Nature is amazingly beautiful in all its manifestations, even in those that pose a deadly threat:
Volcanic lightning, or dirty thunderstorm
This weather phenomenon is the formation of lightning in a cloud of ash that rises from the mouth of a volcano during an eruption. Lightning occurs as a result of the collision of negatively charged falling ash particles and positively charged particles of volcanic gases.
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Fire rainbows: a rare cloud phenomenon
A fiery rainbow is also called a round-horizontal or near-horizontal arc. Strictly speaking, the fiery rainbow is neither fire nor rainbow, but they are called so because of their sparkling color flashes. They are formed by tiny plate-shaped ice crystals in high-level clouds. The halo is so large that the arc appears to be parallel to the horizon, hence the name.
Blue lava
Indonesia. Java island. Kawa Ijen Volcano is the only volcano in the world with blue lava (also called blue or purple), in the crater of which is the largest turquoise lake in the world, filled with sulfuric acid. Liquid sulfur (its temperature exceeds 360 ° C), flowing from the lake, bursts into a blue flame, reaching five meters in height. Sulfur ignites by interacting with oxygen as it flows out of a volcano's vent. As soon as the sun sets, mystical light begins to rise from the depths of the crater. This is a very beautiful and very dangerous place on Earth.
Morning Gloria Clouds, Australia (Carpentaria Bay)
"Morning gloria" is a very rare meteorological phenomenon, the causes of which scientists still argue about. Swirling, a cloud or even several clouds become like “storm collars” up to 1000 km long. "Morning gloria" usually "hangs" at a height of 200 meters above the ground and moves at a speed of 60 km / h, accompanied by squall winds. Most often, morning gloria is observed from Buretown from early September to mid-November.
Light or solar pillars, Russia
The so-called "pillars of light" (one of the most common types of halos, visual atmospheric phenomenon, optical effect, which is a vertical strip of light extending from the sun during its sunset or sunrise) can be observed in the coldest regions of the planet. The light reflected by the ice crystals falls perfectly flat and smooth, forming light streaks.
Lake Natron
Lake Natron, located in northern Tanzania, gets its name from the mineral natron. The water temperature of this salty and alkaline lake in wetlands can reach 50 degrees Celsius, and depending on the water level, the alkalinity can reach a pH of 9 to 10.5. Animals (mainly birds), falling into the lake, immediately die, and their remains are covered with mineral substances and harden, turning into stone statues.
Bioluminescent waves on Vaadhoo island, Maldives
Pelagic plankton, thrown onto the beaches of the island, colors the shores with thousands of lights. The glow is attributed to bioluminescence, a chemical process in the body of animals in which the released energy is released in the form of light. Blue glowing waves seem to reflect the stars in the sky over the Maldives. Luminous unicellular dinoflagellates start their illumination from movement in the water column: an electrical impulse resulting from a mechanical stimulus opens ion channels, the work of which activates the "glowing" enzyme.
The eternal storm, Venezuela
The Catatumbo River, which flows into Lake Maracaibo, passes through very large swamps, washing away organic materials that decompose and release huge clouds of ionized methane. Then they rise to great heights, where they encounter strong winds coming from the Andes. This is considered the main reason for the emergence of the Venezuelan unceasing storm Catatumbo. The eternal storm can be seen about 160 nights a year, 10 hours a day and 280 times an hour.
Green rays at sunsets and sunrises
A green ray is an optical phenomenon in which a flash of green light appears at the moment the solar disk disappears below the horizon (usually sea) or appears from below the horizon. In order to observe the green ray, three conditions are necessary: an open horizon (in the steppe, tundra, mountains or at sea in the absence of waves), clean air and the side of the horizon, free of clouds, where the sun sets or rises. The typical green beam duration is only a few seconds.
Gates of Hell, Turkmenistan
Locals and travelers call the Darvaza gas crater the "Door to the Underworld", or the "Gates of Hell", since natural gas escaping from cracks in the rock has been continuously burning day and night since 1971. In 1971, near the village of Darvaza in Turkmenistan, Soviet geologists discovered an accumulation of underground gas. To prevent gases harmful to people and livestock from escaping, they decided to set them on fire. Geologists assumed that the fire would go out in a few days, but they were wrong. A similar phenomenon is observed in Iraq. The eternal fire in the Baba Gurgur oil field is estimated to have lasted for over 4,000 years. This fire in ancient times was described by Herodotus and Plutarch, and is also mentioned even in the Old Testament.
Spherical boulders, New Zealand
These mysterious large boulders of regular spherical shape with a diameter of up to 3 meters are located on the east coast of New Zealand on the Pacific Ocean (along the Koehohe beach), in a place called Moeraki. As determined by detailed analysis using optical instruments, X-rays and electron probe microscopes, boulders are composed of sand, silt and clay, cemented by calcite. These gray boulders, created by erosion of the coastline from the black clay of the coastal cliffs, were originally formed at the bottom of the sea, about 60 million years ago.
Steam Towers, Iceland
The area around Hverir is extremely geothermally active. Ghostly towers of steam and gas rise from hot gullies in swamps and on the surface of the earth. Combined with the northern lights, it all looks very much like alien landscapes.
Mysterious underwater circles, Japan
These strange circles with patterns with a diameter of more than two meters were found at the bottom of the Sea of Japan, and not in corn fields (many have heard about crop circles allegedly left by aliens). Until recently, there was not the slightest idea about the culprit of what was happening, until the cameras of the Japanese photographer Yeoji Ookata recorded a tiny fish of the puffer family. The males of these fish are no more than 13 centimeters in length, but are capable of creating sculptural masterpieces by sneaking under the sand and using their own fin. Thus, the fish attract a partner, and in the center of the circle the pair lays eggs. Such "structures" serve as a kind of protection from ocean currents.
Frozen methane bubbles
Methane bubbles result from the decomposition of various organisms at the bottom of the reservoir and to the delight of all kinds of bacteria. Methane rises upward and, freezing, creates such pictures below the surface of the water. However, you should not play with matches when such bubbles are freed from the shackles of ice.
Magic circles, Namibia
The so-called magic circles are mysterious patches of bare soil up to 30 meters in diameter, with tall grass growing around the perimeter, and which can be seen in the thousands if you fly from Angola to South Africa. The circles look mysterious: they appear for unknown reasons and disappear after 50-70 years, and grass begins to grow again in place of the bare soil. The local population believes that these are traces of the gods, but scientists are clearly not satisfied with this answer. Scientists believe that the cause of these magic circles is termites, which colonize the soil and begin to gnaw at the roots of the grass to loosen the soil and make it more suitable for movement. They also provide water retention in the ground so that it is easier for them to survive in conditions of constant lack of life-giving moisture.
Irina Morozova