Strangest Places on Earth

Europe

Iceland

Iceland is a Nordic island country between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. The man-made Blue Lagoon offers visitors baths in thermal springs. This natural hot spring is surrounded by snow and volcanic rock. It has become a tourist attraction and people come to enjoy the lagoon. It holds a temperature of about 100 degrees year round.The lagoon is blue due to the high levels of silica in the salty water. The Blue Lagoon is close to the Keflavik International Airport.

Ireland

In Northern Ireland you'll find the Giant's Causeway. The site is made up of 40.000 hexagon-shaped columns that have been made out of basalt. This is a natural formation and the columns are about 60 million years old resulting from ancient volcanic activity. It lies on the Antrim Plateau between Causeway Head and Benbane Head northeast of Londonderry. Local legend tells that a giant built the causeway to be able to cross the sea to Scotland.

Asia

The Philippines

The Chocolate Hills are located on Bohol Island in the Philippines. There are more than 1,000 odd mounds. The hills are chocolate brown. During the dry season the grass dries up and gives them their color. They are believed to have been formed by coral deposits that were brought to the Earth's surface some millennia ago.

Israel/Jordan

The Dead Sea or the Salt Sea is a historic body of water between the Asian countries of Israel and Jordan. Its unique elevation below sea level makes it the lowest point in the world. It is full of massive amounts of sediments like shale, clay, sandstone, rock salt, and gypsum. It is one of the saltiest bodies of water on Earth. The sea has been slowly shrinking over the decades as its water has been siphoned by Israel for human use. Since there is little rainfall in that part of the world, the sea has been steadily decreasing in size by about three feet every year.

Japan

The Japanese island of Aoshima is known as Cat Island. Originally cats were brought to the island to reduce the mice population. The island soon had a large cat population and a smaller human population. The island is is home to a small fishing settlement. Today, more than 120 cats share the mile-long Aoshima Island with about 20 humans who are between the ages of 50 and 80. Mainland vets visit the cats regularly to make sure the population is healthy. mainland vets visit the cats regularly to make sure the population is healthy.

Australia

Lake Hillier in Western Australia is unlike any body of water in the world. Simply because the lake is pink. Scientist think the color is due to a type of algae that resides in the lake. The lake lies next to the Pacific Ocean so the contrast between the blue ocean and the pink lake is very noticeable. The Hillier Lake was first discovered in 1802 by navigator and cartographer Matthew Flinders. It is unfortunate that this lake cannot be visited. It is withing a protected nature reserve restricting public access to preserve its delecate ecosystem otherwise tourists could swim in a pink lake.

North America

Canada

British Columbia

In British Columbia you can find the Spotted Lake. The surface of the lake has a distinctive polka-dot pattern. This pattern is a result of a unique mineral concentration. The lake has a large salt content and gets no water flow from any rivers or streams. The lake located northwest of Osoyoos in the Okanagan Valley and looks just like any other body of water. It was considered a sacred place by the Okanagan Nations and since 2001 the land belongs to them.

'The US

Nevada

The Flying Geyser was created by accident in 1964 when a thermal drilling test went wrong. Since then heated water spews from the bore hole. Heavy minerals in the water have created the geyser's unique shell of calcium carbonate. Different algae give the red and green colors. It is located on the is located on the Fly Ranch in Hualapai Flat and west of the Black Rock Desert. The geyser is a thing of beauty but is on private property and closed off to the public except for small tours. Fly Ranch is open to small, guided three-hour nature walks from April to October of each year.

The Caribbean

Puerto Rico

Puerto Mosquito is located in a cove on the southern shore of Vieques, a small island off the east coast of Puerto Rico. It has become an international tourist attraction due to its amazing natural light show. It is the brightedt bioluminescent bay in the world. The shimmering blue light comes from a dinoflagellate known as Pyrodinium bahamense.

South America

Peru

In Peru you'll find Nazca Lines in which the lines are around 2,000 years old. They were constructed by the native Nazca people. The shapes have geometric patterns as well as detailed images of local wildlife, all dug into the ground. They are located on the Pampa Colorada or Red Plain northwest of the city of Nazca in southern Peru. It is unknown why the Nazca people built these odd geoglyphs but one thought is that they used this spot to pray to the gods for rain. The site has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Chile

Easter Island is a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean. This is the easternmost outpost of the Polynesian island world. What is odd about it is that it has giant statues over 600 called moai lined up across the island. They were supposedly created by the Rapa Nui people between 1100 and 1500 CE. Even though they look just like giant heads the bodies are buried beneath the soil. The population of the island represents a Polynesian subgroup derived from the Marquesas group. The island exists on a cash economy based on tourism and there is an airport at Mataveri near Hanga Roa.