If You See This at Yellowstone… Run! Ground Is Rising Fast!

Bright Side

Something is happening beneath Yellowstone… and it has scientists deeply concerned. The ground is rising—an early warning sign that the supervolcano beneath the surface may be reactivating. From strange geological activity to sudden uplift, this isn’t just natural movement—it could be something much bigger.  In this video, we explore what’s going on under Yellowstone, what experts are saying, and whether this could be a sign of a looming eruption.  Subscribe for urgent earth science updates, natural disaster coverage, and real-world space and geology alerts.  Animation is created by Bright Side.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV  Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Our Social Media:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightplanet/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other):  https://www.depositphotos.com  https://www.shutterstock.com  https://www.eastnews.ru  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

Transcript

00:00:00So, you might have heard that Yellowstone National Park is sitting on top of a giant supervolcano.

00:00:07That's a reason why the area can boast powerful geysers and hot springs.

00:00:13But it also means that underneath Yellowstone, there is an enormous magma chamber.

00:00:19In 2015, researchers from the University of Utah found out that this chamber was much bigger than everyone had previously thought.

00:00:27They even found one more reservoir with magma under the top one.

00:00:32Apparently, the more spacious the chambers are, the more magma they contain.

00:00:37Together, the two reservoirs store a glob of magma that could easily fill the Grand Canyon not once, but 11 times.

00:00:45But, you know the most worrying thing about the magma chambers?

00:00:49They tend to push against the ground above them.

00:00:52As a result, the land in Yellowstone rises about 1 to 2 inches a year.

00:00:57On top of that, Yellowstone has the status of an active volcano.

00:01:02And its volcanic explosivity index, yes, there is one, is 8 out of 8.

00:01:08Such a high number means that if this volcano erupted, it would be an apocalyptic event.

00:01:14To put it into perspective, the eruption of Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991,

00:01:18which is considered the most powerful in living memory, was given a mere 6 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index.

00:01:26Ha! Loser!

00:01:29Now, let's figure out if there's anything to worry about.

00:01:31In March 2023, the University of Utah seismograph stations recorded 354 earthquakes in the entire region of Yellowstone National Park.

00:01:43Sounds like a lot!

00:01:45But keep in mind that the most impressive event of the month was a mini-earthquake of magnitude 3.7.

00:01:51It was part of a swarm of 106 earthquakes that began on March 29 and continued until the end of the month.

00:02:01Yep, earthquakes apparently also come in swarms.

00:02:04So, be aware.

00:02:07Experts say that Yellowstone's seismic activity is, well, kind of more active than usual.

00:02:12But it's really nothing serious.

00:02:14A geophysicist working at Yellowstone Volcano Observatory called Michael Pollan claims that the volcano won't erupt anytime soon.

00:02:24For this to happen, there must be enough magma ready to erupt beneath the surface.

00:02:29Whew!

00:02:30There should also be enough pressure to cause this magma to rise.

00:02:34But neither of these conditions exist today.

00:02:38According to the expert, Yellowstone is stable now.

00:02:41At the same time, Pollan and his team are keeping track of all kinds of underground activity, looking for warning signs of possible eruptions.

00:02:51Some of them can be the frequency of earthquakes and ground deformation.

00:02:55Thousands of mini-earthquakes, coupled with extreme changes in the surface of the ground in that area, can be alarming.

00:03:03The team also monitors the temperature of the park's thermal features.

00:03:06That's another noteworthy sign of a potential disaster, park-wide changes in geyser activity, as well as gas and thermal emissions.

00:03:16So, despite the media claims that Yellowstone is due to erupt soon because the last eruption happened 70,000 years ago, that's not how volcanoes work.

00:03:27Experts say that it's one of the most popular misconceptions about volcanoes.

00:03:31They don't follow timelines.

00:03:33If a super-eruption did happen, though, the most worrying thing for us would not be the lava flows, and not an earthquake that would most likely accompany the natural disaster.

00:03:45No, the worst consequence of such a super-eruption would be ash and ashfall.

00:03:51Let's have a look at what it was like when the Yellowstone volcano erupted many years ago.

00:03:55There have been at least three super-eruptions in the history of the volcano.

00:04:01The most powerful of them was 2,500 times more devastating than the terrifying eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State in 1980.

00:04:12As for the most recent super-eruption, it was dubbed the Lava Creek Eruption.

00:04:16It formed the Yellowstone Caldera after spewing out an insane amount of dust, volcanic ash, and rock into the air.

00:04:27Recently, scientists have also learned about two other previously unknown super-eruptions that happened around 9 and 8.7 million years ago.

00:04:36The younger of the two is now considered to be the largest recorded event of the whole Snake River Yellowstone volcanic province.

00:04:43Anyway, let's have a look at what was going on all those millions of years ago.

00:04:50Because I wasn't around then, so we're all assuming this stuff based on evidence.

00:04:55The first signs of the disaster appeared long before the catastrophe broke out.

00:05:01For thousands of years, the heat had been welling up from within the planet's insides.

00:05:06It had been melting rock beneath the planet's crust and leaving behind huge chambers.

00:05:10They were filled with a pressurized mixture of semi-solid rock, magma, water vapor, and different gases, including carbon dioxide.

00:05:20All this scorching underground soup was expanding since more and more magma arrived with time.

00:05:26The land over the volcanic system was rising upward almost unnoticeably.

00:05:31A year before the super-eruption, Yellowstone gave a warning.

00:05:36A burp, maybe?

00:05:37But that long ago, there was no one who could interpret these signals.

00:05:42Plus, those alarming processes were mostly going on underground.

00:05:46For example, decompression releases gas bubbles.

00:05:50While bursting, such bubbles can often power particular kinds of eruptions.

00:05:54Months before the eruption, small-scale earthquakes became more frequent and more intense.

00:06:01The ground in many spots all over the super-volcano got hotter than it used to be.

00:06:07Surface lakes and groundwater also became warmer.

00:06:10If people had been around at that time, they would have noticed unusual steam fogging in that area.

00:06:16Not long before the eruption started, the growing pressure pushed the ground over the magma chamber up.

00:06:23This created a dome-shaped uplift.

00:06:26Narrow cracks started to open along the edges of this dome.

00:06:30Imagine opening a bottle of soda after you've shaken it.

00:06:33Something like that was happening near the volcano.

00:06:37Think Mentos and Diet Coke.

00:06:39The pressure was released through the fractures when gases were bursting out from under the surface.

00:06:44So, right before the disaster, the ground around the Yellowstone volcano lifted.

00:06:50Geothermal pools and geysers heated up to boiling temperatures and got more acidic than usual.

00:06:56The magma started to rise toward the surface.

00:07:00At one point, the rock roof of the magma chamber couldn't resist anymore, and the eruption kicked off.

00:07:06Small but constant tremors began to move the ground days before the catastrophe.

00:07:11But the real shaking didn't start until several minutes before the eruption.

00:07:17With a deafening roar, a massive column of lava and ash curled up into the air.

00:07:22Within several minutes, a pyroclastic flow rushed across the area at a hurricane-force speed.

00:07:28Such a flow is a liquid mixture of half-solid lava pieces, volcanic ash, and hot, expanding gases.

00:07:37It looked like an extremely hot, toxic snow avalanche.

00:07:40With a temperature of about 1,300 degrees, it was burning everything in its back.

00:07:45The volcano kept pumping ash for days on end.

00:07:50For all living creatures, ash fallout was one of the most dangerous consequences of the eruption.

00:07:56Volcanic ash turns into glassy cement within seconds of being inhaled.

00:08:01Most animals didn't have a chance to survive.

00:08:04Even thick trees started to collapse under the weight of this dense substance.

00:08:08It only took a couple of days until a thick layer of ash covered huge territories.

00:08:15After the ash got into the stratosphere, the temperatures all over the world started to drop.

00:08:21The eruption was rich in sulfur, which is an effective sunblocker.

00:08:26That's why it soon got so cold that there was no summer in the whole world for the next several years.

00:08:32Animals couldn't find food and clean water.

00:08:34This natural disaster, called the Gray's Landing supereruption, was colossal.

00:08:41That's how researchers described it in their recent studies.

00:08:44It affected a huge territory.

00:08:47The streams of lava enameled an area as large as New Jersey in scorching hot volcanic glass.

00:08:54It instantly sterilized the land surface, wiping out all the plant life that had been thriving there before.

00:09:00Now, if such an eruption were to happen these days, it would cover Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming with almost three feet of toxic volcanic ash.

00:09:11Many regions would be plunged into darkness.

00:09:14Even the coast, where most Americans live, would experience problems with the spread of the ash cloud.

00:09:19It would destroy crops and contaminate pastures, ruin power lines, and electrical transformers.

00:09:26Well, so I'm sure you'll agree with me, it's a good thing that such a disaster isn't expected to occur anytime soon.

00:09:35Hey, we've got enough other stuff on our plate.

00:09:37Let's head to the Middle East.

00:09:41There's a large desert here, and it's completely dark, except for one spot.

00:09:46It's a big circle that glows with a bright orange light, the Darvaza Crater.

00:09:52And it's just a giant gas burner.

00:09:54Years ago, geologists found gas here, and they started mining for it.

00:09:59But when they excavated, they came across a void underground.

00:10:03The void collapsed, and it formed a crater.

00:10:07It's as wide as half a soccer field, and as deep as a five-story building.

00:10:12Gas began to come out of the cracks in the crater.

00:10:15And since animals were often grazing near this place,

00:10:18the geologists decided to set these gas streams on fire to exhaust the source.

00:10:24Geologists thought the fire would be over in a day or two.

00:10:27But if you come here now, you'll see this gateway to the underworld is still burning.

00:10:32And it's been going on for almost 50 years.

00:10:35In 2013, a man descended to the bottom of the burning crater for the first time.

00:10:42He collected many different samples there.

00:10:44And scientists were able to find bacteria that aren't found anywhere else on Earth.

00:10:49They're quite comfortable at the bottom of this endless burning frying pan.

00:10:53In 2009, a man in L'Aquila, Italy, saw flickering lights dancing above the stone street.

00:11:01He immediately knew what to do and moved his family to a safer place.

00:11:06Only seconds later, a massive 8.3 magnitude earthquake hit the whole region.

00:11:12His knowledge of the strange lights saved his and his family's lives.

00:11:15So, what are those mysterious warnings?

00:11:19For centuries, people interpreted the lights as something otherworldly.

00:11:23The scientific community didn't take them seriously.

00:11:26Just put them down to a false recollection, a mind trick, or pure imagination.

00:11:32With the introduction of surveillance cameras and smartphones,

00:11:35the amount of evidence grew enormously.

00:11:38Now the connection was obvious.

00:11:40Lights appear and an earthquake hits.

00:11:43So, experts finally started taking it seriously and started digging for the truth.

00:11:49But after years of research, to this day,

00:11:52geologists are still not fully sure what the source of the lights is.

00:11:56But they have recognized five types of them.

00:11:59Bright flashes that light up the sky, looking like storm lightning or a strong camera flash.

00:12:05Rays in the sky that can look like light columns.

00:12:09Different-sized flames that come through the ground.

00:12:11Diffused glows over the mountains.

00:12:15And slow-moving balls of light that can be misinterpreted as ball lightning.

00:12:20Another equally little understood atmospheric phenomenon.

00:12:24These are literal balls of lightning that can float and explode, leaving a sulfuric odor behind.

00:12:30But unlike ball lightning, these spherical EQLs seem to be harmless, if you don't count what's coming afterward.

00:12:38But with all these types of lights, experts can't know how exactly they're connected to earthquakes.

00:12:44They don't only show up before one hits.

00:12:47Some have been reported during and after earthquakes.

00:12:50They can also appear with other phenomena, like meteorite crashes, volcanic eruptions, or auroras.

00:12:57For now, scientists can only come up with theories to explain the unexplainable.

00:13:03One of the recent ones claimed the lights were electric lines being broken during an earthquake.

00:13:09But this theory doesn't explain how the phenomenon was observed hundreds or even thousands of years ago.

00:13:15Like the ancient Chinese tale of dragon-looking clouds appearing in the sky as a warning of an upcoming quake.

00:13:23Or how an ancient Roman historian reported huge flame-like lights bursting out just before a huge earthquake occurred.

00:13:31The electric line theory was quickly dismissed.

00:13:34Another theory suggested it was escaping gas.

00:13:37During an earthquake, the underground rocks expand and shrink under pressure and heat.

00:13:44This opens and closes small spaces between them.

00:13:47Different gases make their way through these new openings.

00:13:50Radon, for example, can get released during seismic activity.

00:13:55It can ionize the air, making it electrically charged.

00:13:59But radon doesn't do it enough to create bright sparks of light.

00:14:03This theory is close, but doesn't quite hit the mark.

00:14:06One of the most accepted theories is that it might be from electricity traveling up from underground.

00:14:13When underground igneous rocks, ones that form from magma deep within the Earth, are under stress, they release ionized, or electrically charged, oxygen.

00:14:23It travels through the surface and up into the atmosphere, where it creates a localized electric field.

00:14:29That can produce brief flashes of visible light.

00:14:33Some aren't even that quick, and can go on for minutes at a time.

00:14:38So, there you are.

00:14:40You've been driving for hours through the night.

00:14:42You didn't have any chance to sleep, so your mind is hanging by a thread.

00:14:47You stop the car and go out to stretch your limbs.

00:14:50And then, you look up into the sky and see a beautiful sunrise.

00:14:55Whoa.

00:14:56Wait!

00:14:57There are three suns in the sky!

00:14:59You rub your eyes, but nope.

00:15:01There are still three bright stars in the sky.

00:15:05No, our home star hasn't been torn into three pieces.

00:15:08Nor has it been visited by two other stars.

00:15:12This is called a sun dog.

00:15:14It occurs mostly during severe frosts.

00:15:17Small ice crystals in the sky bend the light.

00:15:21As a result, you may see three bright spots in the sky instead of just one.

00:15:26This phenomenon is officially called a halo.

00:15:29Usually, it's just a circle around the sun.

00:15:32You can even see a halo at night, too.

00:15:34Just look at a street lamp, and you'll see a bright circle around it.

00:15:39Sometimes, a halo can take on a fancier shape.

00:15:42If there's a lot of ice in the air, the light is warped even more.

00:15:47Just like in a room with a dozen mirrors.

00:15:49Then, the halo can take on the shape of a human eye.

00:15:54Because of this phenomenon, a false dawn can occur, too.

00:15:59While you're looking at the horizon, the dawn begins, and the edge of the sun appears.

00:16:03A little bit more, and...

00:16:06Wait.

00:16:07The sun starts to just dissolve in the sky.

00:16:09After a few moments, it's dark again.

00:16:12And only a minute later, the real sun shows its face.

00:16:16It was the same light curvature effect you saw before with the three suns.

00:16:21Only now, the light is curved vertically, not horizontally.

00:16:25And instead of the real sun, its reflection in ice crystals in the sky appeared.

00:16:30And now, moving on.

00:16:33This cloud looks like a dinosaur.

00:16:35And this one looks like a cat.

00:16:37And this...

00:16:38Whoa!

00:16:39It looks like these clouds are falling down!

00:16:42Oh, phew.

00:16:43That's just a mammatus cloud.

00:16:45Their shape really makes them look like chunks of cloud about to slam on the ground.

00:16:50Well, that's not going to happen.

00:16:52But you better start seeking cover anyway.

00:16:54Such clouds are a sign of a severe thunderstorm coming.

00:16:59It takes a lot of moist air with ice crystals at the top and dry air at the bottom to create such clouds.

00:17:05Then, vertical currents of air appear between these layers.

00:17:10And these currents make the clouds take the shape of a human brain.

00:17:14Whoa!

00:17:14And this giant cloud looks like a dome that's going to cover an entire city.

00:17:21In fact, that's exactly what happens.

00:17:23A huge cloud covers a large area and then rains heavily on it.

00:17:28Sometimes, the front of such a cloud takes a bizarre shape.

00:17:31Like in these pictures.

00:17:33It looks more like several giant spaghetti clouds.

00:17:36Or even giant cloud worms.

00:17:39This phenomenon can often be seen in Australia.

00:17:42And it's called morning glory.

00:17:45It happens because a strong wind twists part of the cloud on both sides.

00:17:49And then, the huge sheet of air dough splits into thick strips.

00:17:53And sometimes, you can see clouds in the sky made of birds.

00:17:59Wow!

00:17:59That cloud moves quickly and changes shape.

00:18:02It becomes more transparent, but then denser and darker again.

00:18:06The birds seem to be involved in some kind of dance or performance.

00:18:11But they're not doing it for beauty or for the crowds of spectators gathered below.

00:18:15They're doing it for protection.

00:18:18When birds group themselves into such a cloud, they intimidate birds of prey.

00:18:23An eagle or hawk would have a hard time picking out a single target among the endless number of birds.

00:18:29And they move quickly, covering each other.

00:18:33Fish are huddled together in schools in the same way.

00:18:35Such a cloud might just spook a hungry predator.

00:18:40Grab some sunglasses, and you're good to go.

00:18:43This phenomenon lasts around 40 minutes.

00:18:46These clouds are the same ones that can cause a spooky ring around the moon at night sometimes.

00:18:52Nature sends early signs of disasters in many different ways.

00:18:56J-shaped trees might mean there's a landslide coming.

00:18:59Since the ground is moving slowly, the trees grow into this super selfie-able shape.

00:19:05Try to find a flat area and avoid going near any trees, unless you have superhuman strength.

00:19:12Another mystical phenomenon can be seen in the desert.

00:19:15A sand waterfall.

00:19:16When the wind brings a lot of sand to the edge of the canyon, it begins to fall down.

00:19:22Now amplify this effect 100 times, and you get a sand waterfall in Saudi Arabia.

00:19:29It's really like Niagara Falls.

00:19:31Only, there's not a drop of water.

00:19:33The locals say this phenomenon warns of an impending sandstorm.

00:19:41You're hiking in the wilderness, looking for a safe spot to set up camp.

00:19:45All you can hear are leaves and branches crackling under your footsteps.

00:19:49Some squirrels are running up a tree over there.

00:19:52But suddenly, something unexpected happens.

00:19:55You notice something weird in the distance in between the trees.

00:19:58It kind of looks like a concrete structure of some kind.

00:20:02Weird.

00:20:03At this point, you're at least 20 miles deep into the woods,

00:20:07and there are no nearby towns or villages, as far as you know.

00:20:11So, you decide to go off the trail with your friends to get a closer look.

00:20:16But as you get nearer, you realize that it's leading to nowhere.

00:20:21Hmm, what's it doing here, in the middle of literally nowhere?

00:20:25And it doesn't even lead to anything.

00:20:26You put on your Sherlock Holmes cap and investigate.

00:20:31So, maybe there used to be an old house or mansion here that collapsed over the years,

00:20:36and the only thing left is a staircase?

00:20:39But, weirdly enough, after circling the bizarre structure,

00:20:43you realize there's no trace of any ruins or even foundations.

00:20:48It's like someone just sliced a staircase off their house, cake-style,

00:20:52and plopped it here for no reason.

00:20:55Okay?

00:20:55You and your friends aren't really into getting a whole lot closer.

00:21:00Something feels wrong.

00:21:02The longer you look at this weird structure, the more you feel a super-creepy presence.

00:21:08Something tells you you should probably leave the area as fast as possible.

00:21:12As weird as this sounds, discoveries of random staircases, illogically found in the woods,

00:21:19are surprisingly common.

00:21:21Some are made of wood, others of brick or stone.

00:21:24Some look ancient, while others look like they were finished yesterday.

00:21:28The one thing they all have in common, they all lead to absolutely nowhere.

00:21:33And they're all found in super-mysterious locations.

00:21:37One of the most famous ones is in Chesterfield, New Hampshire.

00:21:41A long, medieval-looking staircase made of stones with Roman arches in the middle of the woods.

00:21:47It's believed to have been part of Madame Antoinette Sherry's castle.

00:21:51She was a big singer back in Paris.

00:21:54The castle dates back about 100 years, and it was later discovered again in 1962.

00:21:59This time, there was nothing but a staircase.

00:22:02Another mysterious ancient staircase dates back to 9,000 years ago.

00:22:08It's in a forest in Italy.

00:22:10It looks like a series of stairs that lead to a tiny platform at the top.

00:22:15Now, why go through all the trouble of building the thing if it leads to nowhere?

00:22:20Well, some scientists think it could have been some sort of ritual tower.

00:22:25But your guess is as good as theirs.

00:22:27There's an anomaly in the Indian Ocean, known as the Indian Ocean Geoid Low, or I-O-G-L.

00:22:35It produces the largest distorting natural gravitational force in the world.

00:22:41Heavy mineral deposits, many deep-sea trenches, and magma reservoirs disturb the magnetic field in this area.

00:22:48Earth's gravity changes in different places around the planet.

00:22:51It allows researchers to look for patterns and figure out what's happening beneath the surface.

00:22:57Higher gravity fields usually mean denser materials below, and vice versa.

00:23:03Some scientists believe that the anomaly might be a dent in the planet's mantle that is working its way up to the crust.

00:23:10The Niihau Island actually rejects the fruits of today's advancements.

00:23:16There are no cars in sight since the locals get around on foot or by bicycles.

00:23:21No wonder their legs have great definition.

00:23:24They thrive without running water, internet, or shops.

00:23:28The only school on the entire island is powered by solar energy with a backup generator.

00:23:34And what's awesome is that it's the only school in the state that's powered by the sun.

00:23:39Being a resident of the island, the local explains some ground rules the permanent residents must abide by.

00:23:46If they do break these rules, they can be evicted.

00:23:49Now, not far from Bangkok, in northeastern Thailand, there's a 75-million-year-old rock formation.

00:23:57These rocks look like three whales swimming together.

00:24:01The beautiful design created by nature became known as Three Whales Rock.

00:24:06Millions of years ago, this area was just a desert.

00:24:10But the land was changing.

00:24:11Gradually, sandstone got pulled apart by the movements of tectonic plates and erosion.

00:24:17That's how these spectacular formations were created.

00:24:20If you decide to explore the system of trails around Three Whales Rock, you'll find waterfalls and an abundance of fauna and flora there.

00:24:29Located on Gamal and Gaiden peninsulas, these expansive pit holes were discovered in 2014.

00:24:37They seem to be still changing and evolving.

00:24:40The pits grow wider, and people find them more often.

00:24:43Of course, there's no shortage of theories about how they appeared.

00:24:47Suggestions range from meteorite impacts to the activity of other civilizations.

00:24:52But the most common explanation is that methane gas reacted to water molecules after the planet's permafrost started to melt.

00:25:00This resulted in bubbles of methane bursting through the ice.

00:25:04The craters could be thousands of years old, but nobody knows for sure.

00:25:10You're driving to the state of New Mexico, to the small town of Taos.

00:25:152% of the locals hear a strange buzzing in the air every day.

00:25:19Some residents believe the sound is somehow connected with technologies used by guests from other galaxies.

00:25:28Also, there is a theory that something sinister lives in the town.

00:25:32They say Taos is cursed.

00:25:34An evil spirit or a phantom punishes people for something their ancestors did in the past.

00:25:40Scientists still can't explain the nature of this sound.

00:25:43Another theory says it's caused by unusual acoustics of the location.

00:25:47While others think the buzzing is a hallucination.

00:25:51Some can hear it because everybody talks about something,

00:25:54and our minds create an illusion of the sound that doesn't really exist.

00:25:59The sound isn't the same for everyone, either.

00:26:01For some, it's a low hum.

00:26:03For others, it's more of a buzzing sound.

00:26:06But this is not the only place where you can hear the strange noises.

00:26:09It's called the hum, and people worldwide claim to have heard it.

00:26:15Some dwellers of a small village in Scotland describe it as a low, thick hum.

00:26:20While some residents of Florida heard a similar sound, too.

00:26:24It's not exactly known where this phenomenon appeared.

00:26:28But the first time the media started talking about it was in the 1970s in England.

00:26:32Also, there are written records of a mysterious buzzing dating back almost 200 years.

00:26:39According to some estimates, only about 2% of people on the planet can hear the hum.

00:26:45Perhaps their ears pick up some low-frequency waves, or the reason is something else entirely.

00:26:51Maybe, just maybe, they hear humming because the person doing it doesn't know the words to the song.

00:26:58Yeah, that joke is also 200 years old.

00:27:01A volcano in Indonesia spews bright blue lava and produces electric blue and purple flames.

00:27:09This phenomenon occurs because the volcano has some of the highest levels of sulfur in the world.

00:27:16You can also know you're near it by its foul stench.

00:27:19But I digress.

00:27:21And when sulfuric gases interact with scorching hot air and get lit by the molten lava, they turn blue.

00:27:28You can also find the world's largest acid lake inside this crater.

00:27:33Yep, it's a real stinker.

00:27:36Underwater rivers and lakes are called brine pools for a reason.

00:27:40High salinity makes the water in them denser than the seawater around.

00:27:45That's why it sinks to the bottom, forming rivers and lakes.

00:27:49Those have waves of their own.

00:27:50And these waves can sometimes lap up against the shorelines.

00:27:54If you went down there in the submarine, it would easily float on the surface of a brine pool.

00:27:59But without a submarine, swimming in such a lake would be too risky.

00:28:04They contain too much toxic methane and hydrogen sulfide.

00:28:07Yeah, I'd pass on that too.

00:28:09But hey, be my guess.

00:28:11Cave of Crystals in Mexico is home to the world's most unique crystal formations.

00:28:16Thanks to super rare conditions in the cave, crystals there grow to unbelievable sizes.

00:28:23The air inside is incredibly humid.

00:28:25The water contains tons of minerals that boost the growth of the milky white giants.

00:28:31Some of them are longer than telephone poles.

00:28:34Cylindrical snow donuts occur when a wind gust starts to roll some snow across a snowy area, as if making a snowball.

00:28:42If it was a real thing, it would eventually become too heavy for the wind to move.

00:28:47But a snow donut's center is hollowed out.

00:28:51This happens because its inner layer is too thin and is blown away when the donut is formed.

00:28:56This makes the thing lighter than a snowball.

00:28:59That's also why it rolls further.

00:29:01Unfortunately, snow donuts are rare because they need very precise conditions to appear.

00:29:06The Danikil Depression in Ethiopia is probably one of the most bizarre-looking places you'll ever see.

00:29:14It's dotted with neon-colored hot springs, lava pools, and vast salt flats.

00:29:20You've got to be especially careful there.

00:29:22Toxic gases are swirling over hydrothermal fields.

00:29:26And many pools are super acidic.

00:29:28So, don't go swimming.

00:29:30Until at least 30 minutes after lunch.

00:29:32Just kidding.

00:29:33And finally, there's nothing mysterious about 28,000 rubber ducks found in the sea in 1992.

00:29:41That's when a ship transporting bath toys got lost in the ocean while traveling from Hong Kong to the U.S.

00:29:48Some of these ducks are still floating in the ocean several decades later.

00:29:53They've been spotted in South America, Alaska, Hawaii, and even Australia.

00:29:58And they make bath time lots of fun.

00:30:01Ooh, rubber ducky.

00:30:02You're in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, one of the driest places on Earth.

00:30:15But this desert has a beautiful secret.

00:30:18Every three to five years, flowers pop up out of nowhere.

00:30:21It's so famous, it's also called the flowering desert.

00:30:25Seeds lie around in the ground just waiting for some rain.

00:30:28When the desert gets enough water, about 200 types of flowers sprout up.

00:30:34The yellow sands of the Atacama turn purple, white, green, and even pink.

00:30:39Another mystical phenomenon that can be seen in the desert is called a sand waterfall.

00:30:45When the wind brings a lot of sand to the edge of the canyon, it begins to fall down.

00:30:50Now, amplify this effect 100 times and you get a sand waterfall in Saudi Arabia.

00:30:56It really is like Niagara Falls, only there's not a drop of water.

00:31:00The locals say this phenomenon warns of an impending sandstorm.

00:31:05Fairy rings, also known as elf rings or pixie rings, are mysterious circles of mushrooms that appear in grasslands and forested areas.

00:31:13There's a lot of debate about why these fairy rings form a nearly perfect circle.

00:31:19Some superstitions claim that fairy dances would burn the ground, causing mushrooms to rapidly grow.

00:31:26In southern India, between July and September 2001, people witnessed one of the strangest weather phenomena in recorded history.

00:31:34The rain was red.

00:31:37What many would have thought to be a typical rainstorm left them shot.

00:31:41The color was bright enough to stain clothes.

00:31:44There were other colors too, such as green, yellow, brown, and even black.

00:31:49In the middle of a monsoon, red rain started to fall, and so did periodically for several weeks.

00:31:55Researchers have found this unusual rain is stained either by dust or algae.

00:32:00So don't try to catch any on your tongue.

00:32:03Scientists aren't entirely sure how the algae got all the way up there.

00:32:07This does make events like this a little unsettling.

00:32:10Now, people who live in rural central Norway, over the Hestalen Valley, can often witness floating lights of white, yellow, and red across the sky.

00:32:21The lights appear both at day and night.

00:32:24And once back in the 80s, the 1980s, they were spotted 15 to 20 times in a single week.

00:32:30The Hestalen lights can last just a few seconds.

00:32:33But sometimes, they can last more than an hour.

00:32:36The lights move, seeming to float or even sway around.

00:32:41Some scientists believe that the reason for these lights is due to ionized iron dust.

00:32:46Others say it's a combination that includes sodium, oxygen, and hydrogen.

00:32:50Many people claim they're just misidentified aircrafts.

00:32:54Norway!

00:32:55Snow donuts are one of the rarest meteorological sights to see, with perfect weather conditions needed just to create them.

00:33:03Found in any snow-covered mountain area, like the Rocky Mountains, the wind, temperature, snow, ice, and moisture all have to work together for us to see these phenomenal rings.

00:33:14A thin layer of wet snow on the ground.

00:33:17Under that layer, ice or powdered snow.

00:33:20Then, a strong enough breeze to roll the donut down a hill, just like a snowball.

00:33:26Once it stops rolling, it can be the size of a baseball or as large as a car tire.

00:33:31It all depends on how strong the wind is.

00:33:33A newly formed snow donut won't stay around for very long, so hurry up with that camera and watch your head.

00:33:40Can you believe there's another place on Earth with its own ecosystem and atmosphere, similar to another planet?

00:33:47Well, start believing.

00:33:49Movil Cave, located in southeastern Romania, remained closed in complete darkness for a whopping 5.5 million years.

00:33:58It wasn't until workers discovered the cave, when they were looking for a place to build, that anyone learned about it.

00:34:04Scientists carved out an opening to the cave and found that a completely sustained ecosystem was thriving inside.

00:34:11As a pathway was carved through the rock past numerous tunnels, scientists found a lake of sulfuric water that stank like rotten eggs.

00:34:20The air was filled with hydrogen sulfide and had 100 times more carbon dioxide than Earth's atmosphere contains.

00:34:27Needless to say, this air is completely toxic.

00:34:30What's even crazier is that a whole ecosystem has been existing in this cave, with 33 species that can't be found anywhere else on Earth.

00:34:39This cave gives us a glimpse of what could possibly exist on other planets with completely different atmospheres.

00:34:46How it managed to exist on Earth all this time without anyone knowing is rather unbelievable, isn't it?

00:34:53Now, check these trees out.

00:34:55They're called Indian rubber trees.

00:34:57Their strong roots grow not underground, but on the surface.

00:35:01With the help of special frames and fasteners, people have learned to control how these roots grow.

00:35:07Let's say a tree is next to a small pit.

00:35:10You need to make a bridge from one end of this pit to the other.

00:35:13You direct the growing tree roots in the needed direction.

00:35:17Over time, the roots penetrate the ground and strengthen under endless downpours.

00:35:22It takes about 15 years to create one bridge.

00:35:25Here's another amazing tree called the Tree of Life.

00:35:29It grows in Bahrain's desert.

00:35:31The tree has been standing on top of this sandy hill for more than 400 years, surrounded by miles of sand.

00:35:37It's extremely hot here, and there's no moisture.

00:35:40But despite this, the tree has green leaves, and it continues to grow.

00:35:45So far, scientists haven't figured out yet how the tree gets moisture and nutrients.

00:35:50There are only places with oil deposits around.

00:35:53Locals think the tree is sacred.

00:35:55After all, it demonstrates the magic of life and the power of nature.

00:36:00Some experts are sure it's all about the roots.

00:36:03They go so deep that they can reach underground sources of water.

00:36:06So, there you are.

00:36:10You've been driving for hours through the night.

00:36:11You didn't have any chance to sleep, so your mind is hanging by a thread.

00:36:17You stop the car and go out to stretch your limbs.

00:36:20And then, you look up into the sky and see a beautiful sunrise.

00:36:24Whoa, wait.

00:36:25There are three suns in the sky.

00:36:27You rub your eyes, but nope.

00:36:30There are still three bright stars in the sky.

00:36:32No, our home star hasn't been torn into three pieces, nor has it been visited by two other stars.

00:36:39This is called a sun dog.

00:36:42It occurs mostly during severe frosts.

00:36:44Small ice crystals in the sky bend the light.

00:36:48As a result, you may see three bright spots in the sky instead of just one.

00:36:52This phenomenon is officially called a halo.

00:36:55Usually, it's just a circle around the sun.

00:36:58You can even see a halo at night, too.

00:37:00Just look at a street lamp, and you'll see a bright circle around it.

00:37:04Sometimes, a halo can take on a fancier shape.

00:37:07If there's a lot of ice in the air, the light is warped even more.

00:37:11Just like in a room with a dozen mirrors.

00:37:14Then, the halo can take on the shape of a human eye.

00:37:18Because of this phenomenon, a false dawn can also occur.

00:37:22While you're looking at the horizon, the dawn begins, and the edge of the sun appears.

00:37:26A little bit more, and wait, the sun starts to just dissolve in the sky.

00:37:33After a few moments, it's dark again.

00:37:35And only a minute later, the real sun shows its face.

00:37:40It was the same light curvature effect you saw before with the three suns.

00:37:44Only now, the light is curved vertically, not horizontally.

00:37:47And instead of the real sun, its reflection in ice crystals in the sky appeared.

00:37:53But the sunrise, with three stars on the horizon, is actually real.

00:37:58Not on Earth, though, but 340 light-years away.

00:38:01There's a star system at the center of which lurks a star almost twice the size of the sun.

00:38:08And there are two smaller stars orbiting around this giant.

00:38:11This strange world has a planet, too.

00:38:13So, sunsets and dawns there really happen with three stars.

00:38:18If you brought your significant other to a park bench to watch a sunset here,

00:38:22your date would go just fine.

00:38:25Whatever that means.

00:38:27And since we're talking about the most baffling natural phenomena,

00:38:30it would be a crime not to mention snow in a desert.

00:38:34Yep, in the winter of 2018, the inhabitants of the Sahara Desert,

00:38:39one of the driest and hottest places on this planet,

00:38:42woke up to discover a thick blanket of snow covering the sand.

00:38:46In some places, the layer of snow enveloping the dunes reached a staggering 15 inches.

00:38:52Meteorologists, however, had an explanation for this exciting phenomenon.

00:38:56They stated that cold pools of air, combined with the precipitation from the most recent storm,

00:39:02resulted in a snowfall instead of rain.

00:39:06So, what do you do in that case?

00:39:07Build snow camels?

00:39:09Hmm, one hump or two.

00:39:12The Baltic Sea Anomaly

00:39:14In 2011, a diving team came down to the bottom of the northern part of the Baltic Sea.

00:39:20They went on a treasure hunt.

00:39:21But what they came upon was a pretty weird object.

00:39:25When they took photos and showed them to others,

00:39:28many believed it was a sunken spaceship of another civilization.

00:39:33Other people thought that some natural causes formed the object.

00:39:37But the metals inside the structure definitely couldn't have been formed naturally.

00:39:42Now, some scientists even believe it was something that appeared way back in the Ice Age.

00:39:48Maybe it was even a meteorite that ended up trapped under ice back then.

00:39:55A maelstrom is a whirlpool.

00:39:57Some sort of a powerful rotational current that forms when two currents collide and create a circular vortex.

00:40:04Even fearless Vikings were afraid of maelstroms because those were forces so powerful that they could sink large ships.

00:40:11These whirlpools remain dangerous even today.

00:40:14But luckily, not for big modern ships that are large enough to withstand the power of maelstroms.

00:40:21But a cruise ship that gets into a maelstrom usually faces massive waves that can rock even big vessels from side to side pretty intensely.

00:40:30A maelstrom can be so strong, it can turn into some sort of an underwater black hole.

00:40:38Yep, black holes are not only present in the cold expanse of space.

00:40:42You can find them here on our home planet too, swirling in the oceans.

00:40:47They're similar to those in space since they're compacted so tightly that nothing they trap can escape.

00:40:53Underwater black holes often span up to 93 miles in diameter.

00:41:00And if you got into one of those, you probably wouldn't even know it.

00:41:04These black holes act like vortices.

00:41:07But because of their size, even professionals can hardly see their boundaries.

00:41:11Here's something relaxing.

00:41:15Next time you go to the beach, pay attention.

00:41:17And maybe you'll see an optical phenomenon called the green flash.

00:41:22You can see it shortly after sunset or right before sunrise.

00:41:26It occurs when the sun is almost completely below the horizon.

00:41:30While its rim, the upper one, is still visible.

00:41:33For just a second or two, that upper edge of the sun will appear green.

00:41:40It's because you're looking at the sun through thicker parts of the atmosphere as it's moving down in the sky.

00:41:45As it's dipping below the horizon, light refracts, or bends, in the atmosphere and gets dispersed.

00:41:54Wait for a clear day with no clouds or haze on the horizon to see this phenomenon better.

00:41:59You've been looking forward to a nice swim, only to realize that the water in the ocean is red?

00:42:08Better avoid going in.

00:42:10Florida is known for its red tides.

00:42:13It occurs when the concentration of specific microscopic algae is higher than normal.

00:42:19Thousands of species of algae in marine and fresh waters are mostly harmless to animals and humans.

00:42:26They even help us, since they're an important source of oxygen.

00:42:29But some, like the algae that makes the ocean red, can be extremely dangerous for marine animals, like sea turtles, fish, and seabirds.

00:42:40This kind can grow out of control and produce neurotoxins harmful to humans, especially those who have some respiratory issues.

00:42:49Such people should avoid red tide areas, especially when winds are strong enough to push the algae toward the shore.

00:42:55Volcanoes can spew poisonous gas, ash, and red-hot lava.

00:43:02Those are the most obvious dangers most of us already know about.

00:43:06But submarine volcanoes can be very tricky in their own way.

00:43:10Sometimes, when they're located in shallow waters, they reveal their presence by blasting debris of rock and steam high above the surface.

00:43:18Since submarine volcanoes are surrounded by an unlimited supply of water, they can behave differently from those on land.

00:43:27When they erupt, seawater gets into active submarine vents.

00:43:33Lava can be spreading across a shallow seafloor, or sometimes even flowing into the sea from land volcanoes.

00:43:39When in water, it may cool down so quickly that it shatters into rubble and sand.

00:43:46So, there are large amounts of volcanic debris left there.

00:43:49You know those popular black sand beaches in Hawaii?

00:43:53That's how they formed.

00:43:56Hot lava and powerful eruptions certainly don't sound safe.

00:44:00But submarine volcanoes in deeper waters are equally dangerous, even though they're not necessarily erupting.

00:44:06They produce pockets of bubbles.

00:44:09These bubbles reduce the density of the surrounding waters, which can even sink ships.

00:44:15The worst thing is that when you look at the surface of the ocean, you can't understand something's wrong.

00:44:22But at the same time, tiny bubbles are there, causing ships to lose buoyancy and with very little warning.

00:44:30Across sea is a rare phenomenon, beautiful to observe, but also very dangerous.

00:44:36It's when you see square waves, which are more common in shallow parts of the ocean.

00:44:42That's something you can often see in France, or on certain beaches of Tel Aviv.

00:44:47But it can also happen in many coastal areas across the world.

00:44:52Across sea occurs when two wave patterns travel at oblique angles.

00:44:57They form this checkerboard-like pattern.

00:44:59It mostly happens when two swells meet, or when a swell pushes waves in one direction, while a strong wind pushes them in another.

00:45:09These square waves can be dangerous for swimmers and boaters.

00:45:13The waves produced by strong ocean currents can be pretty unpredictable and tall, sometimes up to almost 10 feet.

00:45:20This phenomenon is sometimes called white walls.

00:45:23These waves can be so powerful that they can turn over even big boats.

00:45:29If you fill a clear glass with some ocean water and take a closer look, you'll see it's full of very small particles.

00:45:37Seawater contains dissolved salts, fats, algae, proteins, detergents, and other bits of artificial and organic matter.

00:45:45If you shake that glass, you'll see tiny bubbles forming on its surface.

00:45:52That's how seafoam forms when waves and winds agitate the ocean.

00:45:56When you see thick seafoam, algal blooms might have caused it.

00:46:01When big blooms of algae fall apart in the sea, large amounts of that matter move in the direction of dry land.

00:46:07Most kinds of seafoam aren't dangerous to humans, but when blooms of algae fall apart, it can have a negative impact on both the environment and people.

00:46:19For example, when seafoam bubbles pop, the toxins they contain get released into the air, and they can irritate your eyes or cause some other health issues.

00:46:28You can see a tidal bore in the areas where a river empties into a sea or an ocean.

00:46:36It's a powerful tide that goes against the current and pushes up the river.

00:46:41A tidal bore falls into a category of something called the surge, which is a sudden change in depth.

00:46:48A tidal bore is a positive surge, which means it pushes up a river, making it much deeper.

00:46:54A negative surge is when the river suddenly becomes very shallow.

00:46:59You won't see tidal bores everywhere.

00:47:02The river must be fairly shallow, with a narrow outlet to the sea.

00:47:06The place where the sea and the river meet must be flat and wide.

00:47:10Also, the area between low and high tide must be at least 20 feet across.

00:47:16Of course, there are some exceptions, like the Amazon River, the world's largest one.

00:47:22The mouth of the Amazon is not narrow, but the river experiences tidal bores.

00:47:27That's because its mouth is shallow and has many sandbars and low-lying islands.

00:47:33The tidal bore is so strong there that the river doesn't even have a delta.

00:47:38Its sediment goes directly into the Atlantic Ocean, where fast-moving currents take it away.

00:47:43A tidal bore is often unpredictable and can be extremely rough.

00:47:49In many cases, it changes the color of the river from greenish or blue to brown.

00:47:54It can damage vegetation or even tear trees out of the ground.

00:47:58So, recreation sports like kayaking and river surfing can be hazardous in these areas.

00:48:06Even if you just want to take a look at a tidal bore, be careful.

00:48:10Tidal waves can sweep over lookout points and drag whatever or whoever is there into the churning river.

00:48:16The liquid rainbow, or the river of five colors, exists and is located in La Macarena, Colombia.

00:48:23Here, you'll be able to see red, yellow, green, and purple waters flow down the river.

00:48:29And the color depends on the water or light conditions.

00:48:32The Macarena clavigera, an aquatic plant, is the one responsible for this beautiful natural phenomenon.

00:48:38It latches onto the rocks found in the riverbed and gives the river that particular reddish hue.

00:48:44It also helps that the water here is really clear, since there are almost no nutrients or other small particles.

00:48:51The hottest place on Earth and the lowest point in all of North America is called the Death Valley.

00:48:57While traveling there, you may be tricked into thinking you're suddenly surrounded by ice.

00:49:01But that's not frozen water.

00:49:03It's actually salt.

00:49:04As rain mixes with minerals, they dissolve the outer layer of rocks surrounding the area.

00:49:09When the water evaporates, we're only left with the salt.

00:49:13This surreal landscape becomes even more striking once you see the dunes.

00:49:17They only account for a small portion of Death Valley, but are some of the most memorable sights, some rising over 680 feet.

00:49:25Should you ever be at the top of the dunes, you may be lucky enough to experience one of the strangest wonders of the desert.

00:49:32Singing sand.

00:49:33Truth is, we've yet to fully understand this phenomenon.

00:49:37One explanation could be that the sand that slides down the dunes actually creates this sound, because of the friction between its grains.

00:49:45When listening to it, it's similar to an airplane flying in the distance.

00:49:49This is one of the few places on Earth where the sand makes such a loud noise that it can be heard by visitors,

00:49:55along with the Namib Desert in Africa, or the Barking Sands of Hawaii.

00:49:59Earthquake lights can appear before, during, or immediately after an earthquake.

00:50:05These white and blue lights generally last for just a few seconds, but you might catch one of those rare 10-minute ones too at times.

00:50:13It's difficult to study this natural phenomenon, because earthquake lights seem to appear at different distances from the epicenter of the earthquake.

00:50:21Sometimes they happen directly over the epicenter, other times as far as 250 miles away.

00:50:27What we do know is that they only happen when the earthquake is strong enough, a Richter scale rating of 5.0 or above.

00:50:34It may have something to do with the release of ionized oxygen by the breaking of certain stone types.

00:50:40This unusual occurrence is called the Hestalen Lights, and only happens on a small patch of land in Norway.

00:50:47They were first noticed in the 1930s.

00:50:49They also neither hover over the valley or move at great speed.

00:50:53Lasting just a couple of seconds, they are rainbow-colored patches in yellow, white, and red.

00:50:58On average, people have seen them between 10 and 20 times per year.

00:51:02The rare element called scandium might be responsible for this weird phenomenon.

00:51:08The Hestalen Lights might be the effect of it combusting with deposits of hydrogen, oxygen, and sodium.

00:51:14This solar phenomenon makes vertical objects look like they have no shadows in broad daylight.

00:51:20For this to happen, the sun needs to be at a 90-degree angle directly above our planet.

00:51:25It's called Lahaina Noon.

00:51:27It translates to cruel sun in Hawaiian.

00:51:29To see it, you'll need to visit any location like Singapore, Nicaragua, and parts of the Philippines that has a zero-degree latitude.

00:51:37In any of these places, you can enjoy Lahaina Noon twice a year.

00:51:42People can see a clear reflection of the sky in the waters of Saceron Beach, Kuala Lumpur, twice a month.

00:51:48That's because the tides are the lowest during the new moon and full moon days.

00:51:53The thin layer of water stretches across the smooth sand and makes it look like a mirror.

00:51:59Locals call it Mirror of the Sky, and it's a great place to take pictures that almost look photoshopped.

00:52:05The Namib Desert in Namibia is unlike any other desert.

00:52:08These weird circular patches spread all across the Namib, in an area of about 1,553 miles.

00:52:17They're also nicknamed the Fairy Circles, and the mysterious phenomenon that causes them was discovered a few years ago in 2017.

00:52:24For starters, since there is little water in the desert, plants compete for food and eventually disappear.

00:52:31Here's where the patches come from.

00:52:32But then, the patches are taken over by termites, so nothing can grow back in the same area.

00:52:39The mountainside of Zanzhai National Geopark in China is known for its splashes of rainbow in thick straight lines.

00:52:46The rocks here are also smooth, sharp, and several hundred meters tall.

00:52:51The resulting colors are caused by deposits of sandstone and other minerals dating back over 24 million years.

00:52:58Wind and other weather conditions sculpted these stunning shapes over time,

00:53:01giving them varying colors, sizes, and patterns.

00:53:05To preserve the location, tourists are not allowed to climb directly on these rocks.

00:53:09Underneath the frozen waters of Lake Abraham in Alberta,

00:53:13you'll be able to spot some weird objects beneath the ice that look like frozen jellyfish.

00:53:18These creepy formations are just frozen methane bubbles,

00:53:22meaning pockets of gas that were trapped underwater and got stuck there after the lakes turned to ice.

00:53:27They're made when leaves and grass fall into the water and are eaten by bacteria.

00:53:31Which transforms them into methane.

00:53:34It's nice to look at, but dangerous, since it can easily become highly flammable.

00:53:39When the temperatures rise during the spring, the ice melts and these gassy bubbles pop and fizz.

00:53:45It's a spectacular sight.

00:53:47Just remember not to have any fire source nearby.

00:53:50Scientists have found these types of methane bubbles out there stretched over 3,000 feet long areas.

00:53:56The Kiarug Bolton boulder got trapped there during the alternating melting of Norwegian glaciers in the flooding of the valleys.

00:54:04It's become a popular hiking location and an even more popular one for taking pictures.

00:54:09Visiting it does take you more than 3,280 feet high.

00:54:13These are lenticular clouds and they create a lovely illusion.

00:54:17If you look at them, you might think they look like mountains that are somehow wearing white, fluffy hats.

00:54:23These clouds are most common where strong, wet winds blow over harsh terrain.

00:54:28Mount Fuji is famous for its lenticular clouds, but they were also seen at Mount Rainier in Washington and Mount Aragal in Ireland.

00:54:36This forest of giant limestone spikes is called Singi, which translates to where one cannot walk barefoot or walk on tiptoes for people living in Madagascar.

00:54:48To see these needle-like formations from this national park, a bridge was set in a place where tourists can walk across, covering more than 580 square miles.

00:54:58This forest has some rock pinnacles reaching over 2,500 feet high.

00:55:03In the colder season, New York's Letchworth State Park, sometimes called the Grand Canyon of the East, has its own phenomenon.

00:55:11Water from a natural spring-fed fountain freezes mid-flight, making a sharp, ice volcano.

00:55:17It also grows larger and larger as winter days pass, sometimes growing as tall as 50 feet.

00:55:24Selenysurus grandiflorus.

00:55:26Meh, let's leave it on the screen for now.

00:55:29Right, this one looks like a wilted cactus on any given day.

00:55:32But on one magical summer evening, this mysterious plant makes up these vanilla-scented white blooms.

00:55:38Unfortunately, it only lasts until the next morning.

00:55:42For botany enthusiasts, there is an annual show at Tucson's Tohono Chul Botanical Gardens, which features the largest collection of such plants.

00:55:50The annual show is quite tricky to organize, too, since the bloom can only be predicted on the day it happens.

00:55:56To witness a rare, golden waterfall, you'll just have to drive out to Yosemite National Park at the Horsetail Falls.

00:56:04Plan your trip in winter or early spring.

00:56:07That's the only time during the year when this weird phenomenon can be spotted.

00:56:11It's nothing more than sunlight.

00:56:12At dusk, hitting the waterfall in such a unique way that it makes it look like a river of lava.

00:56:18Or gold.

00:56:19The viewer's choice.

00:56:20That's the reason why during this time of year, the Horsetail Falls is also named the Firefall.

00:56:26This site is becoming less and less visible in recent years because of drought.

00:56:30Now, picture this.

00:56:32You're watching a volcano erupt, which is a scary view by itself.

00:56:36But suddenly, you notice ominous bright flashes lighting up the sky over the volcano.

00:56:42It takes the nightmarishness of the experience to a whole new level.

00:56:47One causes static electricity, which occurs when dense ash particles rub together not very high above the ground.

00:56:53The other source of volcanic lightning is high above the surface, near the stratosphere, where chaotically moving ice crystals set free, powerful jolts.

00:57:04Salar del Uni feels like you're standing on top of a large mirror.

00:57:08But it's actually a salt flat of more than 4,000 square miles.

00:57:12It's located in Bolivia, South America's highest elevated country.

00:57:16This natural mirror is a remnant of prehistoric lakes that had evaporated a long time ago.

00:57:24Even though it may look flat, GPS technology proved that some of the landscape has some little defaults that are all less than an inch small.

00:57:32The place is so bogged that it has around 10 billion tons of salt.

00:57:37If you get there at the right time, some of the nearby lakes overflow with a small layer of water, which acts as the mirror of the sky.

00:57:45Many locals extract salt and lithium from there.

00:57:48Don't forget to pass by the world's first salt hotel when you visit.

00:57:52You can find a real rainbow mountain in Peru.

00:57:55Scientists still can't explain it.

00:57:57The colorful peak is hard to reach, but seeing the blue, red, green, yellow, and pink colors in nature is something to remember.

00:58:06Now, what looks like frozen flying saucers is, in fact, pockets of highly flammable and combustible methane gas.

00:58:14Trapped underwater, it forms psychedelic landscapes in stunning patterns.

00:58:19Typical for northern lakes, such as Lake Abraham in Alberta, Canada.

00:58:23These bubbles appear when dead animals, leaves, and plants fall into the water and get consumed by bacteria.

00:58:29These bacteria later excrete methane gas.

00:58:33Wow, I can smell it from here.

00:58:34In late March 2018, Eastern Europe witnessed an event as beautiful as it was spooky.

00:58:42Skiers glided down tangerine slopes under the red-tinted sky.

00:58:47Puzzled and excited, people described this experience as walking on Mars or skiing down sand dunes.

00:58:53But however mysterious this phenomenon seems, it has a disappointingly simple explanation.

00:59:00The sponsor of the extraterrestrial landscape was a powerful sandstorm that had arrived from the Sahara Desert.

00:59:07This storm had brought along dust, sand, and pollen particles that colored the snow orange.

00:59:12It's not a one-time natural phenomenon.

00:59:15Meteorologists say that orange snow covers the lands of Eastern Europe at least once every five years.

00:59:21Meanwhile, don't eat the orange snow.

00:59:23On February 20th and 21st of 2018, people in the northeastern part of the U.S.

00:59:30experienced one of the most extraordinary weather events of recent times.

00:59:34And it was a heat wave.

00:59:37Yep, in February.

00:59:38In fact, it was the most impressive winter heat wave since official weather records started in the 1800s.

00:59:44For example, in Freiburg, Maine, people were taking off their coats after the temperature had risen to a baffling 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

00:59:53In Fitchburg, Massachusetts, confused people put on sandals when they saw the temperature outside 80 degrees.

00:59:59The same was happening in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where the temperature reached 83, and in Wells, Maine, where the thermometer showed 77 degrees.

01:00:08Now, around 11,000 years ago, in present-day Turkey, with no cities or metal tools whatsoever, some incredibly skilled craftsmen completed Gobikli Tepe.

01:00:20How they managed to chip and lift limestone blocks three times as heavy as a T-Rex, and what they symbolize is still unknown.

01:00:28Ooh.

01:00:29One mind-blowing fact about Devil's Tower in Wyoming, USA, is that scientists can't explain how it came to existence in the first place.

01:00:39You see, it's an 867-foot rock formation with walls so steep they're basically vertical.

01:00:45This piece of stone just arose amid the rolling plains of Wyoming, with nothing like it for miles and miles around.

01:00:53So, how is it that such a flat landscape could have suddenly given birth to something so tall?

01:00:59Theories abound, but nobody has the answer yet.

01:01:02Croatia's Plitvice Lakes National Park is a major tourist attraction and a World Heritage Site, with many unique animals and plants teeming around.

01:01:13It looks like an epic movie set, with infinite waterfalls flowing from every direction and the clear lakes all around.

01:01:22In the mid-1980s, a scuba diver discovered the Yanaguni Monument off the coast of Japan.

01:01:28Scientists are positive this collection of structures is thousands of years old, but they still can't decide if it's natural or man-made.

01:01:37In case it proves to be an ancient city, the new mystery is, what lost civilization built it, and how did it make it to the bottom of the sea?

01:01:46The shape and formations of these rocks aren't a result of some human's work.

01:01:51They were created by intense volcanic eruptions.

01:01:53Scientists are still confused why the Giant's Causeway in Ireland is shaped in such a weird way.

01:02:01Back in 1812, for an unknown reason, an English farmer paid a local painter to remove tons of soil on a hillside and fill the contours with chalk.

01:02:12The painter ran away with the money, so the farmer had to pay a second time to get the Alton Barn's white horse finished.

01:02:19Black Falls in Iceland get their name from the dark lava columns surrounding it.

01:02:25The base of the waterfall has sharp rocks.

01:02:28The entire structure was the inspiration for Icelandic architecture seen in some of their famous buildings.

01:02:33You can see hair ice in the forest on a humid winter night.

01:02:39Resembling cotton candy or a white hair wig, unusual ice crystals grow on rotting wood.

01:02:45Unfortunately, this beauty melts as soon as the sun comes up.

01:02:49Only recently have scientists discover what creates hair ice.

01:02:53All this time it was, are you ready?

01:02:56Fungus.

01:02:56Yep.

01:02:57It allows the ice to form super-thin hairs and helps them to support this form throughout the night.

01:03:03When this particular type of fungus isn't present, instead of fragile hair, ice forms a crust-like structure.

01:03:11Now, one of the most common causes of wildfires is lightning from thunderstorms.

01:03:16But have you ever heard of a wildfire that triggered a thunderstorm?

01:03:21Well, now you know.

01:03:22It happened on May 11, 2018, not far from Amarillo, Texas.

01:03:26Then, the super-powerful Mallard Fire not only created a massive dense cloud high in the air,

01:03:33its heat also caused a violent thunderstorm that later dunked tons of quarter-sized hailstones 60 miles away in Wheeler County, Texas.

01:03:44Carhenge is the weirdest landmark of Nebraska.

01:03:47Its author studied the real Stonehenge and created his own version out of old cars as a tribute to his father.

01:03:54Some cars stand like monoliths.

01:03:57Others are connected into arches.

01:04:02When asked why he did all this, the creator of the construction said, why not?

01:04:07Another Stonehenge look-alike was found on the bottom of Lake Michigan in 2007.

01:04:14There's a group of rocks in a circle and carvings of a mastodon.

01:04:18This beast ceased existing over 10,000 years ago, so the carving has to be older than that.

01:04:24Its location is kept secret from the public.

01:04:26Good luck finding it!

01:04:27Canada's Hudson Bay is probably the only place in the world where gravity is indeed lower than anywhere else on the planet.

01:04:37Even skeptics can't smirk at it, because the difference has been measured with precision equipment.

01:04:42So, does it mean that the gravity here is as low as, say, on the moon?

01:04:47Unfortunately, or is it luckily? I'm not sure yet.

01:04:50The difference is minuscule.

01:04:52The exact value is 0.005, or 1 200th of a percent.

01:04:58You won't be able to feel it even if you try your hardest, but it's still there.

01:05:03Scientists say this anomaly exists because of the ice sheet that covered the area about 10,000 years ago.

01:05:09It compressed the rocks so much that they still can't fully recover, shifting the gravitational field in Hudson Bay.

01:05:15Some time in the future, though, the gravity will return to normal in this area as well.

01:05:22In 2010, fossilized fish were uncovered 250 miles west of the Nile River, where the Sahara Desert was as arid as ever.

01:05:31This chance finding led scientists to believe there could have been a sea where the Sierra is now.

01:05:37So, they conducted a geological survey of the area, and it yielded unexpected results.

01:05:43They found evidence of something huge under the sands, and it wasn't part of any sea at all.

01:05:50For several months, the research continued with GPS equipment on land, and later, when all the ground data was collected,

01:05:57scientists took a look at the area from a satellite.

01:06:00The view was astounding.

01:06:02It turned out there was an enormous basin underneath the desert, with another, smaller one nearby.

01:06:07Along the shores of these basins, ancient human settlements had been found previously.

01:06:13And now, the researchers finally had the answer as to why exactly they had chosen those spots to live.

01:06:19There had been a lake of impressive proportions.

01:06:23Over 42,000 square miles of freshwater in total.

01:06:27About half the size of Lake Michigan.

01:06:29You feel some rumbling from below.

01:06:33No, it's not your tummy.

01:06:35It's low and ominous.

01:06:37You look up and see strange lights hanging above the ground.

01:06:40They look like shimmering balls of light hovering high up in the sky.

01:06:45Your throat goes dry, and you gulp.

01:06:47That's what they call the earthquake lights.

01:06:50This phenomenon is poorly understood, but witnesses say they've seen it in different shapes and sizes.

01:06:56It could be in the form of light balls, sheet lightning, streamers, and a steady glow in the sky.

01:07:03Soon after, a strong earthquake follows.

01:07:06Scientists can't explain why those lights appear.

01:07:08And they don't always do, either.

01:07:10Some believe that's a reaction of underground gases released into the atmosphere.

01:07:16Sure enough, an earthquake begins.

01:07:18But lucky you, it's not as strong as you expected.

01:07:22The ground is shaking, but you even manage to keep your balance.

01:07:25It stops as abruptly as it began, and you walk home.

01:07:30On the way home, you see a flash and hear a whip crack.

01:07:34Lightning has struck a lone tree near where you just stood.

01:07:37It's caught on fire, and there's a column of flames rising to the sky.

01:07:42Still no rain, and the pillar becomes taller and taller.

01:07:46Have you heard of such a thing as a fire tornado?

01:07:49These phenomena occur when the wind is caught in a circle close to the ground because of the difference in air pressure.

01:07:56Such mini-tornadoes are usually easy to notice.

01:07:59Small rubble, dust, sand, and leaves rise into the air and start flying in rapid circles.

01:08:05But then, if there's a source of fire nearby, the funnel can catch it and blow it stronger, like bellows.

01:08:13The flames go round and round, reaching ever higher and eventually creating a swirling, blazing tower.

01:08:20Luckily, fire tornadoes are short-lived and don't normally cause much damage.

01:08:24But don't try to hide from the storm under that tree.

01:08:28You can find this unusual plant in Florida and in some parts of the Caribbean coast.

01:08:33Externally, it doesn't look special at all.

01:08:36A gray trunk, green leaves, and fruit similar to small apples.

01:08:40What you must remember is never to pluck these apples and never stand next to the tree, especially if it's raining.

01:08:47This is the mancha neal tree, which is considered the most dangerous in the world.

01:08:52Its trunk, bark, branches, and fruit contain poisonous juice.

01:08:57One drop of this corrosive acidic liquid can harm your skin a lot.

01:09:02The tree can secrete this juice, and if you accidentally touch it, you risk burning your hand.

01:09:08When it rains, water droplets fall on the tree and mix with the poison.

01:09:13Water can also bounce off the bark and get on your skin.

01:09:17That's why you shouldn't stand nearby either.

01:09:19There are almost no other shrubs or mushrooms growing around.

01:09:24Animals avoid these trees, and people don't chop them and don't pluck the fruit.

01:09:29You can't make a bonfire from their branches.

01:09:31Burning wood emits poisonous smoke that can damage your eyes.

01:09:35Locals know this tree well, but tourists and travelers might accidentally get harmed.

01:09:41That's why most mancha neal trees are marked with paint or have a warning sign.

01:09:45In western Venezuela, locals living close to the Catatumbo River aren't afraid of lightning,

01:09:52because they see it almost every single night.

01:09:55It starts at around 7 o'clock and doesn't stop until dawn.

01:10:00The everlasting Catatumbo lightning did one stop for a few months, from January to March 2010.

01:10:07It was probably due to drought.

01:10:08Or maybe the charge ran out.

01:10:10In 1991, a scientist suggested that the phenomenon happens because of cold and warm air currents meeting in the area.

01:10:18Another theory is that the lightning could be due to the presence of uranium in the bedrock.

01:10:24Not all lightning happens inside clouds.

01:10:27There's a rare phenomenon called a dirty thunderstorm.

01:10:31The lightning happens above a volcano.

01:10:33The most famous is in Japan.

01:10:35It erupts almost every day and spits black clouds high into the air.

01:10:40So, it's super scary volcano clouds plus lightning.

01:10:44Whoa!

01:10:45Regular lightning happens during a storm when ice crystals bump into each other.

01:10:50In a dirty thunderstorm, bits of volcanic ash collide, create friction, and spark up the sky.

01:10:56In the hottest and one of the driest places on Earth, Africa's Danakil Desert, temperatures often rise above 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

01:11:06The out-of-this-world landscape has many active volcanoes and geysers that spit out toxic gases like chlorine and sulfur.

01:11:14The vibrantly green, electric blue, and yellow waters are all rain and seawater warmed up by magma.

01:11:21One wrong step here and you'd be gone for good.

01:11:24This happened in June 2009.

01:11:28People in certain areas in Japan left their homes after a heavy downpour, only to find fish, frogs, and tadpoles everywhere.

01:11:36Fields, roads, lawns, and rooftops were littered with these aquatic creatures.

01:11:42One man was shocked to see 13 carp on and around his truck.

01:11:46Apparently, he stopped to count them.

01:11:48No one knows for sure where the bizarre rain came from, but the most popular theory claims that a powerful water spout picked up all these creatures.

01:11:57Then it carried them through the upper atmosphere and dropped the animals on the unsuspecting people below.

01:12:03And now, welcome to Abraham Lake in Canada.

01:12:07It's completely frozen.

01:12:08You step onto the transparent ice and look down at what lies beneath.

01:12:13No fish, just some mysterious frozen bubbles.

01:12:16They look like small clouds frozen in ice, or jellyfish who forgot to pack a winter jacket.

01:12:22There are thousands of these little bubbles made up of methane.

01:12:25But don't try to dig a hole in the ice to touch it.

01:12:28Methane is highly flammable.

01:12:30It's created by methane-producing bacteria that eats leaves, grass, insects, or any other organic stuff that gets into the lake.

01:12:39When the methane touches the frozen water, it turns into tens of thousands of frozen little balls.

01:12:44When the ice melts, they burst open and sizzle.

01:12:48Similar lakes can be found near some shores of the Arctic Ocean.

01:12:51There, the size of the bubbles can reach several times the size of hot air balloons.

01:12:56Beautiful for sure, but not exactly safe.

01:13:00The next shocking lake is in Indonesia, the island of Java.

01:13:05You come to a majestic volcano, overgrown with grass and trees.

01:13:10The volcano seems to be asleep, but smoke is pouring out of it.

01:13:14You climb to the summit.

01:13:16Exhausted, tired, sweaty, you're ready to cool off.

01:13:19Nice work, you made it to the top.

01:13:22You look into the mouth of the volcano.

01:13:24Hmm, no boiling lava.

01:13:26Just a beautiful, bright, turquoise lake down there.

01:13:29It looks like an oasis.

01:13:31Perfect time for a refreshing dip.

01:13:33You run down and get ready to jump in.

01:13:35But that's not water, that's acid!

01:13:38Sulfurous gases get into the lake from under the volcano.

01:13:42The lake itself is full of metals.

01:13:44When the gases touch them, they form that beautiful turquoise water.

01:13:48I mean, acid.

01:13:50Better head back to the nearest village, rest, and come back at night when it's cooler.

01:13:55In the dark, the lake seems to glow.

01:13:58Right above it, you see light-filled, exploding little clouds.

01:14:02The sulfurous gases rise out of the lake, combined with the air, and flash bright blue.

01:14:08Still, don't get too close.

01:14:09The sea turns sinister red, and no living being can survive in it.

01:14:15Must be some dark magic.

01:14:17In fact, it's tiny algae that spread uncontrollably, giving the water this specific tint called the red tide.

01:14:25They have toxins that destroy sea mammals, birds, and turtles, as well as creatures that feed on them.

01:14:31For humans, contact with it ends in breathing problems or seafood poisoning.

01:14:37Sometimes even huge ships sink in the open seas for no visible reason.

01:14:42That reason is often the pockets of bubbles that underwater volcanoes produce even while they're sleeping.

01:14:48Those productive magma factories are hidden under 8,500 feet of water.

01:14:53When they wake up, they act just like land volcanoes, and they can cause destructive tsunamis.

01:14:58This tree looks like a bottle.

01:15:02No wonder it's called the bottle tree.

01:15:04It grows in Namibia and attracts many tourists.

01:15:07But don't get too close to the tree, because it's one of the most dangerous on Earth.

01:15:12Milky juice flows inside the trunk.

01:15:15It's highly toxic to the human body.

01:15:17On the bright side, though, the trees have beautiful pink-white leaves with a red core.

01:15:22There's a tree growing in Western Australia that was once used as a prison.

01:15:26A cell for criminals existed inside the Boab prison tree for a long time.

01:15:32People were usually kept there temporarily, just for one night.

01:15:35After that, they were taken to their final destination.

01:15:39The prison was built more than 1,500 years ago and has been perfectly preserved to this day.

01:15:45Tourists visiting this place can sneak a peek inside.

01:15:48That's it for today.

01:15:50So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

01:15:55Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the bright side.

01:15:59Keep going.

01:16:07You're welcome.

01:16:09All right.

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