Fantasy movies often conjure the most fantastic make-belief creatures. But one need not look to fiction to find creatures so surreal that they beggar belief. Earth’s natural world has a sense of humor—there are giant versions of normal species and spiders that look like rabbits.

In the darker corners, fish suddenly melt and large creepy crustaceans burrow into corpses. That aside, rainbow squirrels and ghostly tubes longer than a bus also prove that the world’s most surreal animals are also among the most glorious.

10 White Whale

When Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick in 1851, the story about the white whale became a classic. The pale cetaceans are not pure invention. For instance, Galon de Leche (“Milk Gallon”), an albino whale, is a local celebrity off the coast of Mexico.

There have been several sightings of a white whale in the area, but nobody knows if it is the same animal or different individuals. However, they are rare. In 2003, a pure-white calf was allegedly seen. Unfortunately, there exists no photographic evidence to back up the encounter.

Milk Gallon first received its name when researchers found the albino gray whale in 2008 and again in 2016, this time with a normal-colored calf by its side. The most recent sighting happened in 2019 when a whale-watching guide saw a white gray whale breach near the Baja California coast, Mexico.^[1]

Manuel Gonzalez was savvy enough to record footage of the animal. He did not repeat the mistake of the crew who possibly sighted Milk Gallon as a calf in 2003.

9 Stiletto Snakes

In 2019, researchers looked under rocks and plants in the forests of Guinea and Liberia. They were rewarded with a new species of snake. They found three of the unassuming brown creatures, which proved to be hairy foes.

The new guy turned out to be a member of a group known as stiletto snakes. Forget about picking them up the usual way. Grasping behind the head with one’s fingers could end with a snakebite. Stilettos have a unique ability: They can deliver a poisonous stab without opening their maws.

Special fangs grow from their mouth corners, allowing the snake to stab sideways. As the Guinea-Liberia scientists found out for themselves, the reptiles also lunge distances equal to their own body length.^[2]

Luckily, stilettos are not fatal. The bad news is that their venom is cytotoxic (a substance that destroys cells). The snakes pack a potent amount, and without the correct antivenom, a bitten hand risks losing a few fingers.

8 Melting Fish

In 2018, a scientific expedition plunged 7.5 kilometers (4.7 mi) into the Atacama Trench. Located off the coast of Peru, it is one of the deepest places in the sea. Footage captured three new species of snailfish.

Despite the depth, there were plenty of invertebrates and the snailfish appeared to be the top, well-fed predator of the bunch. This was quite remarkable considering that the pressure down there would destroy a human. That is also what happened in reverse when scientists tried to bring the fish to the surface.

As it turned out, what people perceive as normal surface pressure was deadly to the creatures. To survive the depths, the snailfish evolved a squishy body with almost no structural pieces. The most substantial parts were their teeth and inner ear bones.

This soft fragility made the snailfish remarkably tough but only at a depth where they were kept together by the high pressures. When a few were caught and brought to the surface, they disintegrated so rapidly that it looked like they melted.^[3]

7 The Lagoon Blob

In 2017, something weird surfaced in British Columbia. It resembled a brain crossed with a bowl of jelly. Scientists removed it from a lagoon in Vancouver, but this was no wayward movie monster. The gelatinous goop was a group of microscopic creatures called zooids.

In scientific jargon, the brain-like colony is a bryozoan and the lagoon case was identified as Pectinatella magnifica. This type has never been seen in the area before. All known samples came from east of the Mississippi River.^[4]

This added fuel to the debate trying to settle whether the creatures are an invasive species. Their muddy color often makes the colony look like river rocks or turns them invisible in dark water. Indeed, the Vancouver bryozoan was only spotted because water levels dropped enough to make it visible.

They could have been overlooked all these years or recently invaded beyond their borders due to climate change, as some suggest. Either way, the wobbly balls are ancient survivors. The fossil record shows that zooid colonies go back 470 million years.

6 Football-Size Isopods

Isopods belong to the crustacean clan, just like crabs and lobsters. In 2019, scientists caught the creatures on camera during an experiment. The team wanted to find out what scavengers trotted closer when a big piece of meat fell to the bottom of the sea. In this case, the piece was an entire alligator.

Once it hit the seafloor in the Gulf of Mexico, it did not take long for the isopods to emerge. Each was roughly the size of a football. They were a sickly pale color and resembled lobsters. The weird look was outclassed by their gory behavior. Within 24 hours, several had burrowed halfway into the alligator’s stomach to eat the reptile from the inside out.^[5]

The crustaceans’ slick ability to get through the alligator’s thick skin surprised the researchers. Then again, isopods are known for their strangeness. The nightmarish creatures can go for years without food.

Perhaps with that in mind, isopods gorge themselves whenever the opportunity presents. Case in point: When one tried swimming away from the alligator, it dropped to the seafloor like an anvil, too stuffed to move properly.

5 Blue Lobster

In all his years as a lobsterman, Robin Russell had never seen anything like it. When he checked his traps in 2017, there was a blue lobster between the usual brown ones. The creature also had areas with faded pink and periwinkle, giving it a mild rainbow look.

Called “Lucky,” the crustacean avoided the dinner plate and found a home at a science center. Lucky might be an eye-popping sight, but blue lobsters turn up every few years. In fact, lobster coloration is rather mercurial. A pigment called astaxanthin changes color depending on its amount, outside influences, or how astaxanthin contorts.

Usually, lobsters are brown. They only develop the bright red that fine diners know so well when boiling water messes with the pigment. Lucky and his blue brethren remain mysterious. Researchers think the reasons might include low levels of astaxanthin.^[6]

When completely removed from their diet, lobsters turn white. A genetic mutation might also be responsible. In the past, mutations produced some funky lobsters—brilliant yellows, a calico with dots, and lobsters with a two-toned split look.

4 An Enormous Bee

Alfred Russel Wallace found a giant bee. The serious-looking black creature was four times the size of a honeybee. This was in 1858, and for over a century, the so-called Wallace’s giant bee vanished.

Thought to be extinct, it made a comeback in 1981 when an entomologist found six nests scattered throughout the Bacan Islands. After this sighting, the enormous buzzers disappeared again.

In 2019, a team of scientists scoured Indonesian islands in search of the world’s largest bee. The expedition reached its final day when a local guide spotted the nest. It was already known that Wallace bees nested inside termite mounds, but none inspected by the team had yielded any of the creatures.

This mound was in a forest in North Maluku and contained a queen Wallace. The photos and video of her were the first taken of the species. Her wingspan measured 6 centimeters (2.5 in) long, and the creature had massive mandibles.^[7]

The bees may keep disappearing because the region is exceptionally remote.

3 Arachnid With Rabbit Head

Scientist Andreas Kay browsed Ecuador’s Amazon rain forest in 2017. He encountered a tiny creature with a really odd look. The photographs showed something resembling a spider with a black bunny’s head. As bizarre and new as it looked, the species had been discovered in 1959.

About the size of a thumbnail, it was also not a spider but a harvestman. This type of arachnid is more popularly known as a “daddy longlegs.” Unfortunately, researchers don’t have much information about this particular species which is known as the bunny harvestman.

Little research has been done on the creature’s unique body shape, despite being known for decades. However, the rabbit look probably has an important purpose. The two false ears and false yellow eyes could be a way to deter predators.^[8]

Whatever the reason, harvestmen are exceptionally successful as a group. There are thousands of species, and they are older than the dinosaurs.

2 Rainbow Squirrel

In 2019, an amateur photographer uploaded images of a squirrel to Instagram. They were a smash hit. This was no ordinary squirrel. The animal appeared to have been dyed in sections or perhaps digitally altered.

The good news is that the rainbow-colored rodent is 100 percent organic. Called Malabar giant squirrels, they hug trees in the Indian peninsula. This particular specimen was a beautiful example of their bright fur that could include orange, purple, and indigo.

Sadly, not every Malabar has a technicolor dreamcoat. It is more common to see animals with different shades of brown like beige, rust, and tan. Either way, both could play a role in camouflage and looking good for the opposite gender.

The creatures are also impressively large. Measuring about 1 meter (3 ft) long, they rarely leave the safety of high branches. When they feel like traveling to the next tree, they launch their bright bulk up to 6 meters (20 ft) through the air.^[9]

1 Pyrosoma Colony

In 2018, divers filmed underwater scenes near White Island in New Zealand. Suddenly, they were surprised by a ghostly creature. The ribbonlike tube measured 8 meters (26 ft) long. It looked like a giant worm.

However, the floating feature was a colony of creatures called tunicates. These plankton-nibbling critters look like tiny rods but are complex organisms with spinal cords. Their ability to clone means that the “ribbon” can live forever.

A single colony is also known as a pyrosome and can grow as long as 18 meters (60 ft). This made the New Zealand case one of the smaller tunicate villages. The largest “cities” are often built by a species called Pyrosoma spinosum. Not only do they make the most breathtakingly long pyrosomes, but the bioluminescent variety of tunicates also turn the colony into a glowing wonderland.^[10]

Life would be dull without the world’s weirdest moments. But sometimes, they exceed our wildest expectations. There are spooky forests that move and footage of the Moon that nobody believes. Things get weird inside a beatboxing throat and when people bite products in stores. But the most terrifying moments happen when clips show what unregulated kill-bots can do and when drones see hundreds of blindfolded people in China.

SEE ALSO: 10 Unsolved Mysteries With Creepy Surveillance Footage

10 Tom Thum’s Larynx

In 2017, Australian beatboxer Tom Thum said “Ah,” and let doctors look at his throat. More precisely, he allowed a camera to slither up his nose and down his throat. Then he made a bunch of noises so that the team could see his vocal cords do their thing. The view was not for kids, lunchtime or anyone with a sensitive stomach.

The footage of the camera going up the nose and past the soft palate was gross enough. However, for those who could keep watching, it became clear how versatile the human larynx really is. Most of the noises created by the tongue’s movements started at the top of Tom’s soft palate against the mouth’s roof. Then, twisting into freaky-looking shapes, the tissues of the larynx also moved to help form different sounds. Some squeezed like mad while others shivered, flattened, lifted or pulled. As remarkable as this design was, the footage remained far from pretty.^[1]

9 A Bite-Induced Explosion

Thanks to one man, iPhone users now know not to bite batteries. Although the logic is obvious, this customer learned his lesson the hard way. In 2018, there was a rush after Apple users realized they had to replace their batteries. Apple was giving a discount to anyone who had an iPhone 6 or any model after that. The offer came after the company admitted to slowing these devices to stretch out battery life.

Since the response was positive – a veritable stampede occurred – some people ended up on long waiting lists. Those who found the idea of waiting for weeks unacceptable turned to third-party providers. The problem with that avenue included fake iPhone batteries. This thought was apparently the main concern of the unnamed man who entered a Chinese store that sold electronics. He eventually found what he was looking for. Like some people bite coins to test their authenticity, he chomped down to make sure he was getting a genuine iPhone part. The battery exploded. Remarkably, the man was unharmed. But his dignity might suffer forever. The whole thing was caught on the store’s security camera and uploaded to the Internet.^[2]

8 Declassified Nuclear Tests

From 1945 to 1962, around 10,000 films were shot of nuclear tests. They recorded the U.S. detonating devices both underground and on the surface. Most of these reels languished for decades in high-security storage. In 2017, 6,500 were recovered by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). For years afterward, researchers battled against time to digitalize the historic footage. All of them were on the verge of decomposing beyond repair.

The Laboratory had several reasons for wanting to preserve the explosions. Apart from being an integral part of human history, some were freshly declassified and available for studies for the first time. The footage also corrected a few mistakes. Back in the day scientists had to use eyesight to measure the explosions’ fireballs and shockwaves. Most of the published measurements turned out to off by about 25 percent. While correct facts are always a joy for researchers, the greatest achievement LLNL is hoping for is that the unsettling films would discourage the future use of nuclear weapons.^[3]

7 The Slaughterbot Warning

A growing number of people, including Stephan Hawking and Elon Musk, have voiced their concern about a future that includes killer robots. They are not alone. Several organizations also exist to monitor the situation and spread awareness.

The Future of Life Institute is dedicated to protecting human life from unsavory inventors and their bots. In 2017, they released a fictional film about killer drones. The footage had a deliberate documentary or news-read feel to make the “event” more real. The 7-minute clip was graphic. It followed swarms of slaughterbots as they were released to eliminate targets like US lawmakers and political activists. The machines needed no human guidance to find these people. The hand-sized robots used real-time data mining and their own intelligence to track down their victims. Once located, the unfortunate individuals received the business end of an explosive charge.

This was not a homemade video that went nowhere. “Slaughterbots” was screened at a convention at the United Nations in Geneva. This particular meeting, called the Convention on Certain Convention Weapons, have already banned lasers designed to blind people. The hope is that the film would raise awareness about just how close we are to creating weapons that can kill on their own. Frighteningly, everything that engineers would need to make them – the desire, technology, and skill – already exists.^[4]

6 A Beached Shark Ate A Beached Whale

In 2018, a crowd formed on Ponta beach, in Mozambique. They were watching a beached whale and those trying to save it. However, all rescue attempts ceased when it became clear that the humpback was too ill to survive and the animal died shortly afterward.

Locals started to gather for their share of the meat but the sharks beat them to it. The whale’s corpse was deep enough for about 60 sharks to tear off a chunk and swim back to safety. However, it was too shallow for one particular customer. A tiger shark, measuring 4 meters (13 feet) long, grabbed a mouthful but beached itself right next to the humpback.

At this point, a diving instructor joined the crowd and started filming. The footage shows the shark thrashing next to the mutilated whale, something that frightened some of the locals so badly that they can be heard shrieking and cursing. After a few minutes, a large wave pulled the shark back into the water and ended the bizarre scene.^[5]

5 A Plane Inside A Hurricane

When a hurricane comes along, people usually get out of the way. Scientists fly into the storms. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has two planes just for this purpose. Called after the muppets Kermit and Miss Piggy, they brave the dangerous conditions to gather more information about hurricanes.

In 2018, Kermit took on Florence. Since this was one of the season’s most powerful hurricanes, the mission was very dangerous. The four-engine Lockheed WP-3D carried onboard an aerospace engineer called Nick Underwood. He managed to capture Kermit’s harrowing flight into the hurricane before the aircraft broke through to the eye of the storm. Unlike the outer chaos, the center was quiet with blue skies. Another researcher, Heather Holbach, was also filming and captured the strange beauty within the eye. The plane was surrounded by a wall of white clouds with the sun overhead.

The center might appear preferable but the real benefits are reaped from the hellish conditions surrounding it. During a flight lasting up to 12 hours, GPS cylinders are dropped into the air. The devices gather an incredible amount of data which allows for better hurricane prediction and management.^[6]

4 A Breathing Forest

[Watch the Footage Here]

In 2018, Daniel Holland shared a video on Twitter. The footage showed a forest in Quebec, with densely packed trees and a carpet of moss. However, the carpet was moving. The rising and falling looked freakishly like the forest was breathing. One of the weirdest responses on Twitter said that the heaving was caused by a giant, hidden turtle.

There was no reptile or even an earthquake tremor. When weather experts were shown the footage, they failed to get excited. This was something that creeped-out locals had already brought to their attention. The “breathing” was a result of natural forces. In particular, wind and water. The phenomenon only happens when the soil is moist enough. Usually, after a storm drops a ton of water on the forest, the tree roots become saturated and disconnected from the earth. When the wind is powerful and persistent enough, the trees are forced to one side. This toppling causes their loosened root web to lift the forest floor.^[7]

3 A Turkey Death Dance

In 2017, a Boston man encountered an eerie sight. There was a dead cat in the middle of the road. What made it so unsettling was the circle of turkeys marching around the corpse. Each bird followed the one walking in front of her. That was the other thing. All the turkeys were hens. During the film, the man can be heard to say, “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.” A lot of people agreed.

At first glance, the performance looked like a creepy display of dominance. However, when bird experts viewed the tape, they came to a different conclusion. The fact that the birds were all female was a strong clue. Hens lack the formidable weight and leg spurs of males. When a predator bounds closer, females have two choices. Run like crazy or flock together with the hope that another hen gets eaten.

In this case, their curiosity got the better of them. The turkeys decided to eyeball the cat but stayed true to their flock defense. Walking around the dead animal, they could look without getting too close. However, people wanted to know why the birds kept circling. It must have clicked at one point that the dead feline was not dangerous. A turkey expert had the unflattering answer. Apparently, in this case, the instinct to follow another turkey was stronger than realizing it was time to go.^[8]

2 Mysterious Prisoners

Drones are changing the way we view the world. These nifty devices can fly over deep-sea whales, mountains and inhospitable terrains, capturing images that would otherwise be impossible or require too much effort. Drones also find things nobody is supposed to see.

In 2019, a video was posted on YouTube. Perhaps fearing retribution, whoever uploaded the footage did so anonymously. The video showed a bird’s view of hundreds of prisoners. They were shackled, blindfolded, wore identical clothing and had their heads shaved. Some clues were immediately obvious. The police offloading the men from a train were Chinese. The fact that China is known for transporting prisoners blindfolded and handcuffed added more certainty that this was happening somewhere within the country.

The captives also appeared to belong to an ethnic minority, most likely Uighurs. Currently, over a million Uighur and other Muslim minorities are held in Chinese internment and “re-education” facilities. Most of this shepherding are due to China’s anti-terrorism campaign which is being heavily enforced in Xinjiang. When experts reviewed the YouTube video, they used landmarks and the sun’s position to identify the location. They believe that the drone captured the sad crowd at a train station in south-east Xinjiang about a year before the footage was released.^[9]

1 The Moon’s Weirdest Video

This footage is so extraordinary that most first-time viewers dismiss the clip as fake. The skepticism is understandable. The video shows a mountain range with tiny human figures. Above them is the Moon, huge and hanging close to the Earth. Worse, it appears to be moving towards the planet. The footage seems fake because, you know, the people are not running away screaming. In fact, they appear oblivious to the Moon’s presence.

The video is real. In 2018, Daniel López wanted to film a “milk moon,” the first full moon in May. On that day, he set up his equipment on Mount Teide in the Canary Islands. López was separated by the people seen in the video by about 16 kilometers (10 miles). He used a powerful telescopic lens to zoom the Moon into focus. This caused the extraordinary illusion that it was moments away from crashing into the hikers below. The speed was real too but not because the Moon was hurtling towards mankind’s doom. This effect was caused by the Earth’s rotation. As the planet turned, the Moon was setting in real-time behind the mountain.^[10]

On a planet where the pyramids, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus are among the unchallenged greatest wonders of the world, it is often difficult to believe that such bizarre things as rainbow trees, polka-dotted lakes, and waterfalls of “blood” could even be possible.

But venture into the most beautiful, surreal corners of the world and you’ll find a variety of scientific marvels that form delightful and horrifying scenes straight out of a psychedelic novel.

10 Polka-Dot Shores

Although most lakes are formed and maintained by an ever-present source of water, some are instead an accumulation of melted snow, excessive rain, and trace amounts of groundwater. Bodies of water with this easy-come, easy-go nature (here known as an “endorheic” lake) are susceptible to extreme evaporation.

In fact, the lake itself will completely dry up during the summer. For one lake in Canada, this results in a colorful mosaic of spots. Officially named “Spotted Lake,” this remote location within the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia looks like just about any other lake in the country during the winter, spring, and fall months.

However, when summer rolls around, most of the lake’s volume is lost to evaporation. What is left behind isn’t any old patch of land, though. Spotted Lake is rich in natural resources: Calcium, sodium and magnesium sulphates, and titanium are the chief contenders there, and they are responsible for the colorful hue left behind.

When the water surrounding these elements and minerals evaporates, what remains are multicolored alkaline rings that, depending on the concentration of each, will leave varying hues of green, yellow, and blue rings on the dried-out ground.^[1]

9 Glowing Lakes

From a tourist standpoint, Thailand is known for its beautiful beaches, exquisite cuisine, and backpacking trails that have the popular islands crammed with sightseers. The country is often advertised as a “deserted paradise.”

The vast numbers of tourists who inhabit the place from November to March are most likely unaware of one of the most extraordinary aspects: the blue, bioluminescent water seen only by night. Looking like something out of a fantasy novel, the waters off coastal Thailand are largely inhabited by microscopic plankton which contain many of the same chemical combinations as fireflies.

Using the same luciferin-luciferase chemical reaction as fireflies, the plankton found in these coastal waters glow when irritated. The display was once described as “a magical light show [to rival] the brightness of the stars above.”^[2]

8 A Waterfall Of Blood

When we think of waterfalls, most of us are probably more inclined to think of the commonly known Niagara Falls, the most prominent (and probably overlooked) aspect of which is its crystal clear water. Yet for all the commonness of clear falls, there is a location where the water that pours forth is eerily crimson in color.

First located in 1911, this area of the remote Taylor Glacier in Antarctica appears to be spouting blood instead of water. The reason for this is rather complex. As opposed to being fueled by melting snow and groundwater, the water source of the Taylor Glacier is the saltwater lake that lies beneath.^[3]

Over time, this salt water has picked up trace amounts of iron from constant contact with the bedrock below. What follows is the same chemical reaction that produces rust. The water takes on the deep red hue of iron oxide. When spilling over, the water seems to be made of blood.

7 Rainbow Trees

Looking more like a regular tree splattered with paint, the appropriately named rainbow eucalyptus is most prominently located in the Philippines and Indonesia. It can even be found stateside in Hawaii, California, and Florida.

Wherever you come across this tree, though, its wild coloration is the result of both its unique bark formation and its location. (The most colorful of these trees are found in Indonesia and the Philippines.)

The bark of the tree is formed by dividing cambium cells, each with a high concentration of chlorophyll (the chemical which gives leaves and grass their rich green color). Over the life span of the cambium cells, they become infused with varying levels of tannins, the chemicals which run the visual gamut from red to brown.

The varying combination of these chemicals, along with the relative humidity and the wetness of the bark, creates the rainbow effect.^[4]

6 Stone Roses

Neither a stone nor a rose, a phenomenon found in Mexico and Tunisia (and, less commonly, in Arizona) is known as a “stone rose.” Formed from either gypsum or barite, these roses are produced as a result of evaporation when one or the other of these minerals binds with grains of sand in an arid, salt-rich environment.^[5]

With an average size of 10 centimeters (4 in) per petal, these roselike formations range in color that is directly related to how they were formed. The ones made in shallower locations typically produce amber petals, whereas deeper formations in a wider space often produce yellow or clear petals.

The unique shape of these roses is not the only unusual thing about them. Regardless of their color during the day or where they developed, all will glow the same opaque white color when placed under an ultraviolet light.

5 Blood Rain

Travel to certain locations within India—namely, Kerala—and you may be treated to the seemingly morbid phenomenon of blood rain. While the name calls to mind some kind of biblical horror film, this state’s spookiest weather affliction is not the result of oxidation within the water. Rather, it is due to the state’s proximity to nearby deserts.

Although rain evaporates cleanly, it can pick up a multitude of things on the way back down. (Acid rain is a prime example and result of this.) But chemicals are not the only thing that can be mixed in with the precipitation.

Airborne particles that are thin enough and high enough can also blend with the moisture in the clouds. When reddish particles of sand get mixed with those clouds, they will fall and pool into puddles of bloodred liquid, even leaving a red hue behind when the rain itself evaporates.^[6]

This scientific explanation of particles being mixed with cloud moisture also held true for the same phenomenon experienced in Russia in July 2018. The city of Norilsk was besieged by red rain one afternoon.

The culprit?

A metal processing plant was performing some routine maintenance. Rust shavings which had been scraped from the floor were caught in an updraft which took them high enough to meld with the clouds. Not long afterward, the red rain was pouring.

4 A Lake of Frozen Bubbles

Looking as though it’s full of frozen jellyfish or cartoonish jewels deep beneath its surface, Lake Abraham is an artificial lake located in Alberta, Canada, that dates back to 1972. It is burgeoning with frozen bubbles.

One unique aspect of this lake is that it has high concentrations of methane gas trapped within its surface. Most lakes contain base amounts of methane as a result of decaying matter which sinks to the bottom and is feasted on by bacteria. In turn, that bacteria produces the methane which escapes through the water and eventually goes airborne.

However, Lake Abraham is unique because its water temperature is high enough that methane can still escape into the water but cold enough that escaping gas will freeze into opaque bubbles. They display a hue ranging from white to deep blue depending on their proximity to the surface.^[7]

3 Bubblegum Water

For the strawberry lovers of the world, you’re in luck . . . at least visually. There is a vibrant pink lake off the coast of Western Australia by the name of Hillier. Although it is not the only pink lake in the world, Hillier’s water is distinctive for being the only one with water that does not lose its color when collected.

This color is neither a mere optical illusion nor the result of the bedrock below the water. Rather, it is the result of several factors working together.

Discovered in 1802, Lake Hillier is home to a certain type of halophilic (“salt-loving”) algae known as the Dunaliella which generate their energy via use of all visible frequencies of light except those falling in the red-orange spectrum. In addition to “leaving behind” the red light energy, these algae produce variations of carotene that contribute to the lake’s reddish-pink hue.^[8]

2 Mummified Lake

At first glance, Tanzania’s Lake Natron seems like a morbid oasis with its bloodred waters surrounded by many peaceful birds lurking at its shores. However, the cause of those deep red depths is more than a little unsettling.

Also known as “Stone Animal Lake,” this body of water in Africa was once rumored to have such a high alkaline content that it could instantly kill and petrify any animal that dared wander into its depths. Rather than being the result of an optical illusion or the presence of halophilic bacteria, Natron’s deep red color is attributed to the presence of minerals formed by volcanic processes in the immediate area.

These processes gradually increased the pH of the water until it became saturated with natron and sodium carbonate, the latter of which was once used in the practice of mummification. The presence of these various minerals—along with the decaying remnants of animals that couldn’t live in such harsh conditions—heavily increased the alkaline nature of the water.^[9]

As such, it became favorable to haloarchaea, red-bodied organisms that tint the water of the lake and the plumage of the flamingos which often live by the water.

1 Forest Of Ice Blades

From the childhood favorite of making snowmen to the artisan craft of ice sculpting, the activity of shaping snow and ice into various pleasing formations has been around for a while and seemingly isn’t going anywhere. However, what happens when the Earth itself decides to get in on the fun?

Travel to various regions within Chile, and you will find miniature forests of icy blades . . . that have exactly no snow or ice in the surrounding area. First discovered in 1835, these religiously named “penitentes” can grow to upward of 5 meters (16 ft) tall.^[10]

They are the direct result of sublimation, a chemical process by which a heat source transforms a solid into a gas without first melting it. In a process that only builds on itself, the angular formation of smaller spikes further concentrates the sunlight. This increases the rate of sublimation until entire forests of these spikes will overtake the landscape.

Roxanne is the author of mythological fantasy and paranormal horror novels. She is located at twitter.com/rheathwrites.