Unusual phenomena. Secrets of the most unusual natural phenomena Rare phenomena in nature

Natural phenomena are usually characteristic of a certain time of year or climate zone. But the world also contains unusual natural phenomena that are difficult to believe or explain.

Video about unusual natural phenomena

Natural phenomena. What is it, what are they?

In addition to the expected phenomena, such as snow, rain, thunderstorms or heat waves, the world is full of other less familiar natural phenomena that scientists cannot explain. They are often impossible to repeat in laboratory conditions, and recording rare outbreaks of unexplained phenomena in nature is always a success.

Dangerous and rare natural phenomena

Rare natural phenomena can be absolutely harmless or pose a danger to human life.

Voice of the Frozen Sea

In February 2012, as a result of severe frosts, the shores of the Black Sea near Odessa froze. This time everyone was especially surprised by the roaring sound, comparable only to a bear roar.

It was formed due to the pressure of the underwater current on the resulting block of ice, which cracked, creaked and froze again, creating sounds and a terrifying sheet of ice.

Asperatus

In 2010, a new type of cloud, asperatus, was added to the atlas of the International Classification of Clouds. Their first photographs appeared on the Internet in 2006. Asperatus is recognized by its external characteristics - heavy and frightening stratus clouds that appear all over the planet, regardless of the time of year.

St. Elmo's Fire

Due to the voltage of the electric field in a certain place during a thunderstorm, a corona discharge occurs in the atmosphere - St. Elmo's fire. The sailors named the phenomenon in honor of the sea patron, Elmo. In order for the lights to appear, there must be a high string of wired objects - the tops of rocks, trees, the masts of ships or multi-story buildings.

Blood Tide

Bloody tides are common off the east coast of Australia. In 2018, the ocean water turned red twice over several kilometers.

According to scientific explanations, this anomaly is the result of:

High population of single-celled red organisms Alexandrium tamarense in water. In 1 liter of water alone their number exceeds 130 thousand individuals.
A huge number of flagellated algae from dinoflagellates.
Release of toxins during algae blooms.

Red tides occur in all oceans: for the first time in 1799, it was recorded near Alaska. In the XX century. these tides formed near Eastern Kamchatka several times: in Pavel Bay (1945), in Avacha Bay (1973).

The last red tide occurred in 2018 off the coast of Florida.

Hot flashes are not dangerous for humans and animals - except for drinking large quantities of this water. But birds suffer from them - it is difficult to protect them from easy prey - dead fish that float away over time.

whirlpool

A whirlpool can occur anywhere in open water - in a river, sea or ocean. Its occurrence is the result of a collision of the current with a depression that blocks the free linear movement of the current.

Whirlpools can be hopeless and catastrophic, so they are divided into several types:

Types of whirlpools	Characteristics
Suvod	occurs on a river, forming near banks, dams and dams. Due to the calm current, such whirlpools are safe.
Mountain	strong swirling water can drag a person or a small boat to the bottom.
Marine	occur during high and low tides. Quite dangerous to human life.
Permanent	occur with frequent regularity in the same place.
Seasonal	happen when there is a sudden change in water level.
Rings	whirlpools in the ocean. In the XX century. a whirlpool measuring 100 km was recorded. Whirlpools in the ocean exist for a long time, from a matter of days to several years.

Killer waves

Rogue waves are a phenomenon similar to a tsunami, but exceeding it several times: tsunamis cannot be higher than 20 m, while cases of recorded rogue waves have reached different sizes.

For example:

34th wave off the coast of California in 1933;
A 21 m wave in the Atlantic in 1966;
A 27 m rogue wave was recorded in the North Atlantic in 1995.

Unusual natural phenomena, such as killer waves, are not fiction.

The main differences between these waves and tsunamis are that they are much higher, have a small width - up to 1 km, and most often are a single shock. The cause of rogue waves is considered to be a violation of the linearity of waves in the ocean.

Spider web in Pakistan

A web in Pakistan is a network of spiders that appears on trees due to prolonged flooding in the country. Then millions of spiders, limited in movement, begin to twine around the trees, which melt like a white cocoon. In 2014, its length was 183 m.

Lake of volcanic ash

Lake Nahuel Huapi in Argentina is also called a lake of volcanic ash. It received this nickname in 2011, after a strong eruption of the Puehue volcano in Chile. The volcanic ash that fell into the lake has not yet dissolved in the water.

Fire tornado

A fire tornado occurs as a result of the simultaneous accumulation of high temperatures, fires and cold air currents. The ideal conditions for a fire tornado were the winter heating seasons in the 19th century. in big cities, in Moscow, Kyiv, Chicago, Dresden and London.

Sandstorm

The phenomenon of sandstorms has been known since ancient times. This is a strong wind that carries countless small particles of soil and sand over long distances, creating a cloud of dust and impairing visibility.

Sandstorms are typical for desert and semi-desert regions - in the Sahara, on the Arabian Peninsula and also in Mongolia and Kazakhstan.

Geysers

Geysers are natural sources of hot water that are ejected by pressure from the soil into the atmosphere as a fountain. Geologists consider them to be similar to a volcano.

There are permanent and irregular geysers in nature.

Geysers are found in areas of volcanic activity in countries such as Iceland, New Zealand, Chile and Japan. They can also be found in Kamchatka in Russia and in the northern states of the United States.

Ball lightning

Ball lightning is a rare type of lightning; it has the shape of a ball with a diameter of up to 20 cm. They occur regardless of the time of year, and even in clear weather. This lightning has a completely different nature of origin than ordinary lightning. It bursts when its temperature starts to go off scale and scatters into sparks.

Ball lightning comes in red, orange, white and blue.

Tornado

A tornado (or tornado) occurs during hot weather or a summer thunderstorm and forms an atmospheric vortex. The phenomenon has the shape of an inverted cone, which touches the ground at one end and the clouds at the other.

For a tornado to form, there must be conditions in which warm, moist air comes into contact with cold, dry air in the clouds. Typically, tornadoes occur in the USA, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and European coastal countries.

Sound anomalies or abnormal sound phenomena in nature

The phenomenon of sound anomalies is associated with low-frequency stationary noises, often heard by the human ear. Since it is rarely possible to record them on a voice recorder or establish the source of origin, it is not always possible to establish their nature and causes of occurrence.

Typically, each such anomalous sound has its own name and sound characteristics: like a diesel engine idling, heavy equipment driving, or ordinary background sounds. This is all due to the fact that the general characteristics of the occurrence of these noises have not yet been scientifically established.

Unusual and interesting natural phenomena

Natural phenomena, unusual and unpredictable, can occur anywhere - on land, in water or in the air. They are unique, rarely repeated, or often difficult to detect. But these phenomena always capture the attention of not only witnesses, but also scientists, skeptics and simply interested readers.

Solar corona

The paradoxical phenomenon of the Sun is its heating. The Sun has a complex structure of different layers, and the usual visible round part of the Sun is thousands of times cooler than the next ball invisible under ordinary circumstances - the solar corona.

The solar corona can only be seen with special instruments during a total solar eclipse. Its shape is constantly changing, it all depends on the activity of the Sun itself.

Animal migration

An inexplicable fact of wildlife is why animals, mainly birds and fish, migrate from one region to another and back.

Migrations can have seasonal and life cycles. Each animal species has its own unique way of moving from one region to another. Scientists explain that the phenomenon of migration is the result of evolution and adaptation of the animal world to natural conditions.

Jellyfish have disappeared from Jellyfish Lake

In the archipelago of the Rocky Islands of Palau, in the Pacific Ocean near Australia, there is an ideal microclimate for the breeding of jellyfish - Jellyfish Lake. According to research, he is about 12 thousand years old. Throughout this time, a million-strong population of individuals of specific species of jellyfish – golden and moon jellyfish – has developed here.

Today there is a tendency to reduce their reproduction by about 600 thousand. Scientists explain this by changes in the salinity of the lake and the deprivation of the region of necessary precipitation, and are trying to maintain the necessary conditions technologically so that the jellyfish do not become extinct.

Ice circles

Usually, if a slow-moving river freezes, its surface resembles a perfectly smooth surface. But if the river has a vortex current, which does not happen so often, then you get symmetrical ice circles.

This phenomenon is more typical for the rivers of Scandinavia, North America and England, but sometimes it can also occur on Lake Baikal.

Big Foot

Bigfoot is a mythical phenomenon of mountain and forest areas. Many mountain hikers search for Bigfoot or its remains all over the world, especially in the Himalayas. According to the scientific hypothesis, Bigfoot is the result of an alternative evolution of man, in whom this process had other forms.

Hurricane on Saturn

The Saturn hurricane is a "Hyxagon" phenomenon in the planet's atmosphere, recorded by a space station that has been observing Saturn since 2004. The Hexagon is a hexagon-shaped stream over Saturn's North Pole that resembles a hurricane. Its area is 30 thousand km.

This is a unique phenomenon of our solar planet. Scientists hypothetically believe that the cause of such a hurricane is the very nature of Saturn - an accumulation of gases, without a solid surface.

Monarch Butterfly Migration

It is easy to recognize Danaid butterflies - they have red wings with black stripes, a wingspan of up to 11 cm. The most common place for the population of these butterflies is North America.

The uniqueness of the migration of Danaid butterflies lies in the distance and duration.

The migration is so long that it takes 4 generations of the butterflies themselves, where new individuals return to the place of their ancestors. Scientists have not yet understood how they do this. But it has already been established that monarch butterflies fly across the Atlantic. But these same monarch butterflies from Bermuda never migrate because of the climate that is ideal for them.

Rain of animals

Animal rain is a thunderstorm, storm or tornado of unique strength, during which a strong wind lifts the air of animals - most often fish, frogs and snakes. According to eyewitnesses, sometimes animals fell frozen to the surface of the earth - a sign that the wind lifted them to the higher layers of the atmosphere, where the temperature is below zero.

Naga fireballs

Naga fireballs are an unexplained phenomenon that occurs in October along the Mekong River in Thailand and Laos. These small balls rise from the depths of the river to a height of up to 20 m and then disappear. While scientists are figuring out how this is possible, local residents believe in the mythical nature of this phenomenon and organize an annual festival in their honor.

Silence zone

The anomalous area in Mexico is called the Zone of Silence. Electrical and radio equipment and often clocks do not work here. Even airplanes' transmitters stop working when they fly here. A huge number of meteorites also fall here.

Recent research has shown that the uniqueness of this area is evident in the huge amount of magnetite and uranium, which have the ability to suppress electromagnetic waves.

Flashes of light during an earthquake

In 2017, an earthquake in Mexico was accompanied by flashes of light. This happens here regularly - once every few years. Scientists have found that the cause of this heavenly glow is rocks in which negatively charged oxygen atoms accumulate. During an earthquake, they are released through the cracks in the form of a current, which ionizes the air and forms flashes.

Volcanic light

Volcanic light, a natural phenomenon that occurs only on the island of Java in Indonesia. This is the successful entry of the first rays of the sun into the existing volcanic smoke and gives it a glowing effect around the top of the volcanoes.

Moon illusion

The natural optical phenomenon of the moon illusion visually increases its size as the moon approaches the earth. Although it is always at the same distance, when the Moon is high in the sky, it appears 2 times smaller than when it descends to the horizon. Until now, scientists cannot understand how this illusion is possible.

Synchronized flashing of fireflies

A natural phenomenon - the unusual synchronous blinking of fireflies - is when in the forest in the evening these beetles alternately flicker on different trees. Such a spectacle cannot be seen in every forest - out of 2 thousand species of fireflies, only a few flicker synchronously.

It is interesting that only male beetles perceive this illumination. Such fireflies are found in the forests of India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea.

Emergence of the Universe

The very phenomenon of the existence of the Earth, the solar system and the entire Galaxy is not known at all. There are several dozen ideas about how the world, or “Universe,” came into being.

In addition to the most famous religious hypotheses of Christianity, Buddhism and Judaism, great physicists and philosophers such as A. Einstein, I. Kant and A. Friedman also developed ideas. So far, no model of the origin of the Universe has become the most plausible.

Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle is an unexplored natural phenomenon in the Atlantic Ocean, where ships regularly disappear. It got its name from the line of a conventional triangle between Puerto Rico, San Juan and Bermuda, where thunderstorms, storms and cyclones often occur, or equipment stops working for no reason.

Loch Ness monster

The Loch Ness monster is a mythical creature in which the Scots stubbornly believe. It got its name from Loch Ness Lake, where it is said to live. According to the latest satellite imagery, a huge sea animal was spotted in the lake, which had 2 pairs of flippers and a tail.

Together with Bigfoot, this natural phenomenon is actively discussed by scientists who are trying to find traces of its existence.

Witch circles

Natural phenomena, unusual and inexplicable, can be found in the desert in the African country of Namibia. There, out of nowhere, round bald spots, “Witches’ Circles,” appeared on an area of 2.5 thousand km. Their size in some places reaches 15 m in diameter. Instead of any vegetation in the desert, the entire surface is symmetrically covered with circles of unknown origin.

The hypothesis scientists have about their occurrence is that this is a reaction of the soil to a high level of radiation in the region, and also the constant release of plant toxins, and the huge presence of sand termites.

Moving stones

You can understand that stones in a California national park move along an elongated trail of several tens and hundreds of meters that they leave behind them. The weight of such moving cobblestones can be at least 300 kg. Despite the fact that the stones are moving in different directions.

There are several hypotheses about how this could be. For example, due to magnetic fields or sand tornadoes.

Whales are broke

A famous case in 2017 in the Khabarovsk Territory, when a bowhead whale got stuck in shallow water while being rescued from killer whales. He lay in the open air for almost a day, and in the evening he was able to sail at high tide. What saved the whale’s life was that rescuers poured water on it from time to time so that its skin would not dry out and crack.

Lights of Hessdalen Valley

Residents of the Hessdalen Valley, in southern Norway, have regularly seen unusual lights of different colors in the sky, appearing in different places, since World War II. They look like a luminous ball that slowly floats in the air. Scientists explain this phenomenon as a result of the huge amount of minerals in the valley, such as sulfur, zinc and copper.

Moroccan goats grazing on trees

In Morocco, goats in trees are a common sight. They always graze here like this because of the lack of pastures in the country. This phenomenon can be seen in the Atlas Mountains. At the same time, goats in Morocco are not some special species that can balance well in the air.

These are the most common goats that adapt well to survive.

Most often, they eat argon trees, spreading the seeds and thereby contributing to the greening of the country.

Black sun of Denmark

The unusual phenomenon “Black Sun” of Denmark is a cluster of songbirds in a close circle. You can see the phenomenon of birds creating a circle in a dance in the spring at sunset, in southwestern Denmark in the swamps. They spend 1.5 months in these swamps. These birds belong to the common starling family, and live in North America, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia and are similar in many ways to blackbirds.

Moon Rainbow

A lunar or night rainbow is a color transfusion of the usual rainbow, only at night, and under the conditions of the required phase of the moon in the sky, the presence of rain near a high waterfall at night.

This rainbow is found in all areas where there are waterfalls and heavy rainfall - in Kentucky (USA), Hawaii and the Caucasus, in southern Australia and Zimbabwe.

Lenticular clouds

Lenticular clouds are a recently recorded natural phenomenon in which multiple cumulus clouds create clouds that are several stories high in space.

They are divided into 2 types:

Inflorescence, resemble a dense cluster of round clouds next to each other, which create a continuous cloud cover.
Lenticular- these are oblong and huge clouds that rise symmetrically above each other.

These harmless but voluminous lenticular clouds are often the harbinger of hurricanes or tornadoes. Also, such clouds can provoke the appearance of ball lightning, which is why the plane must avoid getting into such a cloud.

star Rain

A star shower or meteor shower is a breathtaking spectacle that occurs during the invasion of the Earth's atmosphere by a huge number of meteorites (more than 1 thousand per hour). These shooting stars do not reach the ground; they burn up as they fly through the atmosphere. This is possible due to the small size of the meteorite itself, which is strongly abraded by the air during flight.

Halo

A halo is an optical illusion that occurs around luminous objects - the Sun, Moon, ice crystals, light bulbs or lanterns.

This vision has a simple physical and optical explanation - it is the result of broken light from a source.

Depending on the source itself, the halo can be round or oblong; symmetrical and asymmetrical. Although halos are a harmless natural phenomenon, if they occur in the sun, their bright light can harm the eyes.

Northern lights

The northern lights are the glow of the upper layer of the earth's atmosphere from a collision with plasma. This occurs as a result of interaction with charged particles in the solar wind. The northern lights are the radiation of atoms, each color refers to a specific substance

They arise in the magnetosphere - the space between the planet and other magnetized bodies. Therefore, the phenomenon of northern lights is observed mainly in high latitudes of the Earth. Spring and autumn are more suitable for auroras, when a large amount of energy accumulates.

Such glows usually appear in violet, green and ultraviolet colors, in the form of moving rays and stripes. The duration of the Northern Lights varies - from a few minutes to several hours.

Brocken Ghosts

Brocken's ghost is the optical effect of one's own shadow being magnified due to broken light from behind the clouds. This phenomenon gets its name from the German Brocken Mountain, where such optical illusions are always easy to contemplate.

Red waves

The natural phenomenon of red waves occurs on the southeast coast of India. Unusual waves are the result of hurricanes, during which a red flash effect is formed above the waves. Scientists explain the appearance of red waves by the disintegration of water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen atoms under the influence of wind speeds of 200 km/h. In this case, the waves produce a sound similar to a growl.

Catatumbo Lightning

Catatumbo lightning - a long and continuous occurrence of countless lightning in Venezuela, at the intersection of a river and a lake. These lightning strikes occur between May and September at night.

Research has proven that this area has the highest incidence of lightning in the world.

According to meteorological data, thunderstorms occur here 200 days a year. Catatumbo lightning has a very high charge and is usually visible at a distance of 400 km.

Penitentes

A natural phenomenon, unusual in the form of ice figures, is found in the mountain peaks of the Andes. There are ideal conditions under which blade-shaped snow figures are formed. The appearance of these meter-long ice figures is facilitated by dry wind and very dry snow, along with direct cold sunlight.

Mirages

A mirage is an optical phenomenon of a break in light on the verge of a collision between two or more layers of air, which have different temperatures and densities. The result of such a change is the actual vision of real and imaginary distant objects.

Mirages are divided into several types - they are classified according to different physical conditions of occurrence. While everyone knows about desert mirages, they also occur in very cold temperatures in Alaska.

Blue lava

In Indonesia, on the island of Java, the volcanic eruption is unique - it has blue lava, the blue flame of which can rise up to 5 m. Scientists explain this phenomenon by the high concentration of sulfur dioxide in the bowels of the earth (the temperature of which exceeds 600 degrees Celsius).

This gas obtains its liquid form from interaction with liquid sulfur.

Cloud break zone

A natural phenomenon from a continuous cirrocumulus cloud layer may have an oval-shaped “hole” in it. This is called the cloud break zone. An unusual hole occurs when the temperature of a cloud drops sharply below zero. Because of this, the formed crystals evaporate, and a hole appears in their place.

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Video about unusual natural phenomena

13 most incredible natural phenomena:

- 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 decorations. The 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 lens-shaped shape.

7. Frosty flowers- These are ice crystals that form on young ice in cold waters. As a rule, they form at low temperatures and in the 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 was created 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 in 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 the Japanese island of Amamioshima in the East China Sea, look like something alien. The creator of these patterns is the puffer fish, which creates them to attract a female.

11. Very rarely in the sky you can observe a striking cloud, the unofficial name of which sounds like undulatus asperatus (from Latin - “wavy-lumpy”; also asperatus, asperatus). In 2009, it was proposed to classify them as a new type of cloud, but 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- an optical phenomenon that 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 nature's greatest mysteries. 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 the French explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who included it in the list of the 10 best places in the world for diving.

Incredible facts

Scientists have been trying for centuries to unravel many secrets of the 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 the 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 of such 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, NASA physicist 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.

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 its status as a World Heritage Site, Peruvian authorities have 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.

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.

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.

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 recently they have become immobile.

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.

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 life cycle begins.

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.

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 "Rain of Organic Matter", which reported cases of falling larvae of salamanders, small fish, herring, ants and toads.

Rains of animals have been reported in various parts of the world. 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, there have been no scientific studies to confirm this theory.

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 the indigenous cultural heritage.

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.

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 human with a large brain, dating back 500,000 years ago. Big head Piltdown Man led scientists to believe that he was the "missing link" between humans and apes.

Previously, people could not explain many natural phenomena, and therefore believed in their divine origin. Now, from a scientific point of view, almost any phenomenon can be explained, but many of them still remain very mysterious, majestic and incredibly beautiful. Photos of similar phenomena, as well as the most unusual places on earth, await you below.

Viper-shaped clouds. Such clouds are rare, mainly in tropical latitudes, and are associated with the formation of tropical cyclones.

"Magic circles" in Namibia. Researchers of the mysterious phenomenon suggest that it is the “work of the hands” of sand termites.

The Giant's Causeway. As a result of the eruption of an ancient volcano in Northern Ireland, an area emerged that was covered with 40 thousand basalt pillars tightly adjacent to each other.

Lenticular clouds. Clouds in northern Georgia in the USA are a rather rare natural phenomenon.

Catatumbo Lightning. Brilliant flashes over water occur 140-160 nights a year, 10 hours per night and up to 280 times in one hour.

Christmas Island red crabs. Every year, about 43 million land crabs move en masse to the ocean shore to lay their eggs. Local authorities close most of the island's roads for a week so as not to interfere with migration.

Great Blue Hole. The gigantic underwater sinkhole off the coast of Belize has a diameter of more than 300 meters and a depth of 124 meters.

Asperatus clouds. Undulatus asperatus, or rough-bumpy waves. This type of cloud, which has a rather mystical image, was included in the classification relatively recently by the decision of the head of the cloud research society.

Tanzanian Lake Natron. The salt lake, fed by hot springs, is the only permanent breeding site for the lesser flamingo.

Spotted Lake. Canadian Lake Kliluk is the world's greatest reserve of magnesium, calcium and sodium sulfate.

“The Gates of Hell” in Turkmenistan. The fire in the gas mine, which broke out due to the awkward actions of researchers in 1971, has not subsided to this day.

Ball-shaped boulders of New Zealand. Under the influence of erosion, boulders with regular rounded outlines emerge from the mudstone rocks of the shore.

Flammable ice bubbles. Methane bubbles trapped in the ice of Lake Abraham in Canada.

Frozen flowers. On the calm waters of lakes and seas, when the surface is just grasped by a light crust of ice, in conditions of sharp cold snaps (about -22 Celsius), marvelous shaped fresh ice crystals appear.

Mud thunderstorms. Mud thunderstorms occur when lightning appears in a volcanic plume.

Moving stones of Death Valley. In a deserted American valley, a unique geological phenomenon is observed: rock fragments move unaided across smooth soil, leaving long traces behind them.

Underwater circles. Off the coast of Japan, through the efforts of dexterous male puffer fish, perfectly smooth circles with lacy edges are created. These works of art are designed to charm and attract females.

Migration of monarch butterflies. Covering thousands of kilometers, dense flocks of butterflies move briskly from Canada towards the southern United States.

Black Sun. Up to 50 thousand starlings gather in the sky in huge chirping flocks. This phenomenon is also called "murmur".

Blooming desert. In years when Chile rains more heavily than usual, the Atacama Desert is covered with flowers and grasses.

Bioluminescent waves on Maldivian beaches. Some types of phytoplankton have the ability to luminesce.

Rainbow eucalyptus trees. This happens because the eucalyptus sheds its bark in chunks. Each piece of the trunk successively turns blue, purple, orange, and then dark burgundy.

Sardine run. From May to July, schools of billions of sardines move north along the east coast of South Africa.

Ancient man respected and revered nature as a deity. No wonder, because the primitive brain was often unable to explain some natural phenomena and perceived them as a miracle. Modern people try to find a rational explanation for everything they see, but the most unusual and rare natural phenomena still amaze the imagination, delight, and even frighten.

Top most unusual natural phenomena

Saint Elmo's Fire

A unique natural phenomenon that was first noticed and described by sailors. It was they who from time to time observed beautiful luminous balls or tassels on the masts and other vertical objects of their ships. Of course, earlier this spectacle was perceived as a miracle and promised success to sailors, because Saint Elmo is the patron saint of sailors. However, in modern times, St. Elmo's Fire has an explanation.

These light sources appear due to the high voltage of the electric field. Accordingly, most often you can see these lights during a thunderstorm, blizzard or storm. Nowadays, these lights are also observed on the skin of aircraft that have fallen into a cloud of volcanic ash. Sometimes this phenomenon can even damage various electrical appliances.

Lenticular clouds

Lenticular clouds are a stunningly beautiful sight. They are most often seen around mountains and high, pointed hills. At first glance, such clouds resemble huge flying saucers, lenses or berets. Quite often this phenomenon is observed in the area of Mount Shasta and Mount Fuji. The reason for this is that there is a special way that air moves in these areas.

By the way, biconvex clouds look frozen and motionless. So they can “hover” over the mountain for several days in a row until the wind or changing weather conditions cause them to disperse.

Polar Lights

Sometimes the aurora is called the “northern light”. It is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful sights in the world. You can contemplate this beauty exclusively in the northern regions, near the poles. As a rule, the aurora has a bluish color; less often you can see auroras that shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow.

This effect occurs due to processes that occur in the upper layers of the atmosphere when charged particles pass near the earth's geomagnetic field lines. The radiance is observed on average from several hours to several days.

Mirages

This phenomenon can shock even a person with a strong psyche. And this despite the fact that the nature of mirages has long been scientifically substantiated. And yet, mystical meaning is still attributed to mirages. But in fact, this is just an optical illusion and a special optical effect that is achieved as a result of a vertical change in the density of heated air. When certain conditions coincide, “visions” appear on the horizon.

One type of mirage is Fata Morgana. This is a very complex optical phenomenon that is extremely rare. Fata Morgana includes several forms of mirages that are repeatedly distorted and quickly replace each other. This creates bizarre pictures that can drive any traveler crazy.

Gloria

Gloria is an optical effect that can be observed if you light a fire at night in the mountains. At the same time, the weather should be with low clouds. If the conditions coincide, a kind of “halo” will appear above your head, and you will be able to see your own shadow on the clouds.

People in the East were especially sensitive to this natural effect. Here the gloria is called the “light of Buddha.” It has long been believed that the appearance of a colored halo around a person’s shadow is evidence of his closeness to the Buddha.

Ball lightning

Each of us has observed ordinary linear lightning, which is accompanied by thunder. However, it is not so often possible to “meet” ball lightning or a fireball. A very rare phenomenon, on average, only about 2-3 ball lightning falls per thousand ordinary lightning. The ball, yellow to scarlet in color, hovers in the air for several seconds along a random trajectory and disappears.

It happens that such “guests” appear in houses or airplanes. Scientists have still not been able to name the exact cause of its occurrence and characterize this phenomenon.

The most unusual natural phenomenon in the world: a fire tornado

One of the most unusual and, at the same time, deadly phenomena is a fire tornado. This is a process in the atmosphere when several separate fires combine into one powerful tornado. At the same time, the air masses above the tornado heat up and become less dense, which allows the fiery element to rise upward, burning everything in its path. The height of a tornado can reach about 5 kilometers! The pressure of hot air reaches hurricane speeds, and the temperature rises to 1000 degrees Celsius. Everything in the area is “sucked in” by the fire.

Fortunately, this phenomenon is quite rare. However, every appearance of a fire tornado remained in the annals of history. This includes the Great Fire of London of 1666, the fire in Moscow in 1812, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and other terrible cases of violent fire.

Not only natural phenomena can be beautiful, but also creations of human hands. .
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