Natural Wonders

Originally Published in ‘Georgian Journal’. Issue No.13 (98)
Original Link: http://www.kvirispalitra.ge/gj-site/2009/13-2009/stardust.html

Whether they are huge volcanoes that dominate the skyline, dramatic canyons or mysterious underground caves – places like Mount Everest, the Matterhorn, the Meteor Crater, Victoria Falls, Ayers Rock, the Grand Canyon or the Great Barrier Reef – planet Earth offers us beauty beyond words. Almost every country has its own special region that takes our breath away with its brilliance and magnificence. You may have heard about them or perhaps, you haven’t. In either case, there is no definitive list that covers all naturally occurring phenomena in the world. So, in this article we are going to cover some of those lesser-known astonishing natural wonders that can freely add an awe-inspiring extra dimension to your explorations.

Called by locals The Door to Hell or the Hell Gate is the place in Uzbekistan situated near the small town of Darvaz. When geologists were drilling for gas about 35 years ago, they suddenly found a huge underground cavern. None dared to go down there because the cavern was filled with gas, so they ignited it so that no poisonous gas could reach the top and since then, it has been burning. Nobody knows how many tons of excellent gas has been burned for all those years but it just seems to be infinite. Unfortunately, mankind had a hand in this.

The Door to Hell

A sandstone formation called The Wave is a red-rock stunner located in northern portion of the U.S. state of Arizona, just south of the Utah-Arizona border about halfway between Kanab, Utah and Page, Arizona. This awesome sight is made of 190-million-year-old sand dunes that over time have turned to solid rock. This little-known formation is accessible only on foot via a three-mile hike across rugged, trail-less landscape. However, in an effort to maintain the area’s natural settings, there are only few signs to guide hikers within the territory and therefore, the Wave itself is not that easy to find. Accordingly, it is not uncommon for groups to get lost and never find the Wave.

The Wave

Another tourist attraction located in Arizona is the Antelope Canyon, which had already become the most visited and photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest. The natural wonder on the territory of Navajo land near Page, formed by erosion of Navajo Sandstone due to flash flooding and other sub-aerial processes, includes two separate, photogenic slot canyon sections, referred to individually as Upper Antelope Canyon – or ‘The Crack’ – and Lower Antelope Canyon – or ‘The Corkscrew’. The Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tse’ bighanilini, which means ‘the place where water runs through rocks’, while the name of the Lower Antelope Canyon is Hasdestwazi, or ‘spiral rock arches.’ A visit to Antelope Canyon is restricted to guided tours led by authorized guides, in part because rains during monsoon season can quickly flood the canyon. The flood, which occurred on October 30, 2006 had lasted for 36 hours and caused the Tribal Park Authorities to close Lower Antelope Canyon for five months.

The Antelope Canyon

A feature attraction of diving in Belize, especially for divers with an appreciation of geographical phenomena, is the opportunity to explore the famed Blue Hole, which like any other blue holes on Earth, formed during past ice ages, when sea level was as much as 100-120 meters lower than at present and so named for the dramatic contrast between the dark blue, deep waters of their depths and the lighter blue of the shallows around them. This beauty, which is part of the Lighthouse Reef System, lies approximately 60 miles off the mainland out of Belize City. It is one of the most astounding dive sites to be found anywhere on earth. Right in the center of Lighthouse Reef is a large, almost perfectly circular hole approximately one quarter of a mile (0.4 km) across that stresses the fact that Mother Nature can be perfect at times. Inside this hole the water is 480 feet (145 m) deep and it is the depth of water which gives a brilliant deep blue color.

The Blue Hole

Mato Grosso do Sul region in Brazil and especially the quiet little town of Bonito boasts many marvelous underground lakes: Gruta do Lago Azul, Gruta do Mimoso, Aquario Natural. The world famous ‘Gruta do Lago Azul’ (Blue Lake Cave) is a natural monument whose interior is formed by a big variety of geological formations like stalactites and stalagmites but impresses its visitors mainly for its huge and wonderful inside lake in the deep blue color. The beauty of the lake is something extraordinary. Every morning, between half past seven and half past nine the sun shines through a hole in the ceiling and the lake gets its typical blue shimmer. The blue color fills the whole chamber and gives the speleothems a magic touch. The undisturbed surface of the lake mirrors the stalactites and thus, doubles the beauty of the cave. In addition, the lake is also a prehistoric site. Divers had discovered bones of animals on its ground that are as old as 10,000 years. The whole area around Bonito is karstified with numerous caves, karst springs and dolines.

The Blue Lake Cave

And finally, we simply cannot avoid talking about the Giants Causeway, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 and a National Nature Reserve in 1987 by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland. This truly natural wonder found in the north-east coast of Northern Ireland represents an area of about 40 000 interlocking basalt columns, which are a result of an ancient volcanic eruption. Most of its columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven and eight sides. The tallest are about 12 meters (36 ft) high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 meters thick in places. In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, the causeway was named as the fourth greatest natural wonder in the United Kingdom and there is certainly no doubt why.

The Giants Causeway

The Earth is indeed an extraordinary planet and not just because of the almost infinite variety of life that it supports. It is very fabric, the land itself is marvelously varied and really impressive. All it takes us is to go and explore this vast and diverse landscape unlike anywhere else in the universe: look out upon the rugged beauty of canyons gouged deep in the earth, feel the mist on our face as majestic waterfalls thunder down from incredible heights, follow hiking paths and canoe routes through glorious outdoor havens where wild animals roam freely, walk with nature through forests, cruise past thousands and thousands of islands and seek out the sun on sandy beaches stretching as far as the eye can see.