of Okanagan Valley Indians. Osoyoos means narrowing waters in the Okanagan language, and is used to describe what happens to the lake. The lake is a saline endorheic lake, which means it is a closed body of water with no outflow or inflow from other bodies of water. The lake has high concentrates of many different minerals, and contains some of the highest quantities of magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulfates in the world. There are also eight other lesser minerals in the water, including small amounts of silver and titanium. The minerals in the lake are very beneficial, and were mined during WWI to use in the making of ammunition for the war. The minerals are what give the lake its uniqueness. During the summer, as the water evaporates, spots are formed which have different colors depending on which mineral is most present. The spots crystallize and form walkways of different colors. The colors can be white, yellow, blue or green. The lake is on private property and they allow very little public access.
Chamarel Falls and the Colored Earth (Mauritius)
The Republic of Mauritius is an island nation located off the southeast coast of Africa. It is part of an archipelago formed from a now dormant undersea volcano. Mauritius is home to two natural wonders. The first is Chamarel Falls, which are three thin waterfalls that fall about 300 ft. down a plateau. They are the tallest waterfalls in Mauritius. Mauritius was once known only for its waterfalls, then in the 1960s, the colored dunes were discovered. The colored sand was created from clay made of lava cooling off at different times. The effect caused the 7 different colors of sand to form; they include red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple and yellow. The most unique aspect of the sands is the fact that if you take all the colors and mix them together, they will naturally separate and rejoin the correct color grouping that they belong to. How this happens is a mystery to scientists who have tried to solve the strange properties of the sand. Another mystery of the sand is that there is no visible erosion. The area has a heavy rainy season so erosion should be a definite effect of nature.
Rio Tinto (Spain)
The Rio Tinto runs from the Sierra Moreno Mountains down to the Gulf of Cádiz in Huelva, Spain. Rio Tinto translates into red river and this is exactly how the river appears. High levels of iron in the water cause the red coloring of the river. The river has been mined for copper, gold and silver from ancient times, and continues as of today. The Rio Tinto has the oldest mines in the world, which are believed to be the fabled King Solomon’s mines. Due to all the mining, the river has a high acidic content and is home to organisms that survive in extreme conditions. This has led to scientific study of the river, used in the study of the underground lakes of Mars and Jupiter. The link to outer space seems appropriate, as the Rio Tinto area has an alien lunar like landscape. The mining has created walls of terraced rock that has formed a natural amphitheater.
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