What a natural phenomenon today. Secrets of the most unusual natural phenomena

This is how a person is designed that he always tries to find a logical explanation for any unusual phenomena. In ancient times, divine origin was often attributed to every manifestation of nature, and thus people found an explanation for everything that science could not explain. Sometimes it even reached the point of absurdity - sacrifices were made to fictitious gods to cause rain, and anyone who tried to explain the phenomenon from a scientific point of view risked being burned at the stake.

It would seem that today science has stepped beyond the horizon of the possible, providing answers to questions of many millennia, but this is not entirely true. The more answers appear, the more new questions arise. Moreover, even some phenomena that have been studied for a long time still cause surprise and inspire fear of the power and unknown nature of nature.

The fantastic term, coined by the king of horror Stephen King, has become the definition of a phenomenon inexplicable by science - spontaneous human combustion. Evidence of such cases, when a person suddenly caught fire and turned into a handful of ashes in a matter of minutes, was mentioned in ancient times. In the old days, paranormal phenomena were called devil fire. It was believed that this happens to a person who has entered into an agreement with the prince of darkness and violated it. Later in the 16th century, another version appeared that explained what was happening, and the cause was attributed to alcohol allegedly accumulating in the body.

Most scientists rejected the phenomenon itself and considered it a falsification until the incidents began to be officially recorded in police reports in the 18th century. The most amazing thing is that the fire occurred without an external source of fire, and when burned, bodies, clothing and flammable surrounding objects remained without much damage from the flames.

In Russia, only one recorded case of pyrokinesis occurred in 1990 on the border of the Saratov and Volgograd regions. The shepherd, sitting down to rest on an armful of hay, suddenly burned alive, but his clothes and even dry grass remained intact.

While science cannot explain the unusual phenomenon, the alcohol version has been refuted. The most plausible assumption is the hypothesis of accumulation of acetone in the body as a result of ketosis. The main reason The breakdown of fat cells into ketones, one of which is acetone, leads to a lack of glucose, which often occurs during diets and depression. However, even this version assumes the presence of an external ignition source. According to scientists, such a source could be a static voltage discharge.

There are many more versions associated with other little-studied phenomena, but they have no basis scientific justification and are subject to harsh criticism. For example, the impact on humans of geomagnetic waves, fictitious subatomic particles - pyrotons, or still inexplicable ball lightning.

A rare phenomenon in the form of a luminous formation floating in the air has not found a scientific explanation recognized in the scientific community. The study of ball lightning is complicated by its spontaneity and is based only on eyewitness accounts. There are also photographs and videos that were taken by random witnesses at a great distance using low-quality photographic equipment (cell phone cameras), which does not give scientists an accurate idea of ​​​​the nature of the phenomenon.

The glowing ball has floating borders and can be of different sizes. In some cases the ball has a tail, and in others it does not. The appearance and disappearance of the ball is also of a different nature. Sometimes he comes down from the sky, flies into open window premises, and sometimes suddenly appears out of nowhere and disappears into nowhere. The trajectory of movement also raises many questions to which there are no answers yet. It's unclear what caused it sudden change direction and speed of the ball, what does it react to? It is only known that computer equipment and communication devices located in close proximity freeze or fail.

Usually witnesses who happened to observe ball lightning from close range, experienced strong fear, so they could not adequately assess the situation and pay attention to details. As a result, all the evidence does not give researchers a complete picture of the unusual phenomenon, and some of the evidence generally raises doubts about its reliability.

Simultaneously in two places

This seems impossible, but it is a fact. In addition to what we see and what we know about, there is a microworld, and the science that studies it is called quantum mechanics. Surely many have heard about Jung’s famous experiment, which was even demonstrated in physics lessons. Light from one source was passed through two diffraction slits. As a result, a diffraction grating appeared on the screen. Nothing unusual, because the phenomenon of diffraction and interference has long been studied. But how surprised the scientists were when they repeated this experiment with electrons.

Presumably, the flow of electrons, having passed through two slits, should have left two stripes on the screen, but no - interference occurred. This led to the discovery that electrons can behave like waves. What happened next was even more interesting: electrons began to shoot out one at a time. It would seem that one particle should pass through only one slit and leave one point on the photosensitive screen. Here the researchers were in for a real shock: the electron seemed to split into two and pass through two slits at the same time, and then colliding with itself led to interference. How is this even possible? And scientists, deciding to find out the nature of what was happening, installed instruments that recorded the particle before the slits and after.

The attempt to “peek” at the behavior of the electron became the main secret, for which there is still no answer. When the devices were turned on, the electron began to behave like a particle, passing through one slit, as originally intended. When they stopped “snooping”, interference occurred. It seemed that the electron knew that it was being watched and simply did not want to reveal its secret to humanity.

The first assumption was the theory that the particle was influenced by the instruments with which it was recorded, and in order to refute this version, the experiment was repeated, but with some additions. The experiment was repeated many times with “peeping”. In this case, the results of instruments and screens wrapped in paper were not examined immediately, but were sealed in envelopes. After this, the envelopes were mixed and divided into two equal piles. The envelopes of one of the stacks were opened and the instrument readings were destroyed without looking, while the other stack was left as is.

After studying the results, scientists were once again stunned. In the first stack, where the instrument data was destroyed, there was interference on all screens, but in the second there was no interference. How did the electron, being in two places at the same time, “know” that it was precisely these results of the instruments that a person would destroy and not see? Until now, science is silent, and the experiment remains a mystery.

This may not sound very scientific, but the most unusual, although quite logical, version was put forward by bloggers. In their theory they were based on the principle of operation computer games, where, in order to reduce the load on the hardware, the machine reproduces only that part of the location that the gamer is looking at. They admitted that everything in this world does not happen as we assume and see, and everything that we observe is just a created interpretation intended for human perception. We create virtual worlds, but where is the guarantee that our world is not virtual, not created by someone or ourselves.

Glow of Saint Elmo

For the first time, sailors began to notice an unusual phenomenon when flickering lights in the form of bunches or tassels appeared on the tops of the masts. In those days, the coronal glow was explained as a good sign sent by Saint Elmo, the patron saint of sailors in Catholicism. This is where the name of the phenomenon comes from. In fact, the phenomenon most likely foreshadowed a thunderstorm, and its appearance on the sharp ends of objects arose due to high tension electric field in the atmosphere.

IN modern world Elmo lights were often observed on the wings of aircraft approaching a thunderstorm front. The phenomenon also occurred high in the mountains, when climbers' hair stood on end and lights began to flicker. The glow itself is not dangerous. In addition, it can be observed at home. To do this, you need to take a synthetic sweater that you just took off in one hand, and a sewing needle in the other. Entering a dark room, the needle should be slowly brought to the sweater. As a result, at a certain distance, a short-term coronary flicker will begin to appear at the tip of the needle.

Behind this romantic name lies deadly danger, in which a person does not try to save himself, but, on the contrary, takes his own life. The unusual phenomenon was first noticed by workers at marine hydrometeorological stations. Many of them noticed that in the immediate vicinity of an unmanned weather balloon there is a strong headache. Academician Shuleikin began studying the phenomenon and, after conducting a series of experiments, published a work in 1935 devoted to the essence of the origin of this phenomenon.

The reason turned out to be not the probe at all, but the “voice of the sea.” This is the name given to infrasonic waves, inaudible to the human ear. Sound vibrations were characterized by a frequency from 0.1 to 7 Hz and a sound pressure of 75-85 dB. The lack of coherence indicated a significant extent of the source. As a result, it was found that the sound comes from the formation of vortices behind the wave crests when exposed to strong winds.

Later, Academician A. Krylov joined the research, who noted that when the voice of the sea appears, all birds leave the sound propagation zone, and jellyfish abruptly go deeper. US scientists began studying the sea voice in earnest in 1939 and found that sound vibrations of this frequency cause a person to feel anxiety, fear and unbearable headaches.

After studying, the unusual phenomenon was allegedly considered the cause of unexplained incidents that occurred from time to time on sea vessels. For example, in 2003 in Pacific Ocean near o. An Indonesian-flagged cargo ship was discovered drifting in Norfolk. When the Australian border guards boarded the ship, they did not find a single crew member, although the ship itself was fully operational, and there were plenty of water and food supplies. In 2007, the situation repeated itself with a sailing catamaran. There were also no people on the ship, all electronics, radio and on-board computer were working, but what struck the police most were the plates of food on the table. Such cases are not uncommon, and according to statistics, every year hundreds of sailors voluntarily commit suicide at sea, and sometimes the suicides are collective.

So far, the involvement of the “voice of the sea” in such cases is only an assumption. There are still many open questions, since in most incidents on board no traces of panic were found, as if the sailors, turning into “zombies”, were simply thrown overboard on command.

Today there are still many unexplored and logical phenomena in the world - Bermuda Triangle, connecting rod waves, Dyatlov Pass and other phenomena. Perhaps in the future some of them will be able to be solved by science, and some will remain a secret forever. And maybe this is for the better, because once you open Pandora’s box, the consequences will become irreversible.

Incredible facts

Scientists have been trying for centuries to unravel many secrets natural world , however, some phenomena still baffle even the best minds of humanity.

From strange flashes in the sky after earthquakes to rocks that spontaneously move across the ground, these phenomena seem to have no particular meaning or purpose.

Here are the 10 most strange, mysterious and incredible phenomena, found in nature.

1. Reports of bright flashes during earthquakes

Light flashes that appear in the sky before and after an earthquake

One of the most mysterious phenomena are inexplicable flashes in the sky that accompany earthquakes. What causes them? Why do they exist?

Italian physicist Christiano Feruga collected all observations of flashes during earthquakes dating back to 2000 BC. For a long time, scientists were skeptical about this strange phenomenon. But everything changed in 1966, when the first evidence appeared - photographs of the Matsushiro earthquake in Japan.

Nowadays there are a great many such photographs, and the flashes on them are so different colors and shapes that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish a fake.

Among the theories explaining this phenomenon are heat caused by friction, radon gas and piezoelectric effect– an electrical charge that builds up in quartz rocks when tectonic plates move.

In 2003, physicist NASA Dr. Friedemann Freund(Friedemann Freund) conducted a laboratory experiment and showed that perhaps the flashes were caused by electrical activity in the rocks.

The shock wave from an earthquake can change the electrical properties of silicon and oxygen-containing minerals, allowing them to transmit current and emit a glow. However, some believe that the theory may only be one possible explanation.

2. Nazca Drawings

Huge figures drawn on the sand in Peru by ancient people, but no one knows why

The Nazca Lines extend over 450 square meters. km of coastal desert, are huge works of art left on the Peruvian plains. Among them there are geometric figures, as well as drawings of animals, plants and rarely human figures, which can be seen from the air in the form of huge drawings.

They are believed to have been created by the Nazca people during a 1000 year period between 500 BC. and 500 AD, but no one knows why.

Despite the status of the object World Heritage, Peruvian authorities are having difficulty protecting the Nazca Lines from settlers. Meanwhile, archaeologists are trying to study the lines before they are destroyed.

It was initially assumed that these geoglyphs were part of the astronomical calendar, but this version was later refuted. Researchers then focused their attention on the history and culture of the people who created them. Are the Nazca Lines a message to aliens or represent some kind of encrypted message, no one can say.

In 2012, Yamagata University in Japan announced it would open a research center on site and intend to study more than 1,000 drawings over 15 years.

3. Migration of Monarch Butterflies

Monarch butterflies find their way across thousands of kilometers to specific locations.

Every year millions of North American monarch butterflies migrate over a distance of more than 3000 km south for the winter. For many years no one knew where they were flying.

In the 1950s, zoologists began tagging and monitoring the butterflies and discovered that they were found in a mountain forest in Mexico. However, even knowing that monarchs choose 12 of the 15 mountainous sites in Mexico, scientists still can't understand how they navigate.

According to some studies, they take advantage of the position of the Sun to fly south, adjusting to the time of day using the circadian clock of their antennae. But the Sun gives only general direction. How they settle in is still a mystery.

One theory is that geomagnetic forces attract them, but this has not been confirmed. Only recently have scientists begun to study the features of the navigation system of these butterflies.

4. Ball lightning (video)

Fireballs that appear during or after a thunderstorm

Nikola Tesla supposedly created ball lightning in his laboratory. In 1904, he wrote that he had “never seen fireballs, but he was able to determine their formation and reproduce it artificially.”

Modern scientists have never been able to reproduce these results.

Moreover, many are still skeptical about the existence of ball lightning. However, many witnesses, dating back to the era of Ancient Greece, claim to have observed this phenomenon.

Ball lightning is described as a sphere of light that appears during or after a thunderstorm. Some claim to have seen ball lightning passes through window glass and down the chimney.

According to one theory, ball lightning is plasma; according to another, it is a chemiluminescent process - that is, light appears as a result of a chemical reaction.

5. Moving stones in Death Valley

Stones that slide along the ground under the influence of a mysterious force

In the Racetrack Playa area of ​​Death Valley, California, mysterious forces push heavy rocks across the flat surface of a dry lake when no one is looking.

Scientists have been puzzling over this phenomenon since the beginning of the 20th century. Geologists tracked 30 stones weighing up to 25 kg, 28 of which moved over a 7-year period of more than 200 meters.

Analysis of the stone tracks shows that they moved at a speed of 1 m per second and in most cases the stones slid in winter.

There were speculations that it was all to blame wind and ice, as well as algae slime and seismic vibrations.

A 2013 study tried to explain what happens when water on the surface of a dry lake freezes. According to this theory, ice on rocks stays frozen longer than the ice around them because the rock releases heat faster. This reduces the friction between the stones and the surface, making them easier to push around in the wind.

However, no one has yet seen the stones in action, and Lately they became motionless.

6. The Rumble of the Earth

An unknown hum that only some people can hear

The so-called "hum" is the name given to the annoying low frequency noise, which worries residents around the world. However, few are able to hear it, namely only every 20th person.

Scientists attribute the "hum" ringing in the ears, distant waves, industrial noise and singing sand dunes.

In 2006, a researcher from New Zealand claimed to have recorded this anomalous sound.

7. The return of the cicada insects

The insects that suddenly woke up after 17 years to find a partner

In 2013, cicadas of the species appeared from underground in the eastern United States Magicicada septendecim, which have not been shown since 1996. Scientists don't know how the cicadas knew it was time to leave their underground habitat after 17 year old dream.

Periodical cicadas- These are quiet and solitary insects that spend most of their time buried underground. They are the longest-lived insects and do not mature until they are 17 years old. However, this summer, they woke up en masse to reproduce.

After 2-3 weeks they die, leaving behind the fruits of their “love”. The larvae burrow into the ground and a new one begins life cycle.

How do they do it? How do they know after so many years that the time has come to appear?

Interestingly, 17-year cicadas appear in the northeastern states, while in the southeastern states, cicada invasions occur every 13 years. Scientists have suggested that this life cycle of cicadas allows them to avoid meeting their predator enemies.

8. Rain of Animals

When different animals, such as fish and frogs, fall from the sky like rain

In January 1917, the biologist Waldo McAtee(Waldo McAtee) presented his work entitled "Rains from organic matter", where it was reported cases of falling larvae of salamanders, small fish, herring, ants and toads.

IN different parts light reported rains of animals. For example, frogs rained down in Serbia, perches fell from the sky in Australia, and toads fell in Japan.

Scientists are skeptical about their animals' rain. One explanation was proposed by a French physicist back in the 19th century: winds lift animals and throw them to the ground.

According to a more complex theory, waterspouts suck out aquatic inhabitants, transport them and force them to fall in certain places.

However scientific research There have been no studies to confirm this theory.

9. Stone balls of Costa Rica

Giant stone spheres whose purpose is unclear

Why the ancient people of Costa Rica decided to create hundreds of large balls of stone is still a mystery.

Costa Rican stone balls were discovered in the 1930s by United Fruit Company when workers cleared land for banana plantations. Some of these balls having perfect spherical shape, reached 2 meters in diameter.

The stones that the locals call Las Bolas, belonged to 600 - 1000 AD What makes this phenomenon even more difficult to understand is the fact that there is no written record of the culture of the people who created them. This happened because the Spanish settlers erased all traces of cultural heritage indigenous population.

Scientists began studying the stone balls in 1943, charting their distribution. Later, anthropologist John Hoopes refuted many theories explaining the purpose of the stones, including lost cities and space aliens.

10. Impossible fossils

Remnants of long-dead creatures that appear in the wrong place

Ever since the theory of evolution was proposed, scientists have encountered discoveries that seem to challenge it.

One of the most mysterious phenomena was fossil remains, especially human remains, which appeared in unexpected places.

Fossilized prints and traces were discovered in geographic areas and archaeological time zones to which they did not belong.

Some of these discoveries may provide new information about our origins. Others turned out to be mistakes or hoaxes.

One example is a discovery in 1911, when an archaeologist Charles Dawson(Charles Dawson) collected fragments of a supposedly unknown ancient man with large brains, dating back 500,000 years ago. Big head Piltdown man led scientists to believe that he was the "missing link" between humans and apes.

Green sunsets and sunrises

This rare photo is an illustration meteorological phenomenon, which occurs for a couple of seconds during sunset and sunrise. The conditions for this must be ideal for the light to refract in the atmosphere, and the Sun turns green.

Gate to Hell, Turkmenistan

From the crater of the Darvaza volcano, also called the “gate to hell,” gas flows to the surface of the Earth. The bright fire has been burning since 1971, the moment it was lit. A similar fire burned in Iraq for 4,000 years, which was even mentioned in the Old Testament.

Volcanic thunderstorm

This phenomenon in nature is similar to an ordinary thunderstorm, accompanied by volcanic eruptions. It sounds scary, but it's an amazing sight.

Round stones, New Zealand

"Moeraki Boulders" - huge round debris rock, which can be seen on the shore of Koekohe. Such stones are found in many places in the world, including on the islands of our Arctic.

Eternal thunderstorm, Venezuela

At the mouth of the Catatumbo River in Venezuela, you can observe a rare accumulation of thunderclouds that form a phenomenon called the Catatumbo thunderstorm. Here, thunder and lightning can be enjoyed about 180 nights a year, 10 hours a day.

Great Blue Hole, Belize

The huge underwater holes were formed during the Ice Age, when sea levels were much lower than they are now and the seabed was exposed to the elements. Huge holes were created due to erosion, but the growth of the holes stopped after they were filled with water.

Steam towers, Iceland

The area around Hvevir is extremely active. Phantom towers of steam rise from hot gullies in swamps and on the surface of the earth. Combined with the northern lights, all this looks like the landscapes of an alien planet.

Ice caves

Ice caves are structures that form on the edges of a glacier under the influence of water. The cave is washed out by water. Thick layer multi-year ice contains too little air and does not transmit any light other than blue, which is why the ice acquires such a unique shade.

Basalt columns

These columns are so perfect that one can hardly believe that they are not the work of human hands. Millions of years ago, everything here was filled with lava, which cooled over time and began to break off, so today we can see this amazing phenomenon.

Fire Rainbow

A fire rainbow can be seen when light reflects off ice crystals in clouds on high altitude. This phenomenon can be so extensive that it often extends along the entire horizon.

Endless Wave

Pororoca is a wave that runs along the coast of the Amazon for 800 kilometers. It is usually 3 to 4 meters high. The world's longest wave occurs twice a year, in February or March, when the tides of the Atlantic Ocean reach the mouth of the Amazon. The Brazilian surfer set a record by riding 13 kilometers on his board in 37 minutes.

Butterfly migration, USA and Mexico

Monarch butterflies are usually beautiful, black and orange creatures, but when they begin to migrate, miracles begin to happen in the sky. As temperatures begin to drop in October, the monarchs begin their journey to Mexico. They have to cover about 4,000 kilometers. Butterflies can cover trees in an entire layer during their journey.

Mother of pearl clouds, Arctic

These unique clouds are very rare because there is usually not enough moisture in the stratosphere for clouds to form. But during extremely cold winters, enough moisture accumulates that clouds can form at an altitude of about 20 km.

Running sardines, South Africa

Sardines make their move every year from May to July. Billions of fish from cold waters swim from Cape Point to the east coast of South Africa. The schools of fish are so gigantic that they can be seen from satellites. It is not uncommon to see shoals 8 km long, one and a half kilometers wide and 30 meters deep.

Blooming desert, Chile

Every second year the Atacama Desert blooms. A magnificent transformation can be observed after heavy rains, which awaken plant grains deep under the sand.

Lenticular clouds over the mountains

Clouds of this shape form when the air in the mountains is moist. Because of their shape, they are often confused with UFOs.

Crab migration, Christmas Island

In October and November, crabs living on Christmas Island begin their journey to the ocean to mate. For about 18 days, car traffic stops on the island, because all the streets are covered with a red carpet of crabs.

Kliluk, Spotted Lake, Canada

When the water rises in this lake, which is located near the Canadian town of Osoyoos (British Columbia), the minerals form bizarre round shapes and the lake looks absolutely incredible. Each circle has its own color, which depends on the amount of minerals in the lake.

Underwater circles, Japan

These strange shapes are found at the bottom of the sea, not in the fields. They are approximately 2 meters wide and cover the bottom of the Sea of ​​Japan. Each circle has its own shape. Until recently, the reason for the appearance of these circles was unknown, but, surprisingly, the blowfish fish turned out to be to blame. Male pufferfish, despite their size (no more than 13 cm), draw such fields to attract females.

Frozen methane bubbles

Methane bubbles result from decomposition various organisms at the bottom of the reservoir. Methane rises to the top and freezes below the surface. However, you should not play with matches if such a bubble is opened.

Witches' circles, Namibia

Witches' circles are spots on sandy soil that appear in the grasslands of Africa. If you fly from Angola to South Africa, you can observe thousands of such spots with a diameter of up to 9 meters. Scientists believe that termites, which live under the spots and eat plant roots, are to blame.

Luminescent waves, Vaadu, Maldives

The shine of the waves is given by phytoplankton, which glows in the dark. The Milky Way along the beach is simply incredible.

Viper clouds

Similar clouds form under ordinary clouds. This rare phenomenon occurs as a result of the mixing of air and clouds with different humidity, with heavier clouds hanging under lighter ones.

Salt lakes

Some lakes are so salty that animals that fall into the water become covered with a layer of lime, harden and turn to stone.

Wavy-lumpy clouds

Undulatus asperatus (undulatus clouds) are so rare that they were only classified in 2009. We know little about them, except that they are fascinating.

Fire Falls Horsetail Fall

Horsetail Fall is a seasonal waterfall on Mount El Capitan's karyu national park Yosemite. A fire waterfall is a very rare phenomenon that can only be seen on a few days in February, when the temperature and weather are suitable for this phenomenon. The sun reflects on the water and produces this glowing orange effect.

Rainbow eucalyptus trees, Hawaii

Rainbow eucalyptus trees have their own special color, as if they were painted by an artist different colors: green, orange, purple, blue, brown. In fact, the reason is simple: the tree loses its bark in different time per year. The parts free from the bark age differently, which causes different colors.

Striped icebergs, Antarctica

Beautiful blue stripes on icebergs occur when a crack in the iceberg fills with water and it has time to freeze without the formation of bubbles. The green streaks are made up of algae that stick to the iceberg in the water. Brown, yellow and black stripes are various kinds of sediments “captured” by the iceberg along its path.

Snow colors, Arctic

These unusual flower fields form on a thin layer of sea ice when the air in the atmosphere is much colder than the sea ice. When the warmer and humid air With cold you get such beautiful crystals.

Snowy chimneys, Arctic

Moffetts are the vents through which volcano steam escapes to the surface. Once the steam leaves the vent, it freezes and forms into these massive tubes around the vent.

Glowing pillars, Russia

Such pillars can be enjoyed in extremely cold areas of Russia. They natural origin, are formed in the light of the Moon or Sun. Light reflects off very flat and smooth ice crystals.

Moving stones, Death Valley, USA

These stones, weighing up to 350 kg, move across the dry desert without human or animal intervention.

Maelstrom whirlpool

These giant whirlpools arise when two sea ​​currents. The current is so strong that it can drown small boats, not to mention swimmers. The largest whirlpool is called “Saltstraumen” and is located off the coast of Norway.

Ice hair

This strange ice is soft and, as the name suggests, looks like hair that grows from plants. The bacterium "Pseudomonas syringae" is the cause of this rare phenomenon. It raises the freezing point of water inside plants and when the water leaves the plant and encounters cold air, it produces these icy hairs.

- gas crater in Turkmenistan. Locals and travelers call it the “Door to the Underworld”, or the “Gates of Hell”. It was lit by scientists in 1971 and has never stopped burning since then.

It is located 90 km from the village of Erbent. The diameter of the crater is approximately 60 meters, the depth is about 20 meters.

2. Black Sun of Denmark— more than a million European starlings gather in huge flocks, creating unusual patterns in the air and practically blocking out the sun. This amazing phenomenon can be observed in Denmark in early spring- everywhere in the marshy, western part of the country. However, the largest flocks of starlings gather in the south of Jutland. An aerial bird ballet can be seen at sunset.

3. In Morocco you can see trees “decorated” with live goats, like Christmas tree toys. Dry and hot climate, as well as the sparse vegetation of these places, force goats, showing miracles of acrobatics, skillfully balancing on branches and collecting tree fruits.

4. Lifeless landscapes of Lake Natron in northern Tanzania resemble surreal alien landscapes. A lake covered with a crust of salt may change color throughout the year. As a result of the vital activity of microorganisms - halophilic cyanobacteria living in Natrona - the water acquires rich reddish and pinkish shades several times a year. When the temperature rises, the bacteria release a red pigment, coloring the lake.

5. Tidal waves (or "Boron") in the Amazon in Brazil and the Severn in England, it is a phenomenon in which the leading edge of the tide forms a wave that travels up the river against the current. Surfers often use a boron to ride their board.

6. Lenticular (lenticular) clouds- a unique natural phenomenon. These clouds usually form around hills and mountains. They look very peculiar and look like giant flying saucers or a stack of pancakes. Many famous mountains around the world have often been photographed capped by these clouds, including Mount Shasta and Mount Fuji.

Lenticular clouds appear completely motionless, as if frozen in time. Actually this is not true. The clouds appear motionless as a stream of moist air constantly replenishes the cloud on the windward side, while the moisture evaporates and disappears on the leeward side, leaving clouds with a characteristic lenticular shape.

7. Frosty flowers are ice crystals that form on young ice in cold waters. As a rule, they are formed when low temperatures and in almost complete absence of wind.

8. Richat (Guel Er Richat, also known as the Eye of the Sahara)- a geological formation located in the Mauritanian part of the Sahara Desert. The diameter of the structure is 50 km.

There are many different opinions about the origin of this amazing natural phenomenon. According to one version, the “eye” was formed as a result of a meteorite fall. Some scientists believe that it arose as a result of underground nuclear explosions. However, it is worth noting that for such a crater to form, the explosion must have a gigaton power. Currently, no country in the world possesses weapons of such incredible destructive power.

9. Catatumbo Lightning- a natural phenomenon that occurs above the confluence of the Catatumbo River into Lake Maracaibo (this is the largest salt Lake Venezuela). The phenomenon is expressed in the appearance of a glow at an altitude of about five kilometers without accompanying acoustic effects. Lightning appears at night (140-160 times a year), discharges last about 10 hours. Lightning flashes up to 280 times per hour. This adds up to about 1.2 million discharges per year.

10. Mysterious circles under water, discovered in 1995 near Japanese island Amamioshima in the East China Sea looks like something alien. The creator of these patterns is the puffer fish, which creates them to attract a female.

11. It is very rare to see a striking looking cloud in the sky, unofficial name which sounds like undulatus asperatus (from Latin - “wavy-lumpy”; also asperatus, asperatus). In 2009 it was proposed to classify them as the new kind clouds, however, this was impossible to do, because even today they have not yet been sufficiently studied. Despite their menacing appearance, they are by no means harbingers of a storm.

12. Flowering of the Chilean Atacama Desert. Typically, this desert experiences virtually no rainfall all year. However, this year the region experienced historically record rainfall. The rainfall was so intense that catastrophic flooding began. The rains brought to life flower seeds that had been dormant for many years. Such flowerings are very rare and occur approximately once every 5–10 years.

13. Round-horizontal arc or near-horizontal arc — optical phenomenon, which occurs when sunlight passes through ice crystals in upper cirrus clouds. This is a fairly rare phenomenon, but it mostly happens on a summer day when the Sun is high in the sky. This creates a rainbow effect directly in the clouds filled with ice crystals.

14. Crawling or moving stones- a geological phenomenon discovered on the dried-up lake Racetrack Playa in Death Valley in the USA. The stones move without any human or animal participation, however, no one has ever seen or recorded the movement itself.

15. Eternal Flame Falls in the heart of Chestnut Ridge Park in New York. You can always see a burning fire inside the waterfall. The phenomenon of this phenomenon is explained by the fact that there is a natural gas leak under the waterfall, and a fire is always burning at this point. The fire is not actually “eternal”, that is, it goes out periodically. Often it is re-lit by some tourist who discovers that the flame has gone out.

16. Magic circles in the Namibian desert are one of greatest secrets nature. In the north, the circles reach a diameter of 50 meters, in the south - up to three. At first they talked about UFOs, then they blamed it all on termites, which supposedly eat the roots of plants underground. However, the evidence was never presented.

Some scientists argue that the circles arise due to the self-organization of grass. This hypothesis was proven based on a similar phenomenon discovered in Western Australia.

17. Giant's Causeway (Giant's Causeway) in Northern Ireland- a natural monument of approximately 40,000 interconnected basalt (less often andesite) columns formed as a result of an ancient volcanic eruption.

18. Great Blue Hole off the coast of Belize is a round karst sinkhole with a diameter of 305 meters, going to a depth of 120 meters.

The Blue Hole became famous thanks to French explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who included it in the list of the 10 best places in the world for diving.

19. Mysterious boulders of Moeraki, scattered along Koekohe Beach near the fishing village of Moeraki in the Otago region on South Island New Zealand. In total, several hundred boulders are scattered along the Koekohe beach over an area of ​​about three hundred meters. Some of them lie on land, on a sandy shore, some in the sea.

New Zealanders have various unscientific theories regarding the appearance of these boulders. One of them says that these are fossilized dinosaur eggs. In another version, their appearance is attributed to aliens who landed on our planet, but then left it due to the harsh climate, leaving behind huge round eggs that petrified over time. And according to the legends of the Polynesian Maori people, these are baskets of food and pumpkins left after the wreck of a large sailing canoe, Arai Te Uru.

As determined by detailed analysis using optical instruments, X-rays and electron probe microscopes, the boulders are composed of sand, silt and clay cemented with calcite.

20. Millions of red crabs migrate to Australia's Christmas Island every year. from tropical forests located in the central part of the land, on the coast Indian Ocean for reproduction. Migration occurs between mid-October and January, during the mating season. Exact date There is no migration, it all depends on the beginning of the wet season.

To protect the crabs, special fences are built along the roads, as well as special underground ones. During the peak of migration, certain roads are closed and signs are installed that notify about the migration.

Nature is amazing and multifaceted. Some of its phenomena defy any scientific theories or explanations. A person can only admire what he sees.

Northern lights

The Northern Lights are an unusual glow that is formed due to the interaction of the upper layers of the atmosphere with charged particles from the sun. The higher its activity, the greater the likelihood of radiance. An amazing sight can only be observed at high latitudes, near the poles. Duration northern lights- from two to three hours to several days.

Falling stars

At night, in clear weather, you can often observe luminous points moving quickly across the sky. And although they are called shooting stars, they are just small rocks, particles of matter. A bright flash occurs when they invade the earth's atmosphere. At certain periods of the year, meteors fall in a continuous stream. This phenomenon is called “star rain”.

Ball lightning

One of the most mysterious natural phenomena. Such lightning has the shape of a ball, but sometimes its outline can resemble a pear, a drop or a mushroom. The color is most often warm shades - orange, yellow, red, but can be black or transparent. The dimensions of ball lightning also vary over a fairly wide range - from 5-6 cm to several meters. Ball lightning is characterized by unpredictable behavior and short duration of action - usually only a few seconds.

Halo

Halo is a common phenomenon. A circle of light around the sun in mid-latitudes can occur once every few days. The appearance of a halo has, unlike many others unusual phenomena, scientific explanation. The circle of light is formed as a result of the refraction of the sun's rays in ice crystals contained in the clouds. In addition to luminous circles, “false suns” may appear on either side of the sun.

Mother of pearl clouds

Mother of pearl clouds are an extremely rare phenomenon. They are formed at an altitude of 15 -25 km in the cold parts of the stratosphere. These thin transparent clouds, painted in pearlescent colors, cannot be confused with anything else. You can watch them in northern countries either just after sunset or before sunrise.

Lenticular clouds

These clouds are often shaped like a flying saucer. They look like a biconvex lens. Often formed before a hurricane. Scientists believe that unusual shape clouds are explained by ice crystals that form under the influence of external factors (for example, emissions from a passing aircraft).

Fish and frog rains

Precipitation from living creatures is not such a rare occurrence. In ancient times it was explained simply - as a gift or punishment from the gods. Modern scientists tend to see the reason in tornadoes or tornadoes, which first lift living creatures into the air and then transport them over long distances. But it is not clear why frogs and fish fall in a strictly limited area.