20 astounding landscapes you have to see with your own eyes

When you look at colorful pictures from all over the world, it’s hard to believe that some of the landscapes you see are real. Perhaps that’s why we want to visit all of them — to make sure that they are really that beautiful!

Bright Side collected some shots of the most impressive places on the planet. After seeing this, you’ll probably reconsider your plans for your next vacation!

The Wave, Arizona, USA

 

The Wave is a sandstone rock in the United States on the border of Arizona and Utah. It’s famous among tourists and photographers for its colorful, undulating forms. 250 million years ago, there were sand dunes there that were migrating across a desert under the influence of seasonal winds.

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

 

Salar de Uyuni is a dried-up salt lake in the south of the Altiplano desert plains in Bolivia. Its inner part is covered with a 6-26 ft (2-8 m) layer of salt. During the rainy season, it becomes covered with a thin layer of water, turning it into the largest mirror surface in the world.

Fly Geyser, Nevada, USA

Fly Geyser is a man-made geyser located in northwest Nevada. It appeared as a result of human intervention: people were drilling a well there in 1916, but they accidentally hit a geothermal pocket. In 1964, boiling water began to penetrate to the surface creating an unusual landscape of minerals dissolving in water.

Hitachi Seaside Park, Japan

 

Hitachi Seaside National Park, in eastern Japan, is a wonderful example of landscape design. It’s famous for the way it changes color depending on the season. Spring, summer, autumn and winter have their own floral covering. By late spring, millions of American forget-me-nots bloom in the park.

Panjin Red Beach, China

 

The beach near Panjin is world famous for its unusual red color. The reason is that the bank of the Liaohe River is littered with seaweed. From April to May, it has a green color, but after it has withering away it gradually becomes bright red by September.

The Lake in Glacier National Park, USA

 

This divinely beautiful lake is located in the Rocky Mountains on the border with Canada in Montana.

The Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland

 

The Giant’s Causeway is made up of about 40,000 basalt columns, all connected to each other. They appeared after an ancient volcanic eruption. The tops of the columns start at the foot of the rock and gradually disappear under the sea. The highest of the columns is about 39 ft (12 m) high.

Rainbow Mountains, China

 

One hundred million years ago, this place was a huge pool instead of mountains, which gradually dried up due to high temperatures. The rocks were ’painted’ in unusual red and copper colors after being exposed to the air.

The Maldives

 

The Maldives consists of more than a thousand paradise islands scattered in the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean. Each island can be called a small miracle, that has preserved the pristine freshness and purity of nature.

Badab-e Surt, Iran

 

Badab-e Surt is a natural wonder in north Iran. This place is made up of one particular kind of stepped terraces — ones made of travertine. The terraces are orange because of a large amount of iron oxide.

The Leshan Giant Buddha, China

The Maitreya Buddha in Leshan in China is one of the highest statues of Buddha in the world. Its height is 233 ft (71 m). The height of its head is about 49 ft (15 m). The scale of its shoulders is about 98 ft (30 m), the length of its finger is 26 ft (8 m), and of its toe is 5 ft (1.6 m). The length of its nose is 18 ft (5.5 m).

Lake Natron, Tanzania

 

This salty alkaline Natron lake is located in the north of Tanzania. Its depth is less than 10 ft (3 m). Because of the micro-organisms that live in the lake, the salt crust covering it sometimes turns red and pink.

The Antelope Canyon, Arizona, USA

This canyon got its name due to its orange and red walls that resemble an antelope’s pelt. The canyon is made up of huge gaps in the sandy rocks which appeared under the influence of wind and water.

Rice Fields, Indonesia

 

The terraced rice fields in Bali in Indonesia are amazingly picturesque. You might think that they’re just grains of rice, but look at how artistically they are planted! No wonder the rice fields and terraces on this island attract artists and tourists.

Cappadocia, Turkey

 

Cappadocia is the ancient name of this area of Turkey, and it’s still called this today. Here you can find interesting landscapes and underground cities created before our era.

Darwaza, Turkmenistan

 

Darwaza is a gas crater in Turkmenistan. Locals and travellers call it ’’the gates of hell’’. Its diameter is about 196 ft (60 m); depth is 65 ft (20 m). Natural gas from the crater has permanently burned here day and night since 1971.

The Odle Mountains, Italy

This area is located in the north-western part of the Italian Dolomites. The magnificent and breathtaking mountain landscapes are incredibly beautiful. The Odle Mountains in the Dolomites were listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2009.

Cave of Crystals, Mexico

This cave, with its giant selenite crystals, is a truly unique sight. The biggest of them is 36 ft (11 m) in length and 13 ft (4 m) in width. It’s very hot in the cave, so you can’t stay there for more than 20 minutes even if you have special equipment.

Sossusvlei, Namibia

 

The Sossusvlei Plateau is the most visited part of the Namib Desert. Everyone who goes there wants to see the black trunks of dead trees that lie scattered around, creating ’’alien landscapes.’’

The Grand Prismatic Spring, USA

A large variety of bacteria lives at the edge of this spring. They can change color from green to red, so the pond takes on their bright colors. There’s no bacteria in the center of the pond. however, due to high temperatures, so the water is still blue there, creating a very striking image.

SOURCE: BRIGHTSIDE