6 Breathtaking Natural Wonders

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Učlanjen(a)
11.10.2009
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Across the world there are countless natural wonders, the vast majority of them utterly breathtaking.


Some of them are truly majestic and awe-inspiring

while others are subtly beautiful and awaken a sense of curiosity inside of us.

While most natural wonders can now be explained,

there are still some which baffle scientists and the method of their creation remains a mystery to this day.

That said, here are six natural wonders that are sure to take your breath away…



1. The Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland
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The Giant’s Causeway is one of Ireland’s most visited tourist attractions. This natural wonder boasts 40,000 interlocking basalt columns which are mostly hexagonal in shape. The stones were formed 60 million years ago when lava flows cooled, creating the formations which are as tall as 39 feet high and 18 inches in diameter.



2. Vaadhoo Island, Maldives

The islands of the Maldives are beautiful and serene for countless reasons but perhapsnone of the islands are more gorgeous than Vaadhoo Island. By night, under a sky of magnificent stars, the waves that gently lap up onto the shore glow blue, lighting the beach and creating a mesmerizing sight.

The secret behind these breathtaking waves is the phytoplankton which live within them. The marine microbes are bioluminescent and as a result they emanate a magnificent blue glow.



3. Lake Retba, Senegal
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Late Reba, also known as Lac Rose, can be found just north of the Cap Vert peninsula, Sengal. This magnificent lake is a true natural wonder due to it’s intense pink colour which tints the lake from shore to shore.

The unique shade is caused by the Dunaliella salina algae which resides in the water, producing a red pigment which tint the waters rose. Like the Dead Sea, Lake Retba is full of salt which means visitors can float in its waters with ease.




4. The Great Blue Hole, Belize
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The Great Blue Hole which lies just off the coast of Belize truly is a spectacular sight. Situated near the centre of the Lighthouse Reef, the Great Blue Hole is an underwater sinkhole which measures a massive 984 feet across and plunges 394 feet deep.

The site attracts scuba divers from around the world and year after year it has been named one of the top ten scuba diving spots on Earth, no doubt due to its incredible structure, the crystal waters surrounding it and the vast array of marine life the live within its waters.



5. Sailing Stones, USA
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While no one has ever seen the sailing stones of Death Valley’s Racetrack Playa, California move there’s little denying that they do. Evidence that the stones of the valley, which can weight hundreds of pounds, move is visible in the long track marks that are left in in the dusty ground behind them.

While scientists have yet to agree how the rocks move, the prevailing theory is that strong winds are able to move the rocks across the flat ground when they are wet or icy. The deep groves left behind the rocks suggest they can move up to 700 feet from their starting position.



6. Aurora Borealis, Northern Hemisphere

The Aurora Borealis, more commonly known as the Northern Lights, is a natural light display which dances across the skies in the Northern Hemisphere. The magnificent lights are created when solar winds collide with magnetospheric charged particles in the high altitude atmosphere, exploding into an array of green, red, yellow, pink, and blue lights.

People travel from all over the world to see the Northern Lights however they can be extremely unpredictable in their appearance. During geomagnetic storms the lights can be seen at lower latitudes, sometimes appearing as low down as Northern Europe.
 
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