Prepare to be amazed as we dive into some of the craziest natural phenomena on Earth! From mind-blowing weather events to unbelievable geological formations, nature is full of surprises. Join us on this exciting adventure to witness the wonders of our planet. ️ #NatureIsAmazing #CrazyPhenomena Animation is created by Bright Side.
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Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/
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For more videos and articles visit:
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This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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FunTranscript
00:00:00Hi there, I invite you to look at some of the coolest phenomena mother nature has
00:00:06I'll start with the red sky
00:00:08I admit that this scenery is kind of scary as if it's a scene from a movie. How can our blue sky turn red?
00:00:16Joe Sean's authorities assured people that this abnormality wasn't related to solar activity
00:00:22This tint appeared due to the refraction of red lights from fishing boats
00:00:27That day the weather was foggy and cloudy the light got reflected from the low-hanging clouds
00:00:34When weather conditions are right aerosol particles and droplets of other liquids in the atmosphere
00:00:40Refract and scattered the light in this case the light source was on fishing boats
00:00:46Since we started with reflections
00:00:48We can continue with a forest in Japan that looks as if it's come straight out of a fairy tale
00:00:54It turns out there are real mushrooms that glow in the dark
00:00:58They're known as forest fairies, but their official name is the Mycenae luxellae
00:01:04They're bioluminescent fungi
00:01:07It means that they glow these mystical looking mushrooms are scattered all over old trees and soft ground
00:01:14You can see them in several different forests in Japan
00:01:17They've been attracting tourists for many years since they were first discovered in the 1950s
00:01:23It makes me feel like I'm looking at a picture from a secret neon themed party in the woods
00:01:29Moving on from one mesmerizing forest to another this one is underwater
00:01:35There are lakes and there are forests
00:01:38Kandy Lake in Kazakhstan
00:01:40Offers you one inside the other the lake is almost 100 feet deep
00:01:45It has a beautiful turquoise lime color and the submerged trees are seen below the surface
00:01:52An earthquake in 1911 is the reason why this sunken forest formed the quake created a huge
00:01:59limestone landslide that formed a natural dam
00:02:03Rain and water filled the dam the water covers the tree roots entirely
00:02:08Yet their top parts remain above the surface. This gives the lake a spooky vibe
00:02:14Especially if the weather is foggy
00:02:17What does it look like under the water?
00:02:19Don't hurry to put on a scuba diving suit
00:02:22No need to dive in because you can see the lake steps from the shore to the water is super clear
00:02:29There aren't many rotten tree trunks. In fact, the trees have miraculously
00:02:34Resisted decomposition you can even see the needles on their branches
00:02:38You can thank the lakes consistent temperature for that
00:02:41No matter the season the temperature rarely goes higher than 43 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter
00:02:47The lake gets frozen and people go fishing and ice diving. You can still enjoy the view through the crystal-clear ice layer
00:02:56The next dream destination is Bolivia
00:03:00Imagine standing on a 4,000 square mile mirror. You can do that in Salar de Uyuni
00:03:07It's the world's largest natural mirror since it's a reflective salt flat
00:03:12The surface is so flat as a result of thousands of years of transformations that happen to several prehistoric lakes
00:03:19There are other lakes close by and when they flow into this one the flat surface turns into a well
00:03:26I'll say lake but it's around 20 inches deep
00:03:31Yes, the water layer is super shallow, but that's enough to transform the area into a giant mirror
00:03:38For most animals this area is non-habitable because of harsh living conditions
00:03:44Yet flamingos visit this lakes chain of pristine lagoons to feed and breed
00:03:49Three out of the world's six species of flamingos come here as you can guess
00:03:54This is the perfect spot for photographers and tourists. They take full pics of flamingos standing on the giant mirror Lake
00:04:03Would you like to see the sea of stars? Then you should visit the shores of Badhu in the Maldives
00:04:10Badhu is a small island that'll surprise you at night time. Do you remember the glowing forest in Japan?
00:04:17Here we have glowing blue waves. The waves shine thanks to a natural chemical reaction called
00:04:25Bioluminescence
00:04:27Phytoplankton is the type of plankton that's responsible for the blue glow
00:04:31It looks like the water shimmers when waves hit the shore
00:04:35The next stop is in the southwestern US. This is the wave in Arizona
00:04:41It's a unique sandstone formation. The sediment has a rippling form and interesting colors
00:04:47It's made of intersecting u-shaped troughs that have been eroded over time. The wave was formed millions of years ago
00:04:55This one-of-a-kind formation is popular among hikers and photographers
00:05:00Yet, it's not easy to visit this place
00:05:03The formation has a fragile nature so only around 60 people can visit it in one day
00:05:09These people should apply for a permit and join the daily lottery system
00:05:14Do these look like regular trees?
00:05:17Nope, the entire forest is technically one tree. This phenomenon is called clonal groves
00:05:25All these trees are connected underground by a single root network
00:05:29That's why trees look like they're copied and pasted with the help of Photoshop
00:05:34Each trunk is genetically identical to the others
00:05:37We're now looking at the most famous example of clonal groves, which is Pondo from Utah
00:05:43It's one of the largest and oldest organisms on our planet
00:05:48Pondo has 47,000 stems and it originated from a single seed
00:05:53It spread by creating new shoots from the expanding root network
00:05:58Another mesmerizing phenomenon is this Indonesian volcano that has blue flames
00:06:04It looks like the lava itself is blue when you first see it
00:06:08In reality, the lava turns blue due to sulfur
00:06:12When sulfuric gas meets with oxygen at an ultra high temperature, it burns
00:06:18Bright blue flames appear and then lava flows through the mountain
00:06:22This feature is visible at night
00:06:24During the day, the lava looks like a regular orange liquid
00:06:29Ice can come in different shapes and forms
00:06:32Here is a less known one, the jewel ice
00:06:36This type of ice can only be seen in Japan's Tokachi River
00:06:40The river has crystal clear water in general
00:06:43When the temperatures drop and the river freezes, ice chunks move with the waves to the riverside
00:06:49These giant diamond-like ice pieces are transparent
00:06:53That's why they reflect light differently
00:06:55If you visit the lake at sunset, you'll see golden yellow ice stones
00:07:00But at any other time of the day, they look blue
00:07:04It depends on how light scatters in the sky
00:07:07Another beauty comes with a winter breeze
00:07:11If you step onto the frozen Abraham Lake in Canada, you'll see ice bubbles under a layer of ice
00:07:18It might look like they're out of this world, but this beauty isn't so innocent
00:07:22These ice bubbles are made of methane
00:07:25Since this gas is flammable, these white orbs aren't perfectly safe
00:07:30Why are there frozen methane bubbles in this lake?
00:07:33Well, it's due to the natural process of decomposition
00:07:37Plants and parts of trees deep down at the lake's bottom decay
00:07:42When this occurs, plants release methane, creating air bubbles
00:07:46In the meantime, the temperature decreases
00:07:49Ice bubbles can't reach the surface and get trapped in the ice
00:07:53It looks kind of like a lava lamp
00:07:55Even though it's winter and snow might fall, super strong winds wipe away everything from the lake's surface
00:08:02So we can appreciate this potentially dangerous beauty
00:08:07How about seeing some flaming rocks?
00:08:10Yanartas is located on an inactive volcano mountain in southwestern Turkey
00:08:15The name of this rock formation is related to its appearance
00:08:19It literally means flaming rock
00:08:22The rocks have been flaming for at least 2,500 years
00:08:26So they're full of tiny fumaroles that release gases such as methane
00:08:31The gas ignites when it comes into contact with oxygen and creates eternal flames
00:08:37Yanartas isn't the only special rock that produces eternal flames
00:08:42There's a small waterfall in western New York that creates these types of flames too
00:08:47The same principle applies to the Eternal Flame Falls
00:08:50The grotto at the waterfall's base emits natural gas
00:08:54Gas is the reason why flames form
00:08:58Oh man, I want to see all these wonders with my own eyes
00:09:01I just wish I could teleport
00:09:02Now have you ever wondered about the longest time it rained non-stop?
00:09:07Even an hour of rain could be a big deal
00:09:09if you're hanging out in a dry spot like the Atacama Desert in South America
00:09:14It can set a record for that place
00:09:16But in super rainy spots like the Amazon rainforest
00:09:19having 40 days of rain in a row might not even turn heads
00:09:24Interestingly, we only have rainfall records where people live and keep track
00:09:28Many towns and cities skip the whole rain data collection thing
00:09:32Plus, there are so many places on Earth where nobody lives
00:09:36like rainforests or the open ocean
00:09:38So our rainfall knowledge is a bit patchy
00:09:42Now, if we were to talk about records, Hawaii has a couple
00:09:45People there have some seriously long rainy days
00:09:48especially on islands where winds come from the mountains
00:09:52From 1939 to 40, they recorded 331 days in a row with measurable rainfall
00:09:59If you're a person who likes to watch the rain at home with a cup of tea
00:10:02this might sound ideal to you
00:10:04But we need to see the sun at least occasionally
00:10:08Getting some sun is good for your body and soul
00:10:11Obviously, you get vitamin D
00:10:13Just 5 to 15 minutes of sunlight a few times a week can make a real difference
00:10:18And have you ever heard the phrase sunny disposition?
00:10:22Researchers found that people feel down when there's not much sun around
00:10:26Sunny days make us happier
00:10:28Sunshine boosts your serotonin, which fights off bad moods
00:10:32That sunny serotonin isn't just for your mood
00:10:35It also helps you sleep
00:10:37And it's also a heart assistant
00:10:39When the sun hits your skin, your body releases something called nitric oxide
00:10:43which chills out your blood pressure
00:10:45Healthy blood pressure means a healthier heart
00:10:48Now, go tell that to the people who had to go through 881 consecutive days of rain
00:10:54Yeah, the record was set almost 3 full years of rain
00:10:59This happened from 1913 to 1916 in Honolulu, Maui, Hawaii
00:11:04It rained like there was no tomorrow
00:11:06because the region is a tropical rainforest
00:11:09How do clouds make rain?
00:11:11Well, rain happens when damp air goes up into the sky and gets a bit chilly
00:11:16As this air cools down, tiny water vapor molecules huddle up
00:11:20forming super small droplets that look like a fluffy cloud team
00:11:24Now, inside these clouds, things get playful
00:11:27The air moving around can sometimes make these droplets bump into one another and get bigger
00:11:33Then they can turn into ice crystals high up in the clouds where it's chilly
00:11:37These little ice buddies get heavy enough to take a tumble down, melting in the rain on the way to the ground
00:11:44Now, there isn't just one type of rain
00:11:46Raindrops can come from all kinds of storms
00:11:49Thunderstorms show up, make a splash, and then they're out
00:11:53They can dump a ton of rain in no time
00:11:56Other storms, like winter storms, are more laid back
00:11:59They stick around for days and dish out gentle rain or even snow if it's cold enough
00:12:04Usually, the weather switches between moods
00:12:07It's nature's way of balancing things out
00:12:10After stormy weather, the sun comes out, the air dries up, and we get to enjoy some clear skies
00:12:16But things can get interesting if you're in a place with mountains near the ocean
00:12:20When moist air hits the mountains, it's forced to climb over them, creating rainfall lasting sometimes for weeks
00:12:28What if I told you there was a time on Earth when rain fell continuously for 2 million years and completely reshaped the planet's destiny?
00:12:37At the end of the Permian era, around 234 million years ago
00:12:41I wasn't around then, but I read about it
00:12:43The Triassic period began, marked by the onset of an extended period of rainfall
00:12:49This phenomenon is now called the Carnian-Pluvial event
00:12:53Well, that's what they decided to call it
00:12:56Recent studies supported by evidence suggest that it didn't reshape the planet in that sense
00:13:01and that it was triggered by coal combustion
00:13:04The rain wasn't continuous either
00:13:06So we just debunked a myth here
00:13:08Woo-hoo!
00:13:09Next, we have columnar jointing
00:13:12This is the fancy term for groove patterns that form in lava flows, silts, dikes, and other rocky stuff
00:13:20These lava creations come in all shapes and sizes
00:13:23Most are seen as straight parallel columns
00:13:26Some have curves and varying widths
00:13:28They can be as high as 1,181 inches
00:13:32I'll save you the math
00:13:34It's roughly 98 feet
00:13:38The columns are formed by pressure and the cooling process
00:13:42As lava becomes cooler, it shrinks and forms cracks
00:13:46Once a crack starts, the lava moves around
00:13:49These cracks expand to the surface of the flow
00:13:51Water sneaks into the cooling lava, making it chill down fast starting from the surface, leaving its mark in those patterns
00:13:59Devil's Postpile in California is a must-visit place if you want to see columnar jointing
00:14:05But hey, they're found all around the world
00:14:08Let's raise our heads to the sky to see something magical
00:14:12Fire rainbows, also known as circumhorizontal arcs, look like flames dancing above the clouds
00:14:19To see these eye-catching arcs, you need a special cloud type called cirrus clouds, and the sun at least 58 degrees high in the sky
00:14:27It's a VIP collaboration between sunlight and clouds
00:14:31Let's break it down further
00:14:32Take London, for instance
00:14:34It's around 51 degrees north
00:14:36Now, sorry Londoners, no fire rainbows for you
00:14:42Now we move to deep waters to see underwater crop circles
00:14:46These are giant circular patterns found in 1995 near the shores of southern Japan
00:14:52Locals were baffled
00:14:53They dubbed them mystery circles, as if the ocean had a secret talent for sand art
00:14:58The mystery was solved in 2011
00:15:01The unlikely artist turned out to be a tiny pufferfish, just 5 inches long
00:15:06The researchers found out that males were on a mission, spending a solid 7 to 9 days building their circles by swimming in and out and using their fins to carve valleys into the sandy floor
00:15:18They decorate the peaks of their creations with bits of shells and corals, turning their sandy canvases into masterpieces
00:15:26Okay, they don't do it for the sake of art
00:15:28The curious circles have a purpose
00:15:30The sandy center of the circle serves as a nest
00:15:34Male swimming moves mix things up, getting sand particles just where they need to be
00:15:39When a lady pufferfish swims by, the male twirls and dances, swirling sand around
00:15:45If she is impressed and thinks he is the one, she lays her eggs in the sandy heart of the circle
00:15:52There you go, another happy ending
00:15:55Now let's look at frost flowers
00:15:57You might have seen thin sheets of ice that look like delicate petals and sometimes pop up from the stems of plants
00:16:04The ice is about as thick as a credit card
00:16:07It forms when the weather is cold outside
00:16:09The soil is damp but not frozen, as well as plant stems
00:16:13Not all plants produce these frost flowers, and the conditions must be just right
00:16:19Here's how it happens
00:16:20The water inside a plant stem gets pulled up from the ground
00:16:24When it freezes, it expands and cracks the stem vertically
00:16:28As it hits the chilly air, it turns into ice
00:16:31As more water gets pulled up through the crack, it keeps pushing out super thin layers of ice
00:16:37Whether a frost flower looks like a narrow ribbon or a wider one depends on the length of the crack
00:16:43And the way it curls and shapes itself into these petals is random
00:16:47Or the reason might lie in the difference in friction along the sides of the crack
00:16:51These frost flowers are unique and delicate, and they don't last long
00:16:55They melt or just disappear quickly
00:16:58To spot them, keep an eye out for tall grass, especially in places that don't get mowed much
00:17:04Pay attention to purple ironweed, blackberries, and wing stems
00:17:12Ah, you're on the grass, looking up at the blue sky, enjoying some singing birds and catching some rays
00:17:20You watch different-shaped clouds soaring slowly, high up in the air
00:17:24Suddenly, you hear a powerful loud rumble coming from far away
00:17:28You get up and notice a gigantic thick cloud ahead
00:17:32But it's not the size that scares you, it's the shape
00:17:35The cloud looks like a skull
00:17:38Eh, don't worry, it doesn't mean anything bad's gonna happen
00:17:41Anyway, it's not even a cloud
00:17:44A few years ago, a skull formed out of thick smoke over Mount Vesuvius in Italy
00:17:50That's the same volcano that erased the ancient city of Pompeii from the face of the Earth
00:17:55Of course, back then, many people were afraid that the volcano would erupt again
00:18:00Luckily for everyone, the volcano's still in a deep sleep
00:18:04It was just a nearby forest fire that caused the famous skull cloud
00:18:08But the locals weren't so sure
00:18:10Some thought that the fire and the skull were set on purpose
00:18:14Eh, wouldn't be the first time
00:18:17Centralia, Pennsylvania
00:18:19Population, well, just look around
00:18:22Looks a little scary
00:18:23Bare trees, no animals, no people
00:18:26All the buildings are empty
00:18:28Roads are all cracked and strewn with gravel
00:18:31No cars, obviously
00:18:32Thick smoke everywhere
00:18:34This town's been burning for more than 50 years
00:18:37Centralia used to be a mining town
00:18:40One of its coal mines was abandoned, and locals used it as a dump for their trash
00:18:45Then, according to most people, the city decided to get rid of the trash in the usual way
00:18:50By burning it
00:18:51The plan was a major failure
00:18:54Hmm, let's see what could have possibly gone wrong here
00:18:57The trash fire got deep into the mine's tunnels
00:19:00Ignited the coal that's still down there
00:19:03And has been burning steadily ever since
00:19:06The level of carbon dioxide shot up
00:19:08And they had to shut down the other mines nearby for safety
00:19:12No one could stop the fire
00:19:13And the underground flames spread beneath the city
00:19:17Roads began to warm up
00:19:19The soil went sour
00:19:20And the streets slowly filled with smoke and smog
00:19:24In 2017, there were only five people living there
00:19:29Welcome to Abraham Lake in Canada
00:19:31It's completely frozen
00:19:33You step onto the transparent ice and look down at what lies beneath
00:19:37No fish, just some mysterious frozen bubbles
00:19:41They look like small clouds frozen in ice
00:19:44Or jellyfish who forgot to pack a winter jacket
00:19:47There are thousands of these little bubbles made up of methane
00:19:51But don't try to dig a hole in the ice to touch it
00:19:54Methane is highly flammable
00:19:56It's created by methane-producing bacteria
00:19:59That eats leaves, grass, insects, and any other organic stuff that gets into the lake
00:20:04When the methane touches the frozen water
00:20:06It turns into tens of thousands of frozen little balls
00:20:10When the ice melts, they burst open and sizzle
00:20:14If you lit a match over them at just the right moment
00:20:16The lake would look kind of like an erupting volcano
00:20:20Similar lakes can be found near some shores of the Arctic Ocean
00:20:24There, the size of the bubbles can reach several times the size of hot air balloons
00:20:28Beautiful for sure, but not exactly safe
00:20:33The next shocking lake is in Indonesia
00:20:35On the island of Java
00:20:37You come to a majestic volcano overgrown with grass and trees
00:20:42The volcano seems to be asleep, but smoke is pouring out of it
00:20:46You, of course, climb to the summit
00:20:48Exhausted, tired, sweaty, you're ready to cool off
00:20:52Nice work, you made it to the top
00:20:54You look into the mouth of the volcano
00:20:57No boiling lava, just a beautiful bright turquoise lake down there
00:21:01It looks like an oasis
00:21:03Perfect time for a refreshing dip
00:21:06You run down and get ready to jump in
00:21:08But that's not water, that's acid
00:21:12Sulfurous gases get into the lake from under the volcano
00:21:15The lake itself is full of metals
00:21:18When the gases touch them, they form that beautiful turquoise water
00:21:22I mean acid
00:21:23Better head back to the nearest village, rest and come back at night when it's cooling
00:21:28In the dark, the lake seems to grow
00:21:31Right above it, you see light-filled exploding little clouds
00:21:36The sulfurous gases rise out of the lake, combine with the air, and flash bright blue
00:21:41Still, don't get too close
00:21:44Up in the sky, underground, volcanoes, lakes?
00:21:48Hmm, time to head out to sea
00:21:51You get on a yacht and sail off
00:21:53It doesn't matter where, this next one happens all over the world
00:21:57So, the sea is crystal clear and calm, there's no wind in your sails
00:22:02Everything is so peaceful
00:22:04Wait, what's that?
00:22:06You hear a loud, loud noise
00:22:09Two seconds later, a huge wave, way taller than your mast, rises from the calm sea and hits your yacht
00:22:16The ship manages to stay upright, and the huge wave disappears
00:22:20You just survived the attack of a rogue wave
00:22:24Some scientists think it happens when the surface sea current smashes into a strong headwind
00:22:29Others say it happens when warm and cold currents come up against each other
00:22:34Another popular theory is wave interference, where small waves team up to form one monster one
00:22:41Under certain conditions, waves get a sort of superpower
00:22:44Out of all the waves in the area, there'll be one which sucks the energy out of all the others
00:22:50When it's full, the wave spits it all out
00:22:53Maybe that's why the wave's so strong, but only lasts an instant
00:22:59What about clouds? Scary?
00:23:01Well, they can be, if they're huge thunderclouds, walls of grey and black blocking out the sun, the moon, and the stars
00:23:09First, you're relaxing in your backyard, then you see thunderclouds
00:23:13Then you get thunderstorms, hail, floods, and even tornadoes
00:23:18They're easy to spot thanks to their epic appearance, thick, heavy, and dark
00:23:23They can even sparkle inside because of lightning
00:23:26That's one scary-looking cloud
00:23:28But before you run away, let's see how it forms
00:23:32Clouds are like roller coasters
00:23:34Imagine you're a small drop of water, hanging out with your friends in the ocean, waiting in line for the brand-new ride that just opened up
00:23:42It's time, you strap in
00:23:44Nothing happens, then you feel it
00:23:47The roller coaster starts to go up, up, up
00:23:50You can see all your droplet friends down there, they're so small
00:23:54You keep rising, just waiting for the big whoosh, but nothing happens
00:23:59Then you're so high up that you're in the clouds
00:24:03It's not so scary up here, and there are loads of your friends, nice
00:24:08It's starting to get cold, you look around, it's happening to everyone
00:24:12You're being turned into beautiful ice crystals, so shiny and pretty
00:24:17The clouds filling up, getting kind of cramped with all those other water droplets
00:24:21Still, what a peaceful, enjoyable, wow!
00:24:25The ride kicks back in and you start to free fall
00:24:28Slowly at first, then faster and faster
00:24:31Thousands of your fellow drops falling back to earth
00:24:34Some holding on tight to the handrail, some laughing and waving their hands in the air
00:24:39Woohoo!
00:24:40And splash!
00:24:42Still, I like the lightning ride better
00:24:44That's one where they strap you in, you ride up, and then you play bumper cars way up in the clouds
00:24:50The more times you bump into another water droplet, the more lightning you create
00:24:56Now, not all lightning happens inside clouds
00:24:59There's a rare phenomenon called a dirty thunderstorm
00:25:02The lightning happens above a volcano, the most famous is in Japan
00:25:07It erupts almost every day and spits black clouds high into the air
00:25:12So, it's super scary volcano clouds, plus lightning
00:25:16Regular lightning happens during a storm when ice crystals bump into each other
00:25:21In a dirty thunderstorm, bits of volcanic ash collide, create friction, and spark up the sky
00:25:29Okay, better finish the journey with something safe and beautiful
00:25:33No more cloud roller coasters, please
00:25:35You're in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, one of the driest places on earth
00:25:41But this desert has a beautiful secret
00:25:43Every three to five years, flowers pop up out of nowhere
00:25:48It's so famous, it's also called the flowering desert
00:25:51Seeds lie around in the ground, just waiting for some rain
00:25:55When the desert gets enough water, about 200 types of flowers sprout up
00:26:00The yellow sands of the Atacama turn purple, white, green, and pink
00:26:05You're in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, one of the driest places on earth
00:26:10But this desert has a beautiful secret
00:26:13Every three to five years, flowers pop up out of nowhere
00:26:17It's so famous, it's also called the flowering desert
00:26:20Seeds lie around in the ground, just waiting for some rain
00:26:24When the desert gets enough water, about 200 types of flowers sprout up
00:26:29The yellow sands of the Atacama turn purple, white, green, and pink
00:26:33Another mystical phenomenon that can be seen in the desert is called a sand waterfall
00:26:39When the wind brings a lot of sand to the edge of the canyon, it begins to fall down
00:26:44Now amplify this effect 100 times, and you get a sand waterfall in Saudi Arabia
00:26:50It really is like Niagara Falls, only there's not a drop of water
00:26:54The locals say this phenomenon warns of an impending sandstorm
00:26:57Fairy rings, also known as elf rings or pixie rings, are mysterious circles of mushrooms
00:27:03that appear in grasslands and forested areas
00:27:06There's a lot of debate about why these fairy rings form a nearly perfect circle
00:27:11Some superstitions claim that fairy dances would burn the ground, causing mushrooms to rapidly grow
00:27:17In southern India, between July and September 2001, there was a huge fire
00:27:23In southern India, between July and September 2001, there was a huge fire
00:27:28People witnessed one of the strangest weather phenomena in recorded history
00:27:33The rain was red
00:27:35What many would've thought to be a typical rainstorm, left them shocked
00:27:40The color was bright enough to stain clothes
00:27:42There were other colors too, such as green, yellow, brown, and even black
00:27:47In the middle of a monsoon, red rain started to fall, and so did periodically for several weeks
00:27:53Researchers have found this unusual rain is stained either by dust or algae
00:27:59So don't try to catch any on your tongue
00:28:01Scientists aren't entirely sure how the algae got all the way up there
00:28:05This does make events like this a little unsettling
00:28:10Now people who live in rural central Norway, over the Hessdalen Valley,
00:28:14can often witness floating lights of white, yellow, and red cross the sky
00:28:19The lights appear both at day and night, and once back in the 80s, the 1980s,
00:28:25they were spotted 15 to 20 times in a single week
00:28:28The Hessdalen lights can last just a few seconds, but sometimes they can last more than an hour
00:28:35The lights move, seeming to float or even sway around
00:28:38Some scientists believe that the reason for these lights is due to ionized iron dust
00:28:44Others say it's a combination that includes sodium, oxygen, and hydrogen
00:28:48Many people claim they're just misidentified aircrafts
00:28:52Norway!
00:28:54Snow doughnuts are one of the rarest meteorological sights to see,
00:28:58with perfect weather conditions needed just to create them
00:29:01Found in any snow-covered mountain area, like the Rocky Mountains,
00:29:05the wind, temperature, snow, ice, and moisture all have to work together for us to see these phenomenal rings
00:29:13A thin layer of wet snow on the ground
00:29:15Under that layer, ice or powdered snow
00:29:18Then, a strong enough breeze to roll the doughnut down a hill, just like a snowball
00:29:24Once it stops rolling, it can be the size of a baseball or as large as a car tire
00:29:29It all depends on how strong the wind is
00:29:32A newly formed snow doughnut won't stay around for very long,
00:29:35so hurry up with that camera and watch your head
00:29:39Can you believe there's another place on Earth with its own ecosystem and atmosphere,
00:29:43similar to another planet?
00:29:45Well, start believing!
00:29:47Movil Cave, located in southeastern Romania,
00:29:51remained closed in complete darkness for a whopping 5.5 million years
00:29:56It wasn't until workers discovered the cave, when they were looking for a place to build,
00:30:00that anyone learned about it
00:30:02Scientists carved out an opening to the cave
00:30:04and found that a completely sustained ecosystem was thriving inside
00:30:09As a pathway was carved through the rock past numerous tunnels,
00:30:13scientists found a lake of sulfuric water that stank like rotten eggs
00:30:18The air was filled with hydrogen sulfide
00:30:20and had 100 times more carbon dioxide than Earth's atmosphere contains
00:30:25Needless to say, this air is completely toxic
00:30:28What's even crazier is that a whole ecosystem has been existing in this cave
00:30:33with 33 species that can't be found anywhere else on Earth
00:30:37This cave gives us a glimpse of what could possibly exist on other planets
00:30:42with completely different atmospheres
00:30:44How it managed to exist on Earth all this time without anyone knowing
00:30:49is rather unbelievable, isn't it?
00:30:51Now, check these trees out
00:30:53They're called Indian rubber trees
00:30:55Their strong roots grow not underground, but on the surface
00:30:59With the help of special frames and fasteners,
00:31:02people have learned to control how these roots grow
00:31:05Let's say a tree is next to a small pit
00:31:08You need to make a bridge from one end of this pit to the other
00:31:11You direct the growing tree roots in the needed direction
00:31:15Over time, the roots penetrate the ground and strengthen under endless downpours
00:31:20It takes about 15 years to create one bridge
00:31:24Here's another amazing tree called the Tree of Life
00:31:27It grows in Bahrain's desert
00:31:29The tree has been standing on top of this sandy hill for more than 400 years
00:31:33surrounded by miles of sand
00:31:36It's extremely hot here, and there's no moisture
00:31:39But despite this, the tree has green leaves, and it continues to grow
00:31:43So far, scientists haven't figured out yet how the tree gets moisture and nutrients
00:31:48There are only places with oil deposits around
00:31:52Locals think the tree is sacred
00:31:54After all, it demonstrates the magic of life and the power of nature
00:31:58Some experts are sure it's all about the roots
00:32:01They go so deep that they can reach underground sources of water
00:32:06So, there you are, you've been driving for hours through the night
00:32:10You didn't have any chance to sleep, so your mind is hanging by a thread
00:32:15You stop the car and go out to stretch your limbs
00:32:18And then you look up into the sky and see a beautiful sunrise
00:32:22Well, wait, there are three suns in the sky
00:32:26You rub your eyes, but nope, there are still three bright stars in the sky
00:32:31No, our home star hasn't been torn into three pieces
00:32:34nor has it been visited by two other stars
00:32:38This is called a sun dot
00:32:40It occurs mostly during severe frosts
00:32:42Small ice crystals in the sky bend the light
00:32:46As a result, you may see three bright spots in the sky instead of just one
00:32:50This phenomenon is officially called a halo
00:32:53Usually, it's just a circle around the sun
00:32:56You can even see a halo at night, too
00:32:58Just look at a street lamp, and you'll see a bright circle around it
00:33:02Sometimes, a halo can take on a fancier shape
00:33:05If there's a lot of ice in the air, the light is warped even more
00:33:09Just like in a room with a dozen mirrors
00:33:12Then the halo can take on the shape of a human eye
00:33:16Because of this phenomenon, a false dawn can also occur
00:33:20While you're looking at the horizon, the dawn begins
00:33:23and the edge of the sun appears
00:33:25A little bit more, and wait!
00:33:28The sun starts to just dissolve in the sky
00:33:31After a few moments, it's dark again
00:33:34And only a minute later, the real sun shows its face
00:33:38It was the same light curvature effect you saw before with the three suns
00:33:42Only now, the light is curved vertically, not horizontally
00:33:46And instead of the real sun, its reflection in ice crystals in the sky appeared
00:33:51But the sunrise with three stars on the horizon is actually real
00:33:56Not on Earth, though, but 340 light-years away
00:34:00There's a star system at the center of which lurks a star
00:34:04almost twice the size of the sun
00:34:06And there are two smaller stars orbiting around this giant
00:34:10This strange world has a planet, too
00:34:12Sunsets and dawns there really happen with three stars
00:34:16If you brought your significant other to a park bench to watch a sunset here
00:34:20your date would go just fine
00:34:23Whatever that means
00:34:25And since we're talking about the most baffling natural phenomena
00:34:29it would be a crime not to mention snow in a desert
00:34:32Yep, in the winter of 2018, the inhabitants of the Sahara Desert
00:34:37one of the driest and hottest places on this planet
00:34:40woke up to discover a thick blanket of snow covering the sand
00:34:44In some places, the layer of snow enveloping the dunes
00:34:48reached a staggering 15 inches
00:34:50Meteorologists, however, had an explanation for this exciting phenomenon
00:34:55They stated that cold pools of air
00:34:57combined with the precipitation from the most recent storm
00:35:01resulted in a snowfall instead of rain
00:35:04So, what do you do in that case? Build snow camels?
00:35:07Hmm, one hump or two
00:35:10Well, this happened in June 2009
00:35:13People in certain areas in Japan left their homes after a heavy downpour
00:35:18only to find fish, frogs, and tadpoles everywhere
00:35:23Fields, roads, lawns, rooftops were littered with these aquatic creatures
00:35:28One man was shocked to see 13 carp on and around his truck
00:35:32Apparently, he stopped to count them
00:35:35No one knows for sure where the bizarre rain came from
00:35:38but the most popular theory claims that a powerful water spout
00:35:42picked up all these creatures
00:35:44then it carried them through the upper atmosphere
00:35:46and dropped the animals on the unsuspecting people below
00:35:51Shelf clouds look like something from a sci-fi movie
00:35:54They form when warm and moist air gets caught in a thunderstorm updraft
00:35:59These ominous clouds most often mean a storm is coming
00:36:03Breathtaking rainbow clouds appear on top of
00:36:07cotton-like puffy clouds after thunderstorms
00:36:10The puffy clouds are low-altitude ones
00:36:13They usually hover at a height of around 6,000 feet
00:36:17When the water vapor they contain condenses
00:36:19the resulting droplets act like prisms
00:36:22This forms multicolored caps over the clouds
00:36:26Morning glory clouds are extremely rare
00:36:29They look like massive tubes stretching across the sky
00:36:33They can snake for more than 600 miles, sitting relatively low
00:36:38Most researchers agree that these clouds appear
00:36:40when an updraft squeezes through the cloud
00:36:43This creates the signature rolling appearance
00:36:46The cool air at the back of the cloud makes it sink downward
00:36:50The best, but not the only place to see morning glory
00:36:53is Australia's Gulf of Carpinteria
00:36:57If you decide to travel there to see these clouds
00:36:59choose a period from late September to early November
00:37:03It was 2012 when the sky turned first ominous dark, then yellow
00:37:09After that, blue gelatinous balls started to fall to the ground
00:37:14A man from the UK found these balls outside during a hailstorm
00:37:18He was walking to his garage when he spotted something
00:37:21unusually bright among the whitish hailstones
00:37:24When researchers examined this jelly rain
00:37:27they found out the balls were made from the substance
00:37:30used in diapers or potting soil
00:37:33It's used to absorb liquid
00:37:35It's still unclear whether the balls fell from the sky
00:37:39or maybe the melting ice made a few already existing crystals
00:37:43expand in the blink of an eye
00:37:46Huge white lumps over your head are called mammatus clouds
00:37:50They can make you believe the sky is falling
00:37:53Most clouds form when the air rises into the atmosphere
00:37:57but not mammatus ones
00:37:58They appear when moist and cool air goes down and mixes with dry air
00:38:03The result? Unique puffed rice clouds
00:38:06By the way, if you spot this phenomenon
00:38:09bad weather is just around the corner
00:38:14Colorful nacreous clouds occur extremely high in the atmosphere
00:38:18I mean, twice as high as a commercial airplane's cruising altitude
00:38:22The air at such heights is extremely dry and cold
00:38:27Ice crystals in nacreous clouds are much smaller
00:38:30than those that form more common clouds
00:38:33They scatter light in a different way
00:38:35And this gives the clouds their mother-of-pearl appearance
00:38:40Blood rain looks more terrifying than any horror movie
00:38:43But in reality, there's nothing strange or unnatural about this weather phenomenon
00:38:48People have known about such scarlet-tinted rains
00:38:52since the time of ancient Rome
00:38:54Sometimes, powerful winds lift red dust into the atmosphere
00:38:58and carry it far, far away
00:39:00to another galaxy
00:39:02In the end, this dust gets mixed with clouds, which colors the rain
00:39:07By the way, dust from coal mines can make the rain black
00:39:11Pollen is responsible for yellow rains
00:39:14And some other kinds of dust can turn the rainwater white
00:39:19In Australia, it sometimes rains spiders
00:39:21That's because these creatures can balloon
00:39:24That's a highly unusual way of traveling
00:39:27A spider climbs to the very top of a tall tree or shrub
00:39:31And then it spins several strands of silk
00:39:34These strands help the spider to be carried away by the wind
00:39:38It's not easy to spot ballooning
00:39:41But sometimes, if the weather is especially damp and unpleasant
00:39:45mass ballooning happens
00:39:47And then, you can't help but pay attention
00:39:51Millions of spiders set off on a journey
00:39:54to find another place with better conditions
00:39:56It may seem like it's snowing outside
00:39:59But no, those are spiders drifting down to the ground
00:40:03Ever see huge round disks in the sky?
00:40:06Most likely, those were lenticular clouds
00:40:09They usually form over large and high places
00:40:12like mountains or hills
00:40:14When strong winds bump into some barrier
00:40:17this creates an air wave
00:40:18The air kind of wraps around the obstacle
00:40:21And the higher the barrier is
00:40:23the colder the air that's rising over it becomes
00:40:26At some point, the moisture it contains
00:40:28turns into water droplets
00:40:30And they form the unusual clouds
00:40:32Lenticular clouds can look like waves, a pizza
00:40:35or even a stack of pancakes
00:40:37How yummy!
00:40:39Volcanic tornadoes
00:40:41are possibly one of the most terrifying natural phenomena
00:40:44When a volcano erupts
00:40:46it spews red-hot rock and ash high into the air
00:40:50As for solid lava pieces and hot gases
00:40:53they travel down the volcano slope
00:40:56When this flow moves down
00:40:58some of the trapped gases begin to rise
00:41:00and spin at the same time
00:41:02They get squeezed by the surrounding air
00:41:04which makes them spin faster and faster
00:41:07That's how a volcanic tornado gets born
00:41:10Luckily, this phenomenon has a very short lifespan
00:41:14On March 19, 2018
00:41:16the inhabitants of Alabama
00:41:18had to run for their lives
00:41:20Otherwise, they would've been hit
00:41:22by huge chunks of ice falling from the sky
00:41:25It was the infamous hailstorm
00:41:27that caused millions of dollars worth of damage
00:41:29After the hailstorm
00:41:31the area looked gloomy
00:41:33Broken shop windows
00:41:35smashed car windshields
00:41:37busted billboards
00:41:39holes in the roofs
00:41:41At least, researchers got excited
00:41:43This softball-sized monster
00:41:45was more than 5 inches across
00:41:47No wonder it set a new state record
00:41:50Cylindrical snow donuts
00:41:52occur when a wind gust
00:41:54decides to make a snowball
00:41:56It starts to roll some snow
00:41:58across a snowy area
00:42:00If it were a real snowball
00:42:02it would eventually become too heavy
00:42:04for the wind to move
00:42:06But the snow donut's center is hollowed out
00:42:08This happens because its inner layer is too thin
00:42:10and is blown away when the donut is formed
00:42:13This makes it lighter than a snowball
00:42:15and that's why it also rolls farther
00:42:18Unfortunately, you just can't go
00:42:20and find snow donuts
00:42:22They're rare because they need
00:42:24very precise conditions to appear
00:42:26Moonbows are a much rarer phenomenon
00:42:28than rainbows
00:42:30They're caused by moonlight
00:42:32rather than direct sunlight
00:42:34and occur only when the moon is near full
00:42:36Moonbows are dim
00:42:38and often seem to be white
00:42:40But it's just an illusion
00:42:41The human eye is just not sensitive enough
00:42:43to catch all the colors
00:42:45Lightning balls are small
00:42:47floating spheres of light
00:42:49They can be orange, yellow, or even red
00:42:51Sometimes lightning balls
00:42:53descend from the sky
00:42:55In other cases, they appear out of nowhere
00:42:57hovering several feet above the ground
00:42:59They don't emit any heat
00:43:01or produce very little sound
00:43:03Lightning balls can bounce off objects
00:43:05If they come across something electrical
00:43:07like a TV
00:43:09they usually disappear with a quiet pop
00:43:11leaving behind the smell of sulfur
00:43:13But lightning balls can also
00:43:15start fires or explode
00:43:17Scientists believe
00:43:19lightning balls might be connected
00:43:21with thunderstorms
00:43:23but there's no solid proof yet
00:43:25Fogbows are almost white
00:43:27pale blue on the inside
00:43:29and faint red on the outside
00:43:31You have higher chances
00:43:33of seeing a fogbow
00:43:35over the cold sea or ocean
00:43:37when warm air comes into contact
00:43:39with much colder air
00:43:41than when the sun is bright
00:43:43and the fog is thin enough
00:43:45for the light to get through
00:43:47Pele's hair is thin lava threads
00:43:49They look golden and pretty
00:43:51but don't even think about
00:43:53picking them up
00:43:55Yeah, they can harm you
00:43:57The wind sometimes catches
00:43:59small droplets of lava
00:44:01coming from active volcanoes
00:44:03These droplets get carried
00:44:05miles away from the vent
00:44:07They get stretched into
00:44:09super-thin glass wires
00:44:11that stretch for several feet
00:44:13In March 2018
00:44:15those who looked up in the sky
00:44:17in northern Nevada
00:44:19saw one of the rarest
00:44:21and most bizarre clouds ever
00:44:23It was a horseshoe cloud
00:44:25Such a vortex happens
00:44:27when a flat cloud travels
00:44:29over a column of warm rising air
00:44:31This air not only gives the cloud
00:44:33its impressive shape
00:44:35but also adds some spin
00:44:37to its movement
00:44:39But you've got to be quick
00:44:42Frost flowers bloom on
00:44:44young sea ice in the Arctic Ocean
00:44:46or on thin lake ice
00:44:48They're fragile and delicate ice crystals
00:44:50These structures grow
00:44:52during temperature changes
00:44:54They draw moisture from the ice surface
00:44:56and rise, capturing bacteria and salt
00:44:59You can find frost flowers
00:45:01in Antarctica too
00:45:03But wherever these crystals grow
00:45:05people know, disappointingly,
00:45:07very little about them
00:45:09Still, they're awfully pretty
00:45:11This is John
00:45:13John seems to attract
00:45:15all kinds of bad weather
00:45:17and natural disasters
00:45:19wherever he goes
00:45:21See for yourself
00:45:23One day, John notices
00:45:25his dog is restless
00:45:27The pooch keeps scratching
00:45:29the entrance door
00:45:31and wandering around the house
00:45:33He even tries to hide in the corner
00:45:35howling and barking
00:45:37When some mugs start to clink
00:45:39in your cupboard
00:45:41earthquakes often happen in clusters
00:45:43After a few weak quakes
00:45:45a much bigger one
00:45:47is likely to be on the way
00:45:49Sometime before the disaster strikes
00:45:51people might notice
00:45:53bizarre blue lights
00:45:55Some of them seem to be
00:45:57coming out of the ground
00:45:59Others are hovering in the air
00:46:01These are earthquake lights
00:46:03They may appear days
00:46:05or mere seconds
00:46:07before the ground starts shaking
00:46:09Now, John is walking
00:46:11really, really fast
00:46:13Uh-oh!
00:46:15John, run away as quickly as you can
00:46:17and find some high ground
00:46:19A tsunami is coming
00:46:21and your life might depend
00:46:23on how fast you react
00:46:25If John spots a bizarre
00:46:27and unexpected rise in sea level
00:46:29it can be another sign
00:46:31of an approaching tsunami
00:46:33This happens in 40% of cases
00:46:35The incoming water
00:46:37is the first tsunami wave
00:46:39The second one
00:46:41can also notice
00:46:43seawater bubbling, swirling
00:46:45and creating bizarre patterns
00:46:47It's another sure sign
00:46:49a tsunami is near
00:46:51Hmm...
00:46:53John feels there's something
00:46:55strange about the sun
00:46:57Through his special
00:46:59super dark sunglasses
00:47:01he sees that there's some
00:47:03uneven flares around
00:47:05the star's contour
00:47:07If these bizarre rays
00:47:09are accompanied by auroras
00:47:11in this case
00:47:13the bursts of gas
00:47:15and radiation on the surface
00:47:17of the sun get so massive
00:47:19and powerful
00:47:21that they can even
00:47:23reach our planet
00:47:25Luckily, solar storms
00:47:27aren't really dangerous
00:47:29for people
00:47:31but they can mess
00:47:33with electricity
00:47:35and even cause blackouts
00:47:37The sky over John's head
00:47:39is darkening
00:47:41Soon, he hears some noise
00:47:43It's approaching rapidly
00:47:45and turns into a loud roar
00:47:47It sounds as if a freight train
00:47:49is moving towards him
00:47:51but it's not a train
00:47:53It's a tornado
00:47:55The funnel isn't visible
00:47:57behind a cloud of debris
00:47:59but John can't mistake
00:48:01this rotating column of air
00:48:03for anything else
00:48:05Are you on the road, John?
00:48:07Then get as far away from
00:48:09your car as you can
00:48:11and get underground if possible
00:48:13And please, John
00:48:15be very careful
00:48:17if you spot some conically
00:48:19shaped clouds
00:48:21Those mean severe storms
00:48:23and if you notice
00:48:25that such a cloud
00:48:27starts spinning around
00:48:29immediately search for shelter
00:48:31The cloud is transitioning
00:48:33into a tornado
00:48:35right in front of your eyes
00:48:37On the bright side
00:48:39John should only worry
00:48:41about his safety
00:48:43Ah, look
00:48:45John just spotted
00:48:47some weirdly shaped trees
00:48:49They look like the letter J
00:48:51and grow on a slope
00:48:53It means the ground
00:48:55under John's feet
00:48:57is likely to be unstable
00:48:59If he keeps wandering around
00:49:01it can cause a bad landslide
00:49:03Square waves appear
00:49:05when two different wave patterns
00:49:07crash into each other
00:49:09This phenomenon does
00:49:11occur under the surface
00:49:13John keeps walking along the shore
00:49:15At one point he sees
00:49:17wild choppy waves
00:49:19carrying ocean debris and seaweed
00:49:21This time he stays out of the water
00:49:23He knows it can be a sign
00:49:25of a strong rip current
00:49:27It can carry a swimmer
00:49:29far away into the ocean
00:49:31How about a walk in the park?
00:49:33John likes this idea
00:49:35The sun is shining
00:49:37and the sky is so blue
00:49:39and beautiful
00:49:41At first it looks bright white
00:49:43But as it approaches
00:49:45alarmingly fast
00:49:47it becomes dense and inky
00:49:49The sky is darkening
00:49:51It's getting windy
00:49:53That's when the guy notices
00:49:55that his hair stands on end
00:49:57It's his cue that he's about
00:49:59to get hit by lightning
00:50:01At this very moment
00:50:03positive charges are rising
00:50:05through his body
00:50:07They're reaching towards
00:50:09the negatively charged part
00:50:11of the sky
00:50:13To avoid the electric shock
00:50:15John must crouch down
00:50:17and try to make himself smaller
00:50:19than the objects around him
00:50:21Oh no!
00:50:23John, don't lie down on the ground
00:50:25It may be damp
00:50:27and thus a great conductor
00:50:29of electricity
00:50:32There are other signs
00:50:35that scream danger during a lightning storm
00:50:37John's palms may begin to sweat
00:50:39He might hear bizarre crackling
00:50:41chlorine. That's how ozone smells.
00:50:46Electrical charges split the molecules of nitrogen and oxygen, which are the main gases
00:50:50making up the atmosphere, into separate atoms. When these atoms come together again, some
00:50:55of them produce molecules made up of three oxygen atoms. That's ozone. We can smell
00:51:01it during a thunderstorm because downdrafts bring this gas from high altitudes to your
00:51:07level.
00:51:08Some bugs can feel a storm coming. They get ready for a natural disaster by freezing.
00:51:13So, when John notices that insects around him look drowsy, he knows to get ready. Oh,
00:51:19and bees can predict heavy rainstorms. These critters begin to work much harder the day
00:51:24before it starts raining.
00:51:27While walking next to the river during a period of heavy rains, John hears a roaring sound.
00:51:33He feels paralyzed with fear. It's likely to be a flash flood moving in his direction.
00:51:37Indeed, he soon sees debris coming down with the flow. The water is rapidly changing its
00:51:43color, becoming muddier and darker. Flash floods are very, very dangerous. Take care
00:51:49of your safety immediately, John.
00:51:53Another day, John sees a spectacular wall cloud. It seems to be stretching for up to
00:51:57five miles. In the best case scenario, it's just a severe storm coming. But if the wall
00:52:02cloud begins to move in a circle, it's a sure sign of a tornado.
00:52:08John is walking across a snowfield in the mountains, listening to the sounds the ice
00:52:12under his feet makes. The noise is kinda hollow. Hmm. Quickly check whether there are cracks
00:52:18around your footprints, John. If so, the chances are an avalanche is about to happen. Soon,
00:52:25John sees an avalanche moving in his direction. He does his best to get off the slope. In
00:52:30most cases, he could probably outrun it by heading downhill and then veering sideways.
00:52:34But not this time. He realizes he doesn't have enough time and heads for the nearest
00:52:39tree. If John keeps holding onto it really tightly, the avalanche might not follow him
00:52:45along. But if this doesn't work, he should try to swim up to the snow's surface while
00:52:50the avalanche is still moving.
00:52:53On a pretty nice summer evening, John notices leaves with soft stems droop all of a sudden.
00:52:59Ah, it might be because of an upcoming storm. Right before extreme weather arrives, the
00:53:04air usually becomes more humid. Leaves also get damp and heavy, and the wind easily flips
00:53:10them over. John lives in a pretty old house and is used to having cracks in the interior
00:53:15walls. But one day, he notices that some of them have widened. And look, there are a few
00:53:21new ones. It's an alarm bell. He lives in an area with loads of limestone, so new cracks
00:53:26can mean a sinkhole is about to open next to his house. John is hurrying home, trying
00:53:32not to waste time admiring shelf clouds. They look like something from a sci-fi movie. They
00:53:37form when warm and moist air gets caught in a thunderstorm updraft. And these ominous
00:53:43clouds most often mean a storm is coming.
00:53:51Ah, Kyiv. You've been dreaming of getting here for years. Getting out your trusty camera,
00:53:56you start taking pictures of the cathedrals, aviation museum, and the Dnipro river, when
00:54:02without warning, there's an enormous boom behind you. Turning around, you see something
00:54:08towering in the distance. It looks like a gigantic explosion. Uh-oh, time to leave fast!
00:54:15In June 2020, what the people of Kyiv were looking at was an anvil cloud, a rare storm
00:54:21formation in the sky. Forming when strong air currents carry water vapor upwards, the
00:54:27air expands and spreads out as it hits the bottom of the stratosphere. It pushes the
00:54:32dense cloud into the cool anvil shape you see, and sometimes it even gets to be a mushroom.
00:54:40Anvil clouds produce some of the most dangerous lightning of all storms, one that's called
00:54:45a bolt out of the blue. This lightning strike seems to magically come out of the blue sky
00:54:51with the storm being many miles away. This type of bolt comes from the top of the anvil
00:54:57and can be 10 times more powerful than a typical lightning strike. People got so frightened
00:55:04after witnessing a giant cloud just 60 miles away thinking something terrible must've
00:55:10happened. The locals had pictures of the large billow on social media before officials could
00:55:15explain what was going on. Authorities managed to calm everyone's fears by informing them
00:55:21it was nothing more than a natural phenomenon, and a beautiful one at that. Before dissipating,
00:55:28these clouds typically stay in one area regardless of how strong the wind is. Touring around
00:55:35the northern tip of Queensland, Australia, way away from those creepy crawlies, it's
00:55:40time to take a break and relax at the beach. Getting comfortable, you notice a great big
00:55:46shadow passes over you, then another, and yet another. Looking up, this weird weather
00:55:53is simply stunning. The clouds are called morning glory, a very rare type of cloud that
00:55:59almost seems to roll across the sky, looking like a massive tube. These clouds can measure
00:56:06up to 600 miles long, even appearing in large groups as well. This phenomenon is the result
00:56:14of an updraft pushing through the cloud, creating a rolling appearance, while moist cooler air
00:56:20at the back causes them to sink downward. Southern India, between July and September
00:56:272001, people witnessed one of the strangest weather phenomenon in recorded history. The
00:56:34rain was red. What many would've thought to be a typical rainstorm left them shocked.
00:56:40The color was bright enough to stain clothes. There were other colors too, such as green,
00:56:46yellow, brown, and even black. In the middle of a monsoon, red rain started to fall, and
00:56:53did so periodically for several weeks. Researchers have found this unusual rain is stained either
00:57:00by dust or algae, so don't try to catch any on your tongue. Scientists aren't entirely
00:57:07sure how the algae got all the way up there. This does make events like this a little unsettling.
00:57:14Like to take a bubble bath to relax after an exhausting day but taking too long to fill
00:57:19the bathtub? Problem solved! Head to any coastline after a big storm and take a dip.
00:57:27Foamy tides aren't native to any one place or location. They can be formed anywhere in
00:57:31the world. They're most likely to happen along rocky coastlines, like the coast of
00:57:37San Francisco, Northern Ireland, or the Mooloolaba, Australia. Each coast has differing conditions
00:57:44forming the sea foams. If you scoop up seawater into a glass and look at it closely, you'll
00:57:51see it's full of tiny particles. Many things like plants, chemicals, and lots of salt and
00:57:57minerals create the perfect formula for foam. When powerful currents and wind mix it all
00:58:03together, we get something that resembles a cappuccino top floating on top of the water.
00:58:10When freezing temperatures hit orchards in Michigan, all kinds of unusual things happen.
00:58:16Like ghost apples. No, they're not going to scare you at all. But if you plan on sneaking
00:58:21away one winter to find one, be warned! Everything has to be perfect for this to occur, and it's
00:58:28going to be freezing cold. This is actually a rare weather phenomenon caused by having
00:58:34the apples freeze where they are, with rain coating the fruit in a thin layer of ice.
00:58:41The apples then thaw and leak out like applesauce, leaving just the beautiful ice shell behind.
00:58:49The Catatumbo River in Venezuela might be the most electric place in the world, with
00:58:54nearly 300 storm days per year. The lightning storms are so consistent, they're predicted
00:59:00for 3 months in advance. During the wet season in October, you might see 30 lightning flashes
00:59:07in a single minute, a truly shocking experience. With each bolt having the energy to power
00:59:14a single light bulb for 6 months, the impressive display could power all of Venezuela forever.
00:59:21At sunset, strong winds flow around the 3 surrounding mountains, forming storm clouds
00:59:27over the water. As the water droplets of humid air collide with ice crystals from the
00:59:32cold air, it produces the static charges that cause the lightning storms nearly every night.
00:59:40If that wasn't bad enough, some storms have lightning above them as well. Try to take
00:59:45a picture of this one! Jellyfish lightning sprites are electrical discharges high in
00:59:51Earth's atmosphere. They're associated with powerful thunderstorms, but they have
00:59:56nothing to do with rain. These sprites occur 30 to 50 miles up in the sky, in the mesosphere.
01:00:04Artificial lights at night make it a lot harder to see this faint lightning. If you spot one,
01:00:10it'll look tiny, but can be well over 30 miles wide.
01:00:15The red sprites are a type of cold plasma discharge above a thundercloud. They're
01:00:20the balance of the lightning charges between the storm clouds and the ground below.
01:00:26Don't try to find this type of doughnut at your favorite bakery. It won't be there.
01:00:32Snow doughnuts are one of the rarest meteorological sights to see, with perfect weather conditions
01:00:37needed just to create them. Found in any snow-covered mountain area, like
01:00:43the Rocky Mountains, the wind, temperature, snow, ice, and moisture have to all work together
01:00:49for us to see these phenomenal rings. A thin layer of wet snow on the ground. Under
01:00:55that layer, ice or powdered snow. Then, a strong enough breeze to roll the doughnut
01:01:01down a hill, just like a snowball. Once it stops rolling, it can be the size of
01:01:07a baseball or as large as a car tire. It all depends on how strong the wind is. A newly
01:01:14formed snow doughnut won't stay around for very long, so hurry up with that camera!
01:01:20Watching the sunset over the horizon, the beautiful purples and pink overhead are nothing
01:01:26compared to the three suns you see in front of you. Wow, since when did Earth get three
01:01:32suns? These phantom stars sometimes appearing besides
01:01:36the sun are called sun dogs. Maybe they're called that because they're kind of dogging
01:01:42the actual sun? Sun dogs often appear as colored areas of light at the same height above the
01:01:49horizon as the sun. They're mostly observed on a ring or halo, where ice crystals best
01:01:55reflect the light. There are also moon dogs that appear alongside
01:02:00the moon and are formed by lunar light passing through ice crystals, though these aren't
01:02:05seen nearly as much as their daytime partners. Taking photos in the wild, you've finally
01:02:12found the perfect spot to take that dream shot. The crystal-clear water, the pines,
01:02:18the mountains, and the flying saucer! Wait, a flying saucer? Oh, aliens are here!
01:02:26You might be thinking this if you saw a saucer-shaped cloud. I'm not even going to try to pronounce
01:02:32their name, though, put that on the screen, please. Wait, just kidding, it's Autocumulus
01:02:38Lenticularis. Aren't you impressed? These are really just unusual cloud formations
01:02:44over mountaintops. When moist air flows over a mountain, a wave
01:02:49is created if the temperature difference is perfect. As the air passes through the wave,
01:02:55evaporation occurs, and a series of these clouds may form into an oval shape. Not aliens
01:03:01at all! The sky is falling, the sky is falling! Well,
01:03:08people who've experienced these clouds say they look like they're coming down from the
01:03:12sky. Mammatus clouds look like giant white lumpy
01:03:17marshmallows, but it might be hard to toast these ones. These weird fluffy clouds can
01:03:23extend hundreds of miles in any direction, remaining visible for short periods at the
01:03:28bottom of anvil or other thunderstorm clouds. The strange bubble shapes are formed from
01:03:34turbulence within the storm itself, creating an uneven cloud base and appearing anywhere
01:03:40in the world. Mammatus clouds form when moist air sinks into dry air. The air must be cooler
01:03:47than its surroundings, cooled with ice, or be heavy with water.
01:03:55In Russia, on the shores of the Baltic Sea, there's an enigmatic national park. The
01:04:00Dancing Forest is a place that no scientist has managed to explain so far. The pine trees
01:04:06of the forest are all crooked and twisted into loops and spirals. The forest didn't
01:04:11appear until the early 60s, when the pines were planted in order to make the sand dune
01:04:15in that area more stable. One theory is that it's the unstable sand that made the trees
01:04:21twist in such a way. Other theories for the crooked trees are strong winds, or even supernatural
01:04:27powers. Some people say the forest is a place where positive and negative energies meet,
01:04:32twisting the trees. Local legend says that if a person climbs through one of the rings
01:04:37of a tree, it'll add an extra year to this person's life or they'll be granted a wish.
01:04:43I like that one. Speaking of bizarre trees, and I was, one
01:04:47grows in the region of Piedmont, Italy. There, a cherry tree grows on the top of a mulberry
01:04:53tree. The strange thing is that both trees are perfectly healthy.
01:04:59A continuous storm at Saturn's north pole has an odd shape – a hexagon. This is probably
01:05:06because of the gradient of the winds. The total length of this cloud pattern is 9,000
01:05:11miles, which is about 1,200 miles longer than the Earth's diameter. The hexagon has
01:05:17been observed for many years, but it gets even more mysterious because it changes color
01:05:22too. It used to be turquoise, but it has recently shifted to a golden color. The reason for
01:05:28the color change is that the pole gets exposed to sunlight as the seasons change.
01:05:36Rain isn't unusual for Oakville, Washington. However, this one still doesn't have any
01:05:40solid scientific explanation. Instead of common raindrops, people watched translucent
01:05:46jelly-like blobs fall from the skies. These blobs covered about 20 square miles. Those
01:05:52who got really close to the rain experienced flu-like symptoms. What were the blobs? Researchers
01:05:59claim that the blobs contain human white blood cells. Later tests showed no presence of nuclei.
01:06:06Some people claim the blobs might've been evaporated jellyfish resulting in rain, or
01:06:11maybe even waste from a commercial plane.
01:06:16Walking rocks, also known as sailing rocks, move across the Death Valley National Park
01:06:21in California without any external intervention, leaving long trails in the dirt and sand along
01:06:27their way. Various time-lapse footages of the moving rocks have been taken. Scientists
01:06:33even installed GPS navigators on some of the rocks, and it showed that the rocks move
01:06:38at a considerable speed. Some researchers believe that the movement is due to thin sheets
01:06:43of ice that form overnight at freezing temperatures in the valley, letting the rocks move until
01:06:49it melts during the day. Or there was a Rolling Stones concert. Nah.
01:06:56The Batageca Crater in Siberia looks like a doorway to the underworld. It's about
01:07:02a half-mile long and over 280 feet deep, but it never stops growing. As it gets deeper,
01:07:08it exposes more underground layers. The layers show what our planet looked like thousands
01:07:13of years ago, as the slumps reveal the used-to-be climates. The crater appeared back in the
01:07:1960s, and it all started with rapid deforestation. Trees no longer cast shade on the ground,
01:07:25and it got hotter. The permafrost melted, resulting in the crater formation.
01:07:32The throbbing hum in Taos, New Mexico, has driven locals wild since the 1990s. The low-frequency
01:07:44hum deprives people of sleep and depletes their energy. Even though scientists have
01:07:49tried to find the source of the hum, they still haven't pinpointed its origin. Different
01:07:54variations of the hum have also been heard in the UK, Australia, Canada, and other areas
01:07:59of the US. Luckily, only about 2% of the world's population can hear it. The hums
01:08:05have been blamed on mechanical devices, multiple disturbances of auditory systems, and even
01:08:11animals. The West Seattle hum, for example, was blamed on toadfish.
01:08:18Fairy rings, also known as elf rings or pixie rings, are mysterious rings of mushrooms that
01:08:23appear in grasslands and forested areas. There's a lot of debate about why these fungi form
01:08:29a nearly perfect circle. Some superstitions claim that fairy dances would burn the ground,
01:08:35causing mushrooms to rapidly grow. In Costa Rica, there's an assortment of about
01:08:41300 spherical stone balls. Locals call them las bolas, which is simply the balls in English.
01:08:49These stones have an almost perfect round shape. Some of them are huge, weighing up
01:08:53to 16 tons each. They're also made of different materials, gabbro, limestone, and sandstone.
01:09:00They're considered to have been put in straight lines in front of the chiefs' houses, but
01:09:04there's no precise information of their origin. Some myths claim that these stones originated
01:09:10in Atlantis. If you ever travel to the Mekong River in
01:09:16late October, you have a chance of seeing glowing balls rising from the water and beelining
01:09:22up into the air. Locals call these glowing balls the Naga fireballs. The size of the
01:09:28lights vary. The reddish balls can be as tiny as a spark and as large as a basketball. There
01:09:34can be dozens to thousands of balls a night. Scientists don't have any solid explanation
01:09:39for why it happens, but it could be due to flammable gases released by the marshy environment.
01:09:45Some superstitious locals are sure it's all because of a giant serpent living in the
01:09:50Mekong. Great balls of fire! In Minnesota, on the north shore of Lake Superior,
01:09:58there's a park known for the Devil's Kettle. This is a waterfall that splits in two. One
01:10:04part of the river continues, while the other part disappears into a hole in the ground.
01:10:09Whatever object you throw into the Devil's Kettle won't reappear. Scientists still
01:10:14haven't fully explained where the water that drops into the hole goes. Devil's Kettle
01:10:19is considered to be unsafe for people because it's nearly impossible to trace the flow.
01:10:24Yeah, not a place to go tubing.
01:10:28Grunions are fish known for their bizarre mating ritual. The females climb out of the
01:10:33water and onto the shore. They dig their tails into the sand in order to lay eggs. The legs
01:10:39stay hidden in the sand, waiting. 10 days later, the high tide comes, washing the newly
01:10:44hatched young to the sea. Scientists still can't give any solid explanation for this
01:10:49way of breeding.
01:10:53People who live in rural central Norway, over the Hestalen Valley, can often witness floating
01:10:58lights of white, yellow, and red cross the sky. The lights appear both at day and night,
01:11:05and once back in the 80s, they were spotted 15 to 20 times in a single week. The Hestalen
01:11:10lights can last just a few seconds, but sometimes they can last more than an hour. The lights
01:11:16move, seeming to float or even sway around. Some scientists believe that the reason for
01:11:22these lights is due to ionized iron dust. Others say it's combustion that includes
01:11:27sodium, oxygen, and hydrogen. Many people claim they're just misidentified aircrafts.
01:11:35Yellowstone Park has a famous boiling lake, but it's not the world's only place of boiling
01:11:40water. Deep in the Amazon, there's the 4-mile Chennai-Timpishka River that's always hot.
01:11:47The name means boiled by the sun. Well, it's not exactly boiling, but it can reach 196
01:11:53°F – enough to cook pasta! Ooh, let's try that! The lowest temperature in these
01:11:59waters is about 113 °F. This river still can't be scientifically explained because
01:12:05it would require close proximity to a volcano for the water to reach such temperatures.
01:12:10However, the closest volcano is 400 miles away. But there could be a fault between the
01:12:17Earth that could explain this phenomenon. In western Venezuela, locals living close
01:12:23to the Catatumbo River aren't afraid of lightning because they see it almost every single night.
01:12:30It starts at around 7 o'clock and doesn't stop until dawn. The everlasting Catatumbo
01:12:35lightning did once stop for a few months, from January to March 2010. It was probably
01:12:41due to drought. Or maybe the charge ran out. In 1991, a scientist suggested that the phenomenon
01:12:48happens because of cold and warm air currents meeting in the area. Another theory is that
01:12:53the lightning could be due to the presence of uranium in the bedrock. Speaking of lightning,
01:12:59I gotta bolt. Bye!
01:13:02If there were cataclysms on Earth every 5 minutes, living conditions on our planet would
01:13:07be almost the same as 4.5 billion years ago. Back then, seas and oceans boiled, lightning
01:13:14struck everywhere, tectonic plates changed their shape, lava flowed from volcanoes, and
01:13:20worse, no Internet. The Earth resembled a vast boiling cauldron where life was gradually
01:13:27being created. If it starts to boil again, this cauldron could destroy almost all life
01:13:33on the planet. Hmm, consecutive cataclysms. Won't hurt to pretend. Let's imagine,
01:13:39shall we? Good morning! You wake up in a small underground
01:13:43bunker. The seismic sensor indicates that a 7-point earthquake will start in a few minutes.
01:13:49You pack a huge waterproof backpack and go upstairs. The underground bunker is protected
01:13:54from seismic activity. It moves with the ground, so you're safe here. But you need
01:13:59to leave the shelter because supplies are low. Also, yesterday, you picked up a radio
01:14:04signal telling all survivors to go south immediately. The coordinates they gave aren't far from
01:14:10your location. You have to hurry, though, before the landscape changes again.
01:14:15You open the hatch and find yourself in the middle of the desert. The sun is almost invisible
01:14:20beyond the gray sky. The ground is shaking, but you're not afraid. There are no houses
01:14:26or buildings, nothing to fall on you. You keep your balance perfectly, and the earthquake
01:14:31doesn't knock you off your feet. It's like jumping on a trampoline. The only danger
01:14:36is the deep chasms in the ground, but you can easily jump over them.
01:14:40After such an extreme morning warm-up, you decide to have breakfast. You take a tin can
01:14:46out of your backpack. You have a few minutes before the next disaster, so you eat and remember
01:14:51how your great-grandfather told you how all this started.
01:14:55Before all of this, the planet was divided into territories called countries. Millions
01:15:00of people lived in them, and then something terrible happened. The tectonic plates started
01:15:05to move, and the air temperature and atmospheric pressure began to rapidly change. In one day,
01:15:12earthquakes destroyed entire cities. Tsunamis and floods washed away the remaining ruins.
01:15:18Volcanic ash blocked the passage of sunlight. Forest fires destroyed almost all vegetation,
01:15:24and eruptions poisoned the air. Only a few people managed to adapt to such harsh conditions,
01:15:30and you are a lucky duck to be one of them. As you finish your breakfast, you're distracted
01:15:35by another ground tremor. Time to move on! Many people travel around the world alone,
01:15:41because they consider it a safer way of life. Some people form small communes, but no one
01:15:46ever stays in one place for too long. Your whole life is in motion, but you don't panic.
01:15:52One of the main rules during natural disasters is to remain calm, so all survivors have steel
01:15:58nerves and excellent physical training. You run a few miles south and suddenly smell something
01:16:04strange. You put on a gas mask. The earthquake has created a limnic eruption. Natural carbon
01:16:11dioxide is released from the ground to the surface. You feel comfortable in a gas mask,
01:16:16but can't run fast while wearing it. Far up ahead, you see a green forest, a rare
01:16:22place that was not affected by fires. You take off the gas mask and go to the tree to
01:16:28take shelter in the shade from the scorching sun. This green area is rich in vegetation.
01:16:34Colorful flowers, strawberries, and many other berries grow here. But you're concerned.
01:16:39Such fertile land comes from being near volcanoes. It spews underground magma rich in vitamins
01:16:45and minerals, so vegetation grows. You can see a high mountain in the distance.
01:16:51This is the volcano. An underground push occurs again and provokes an eruption. You gather
01:16:57strawberries and run away from this place as far as possible.
01:17:01Lava pours from the volcano's mouth and makes a fire in the forest. You unhook a folding
01:17:07scooter with a motor from your backpack and drive away from the fiery mountain as fast
01:17:12as you can. The sky is covered with volcanic ash, but
01:17:16this is not for long. A strong wind flows, grows with each passing second. You realize
01:17:22a hurricane is moving in your direction. You take out a small shovel and dig a hole in
01:17:27the ground. The soil is dry, but you have enough strength to dig a small ravine in a
01:17:32couple of minutes. You dive into the shelter and cover yourself
01:17:35with a protective tent. The hurricane blows the volcanic ash in different directions,
01:17:41and the air becomes clear again. But the fire doesn't stop. The wind spreads through the
01:17:46forest, you get out of the ravine and put on the gas mask again. There's a lot of
01:17:51smoke around, and it's unbearably hot. You know the hurricane couldn't just appear
01:17:56without any reason. Hurricanes are formed when warm, moist air collides with the sea
01:18:00surface and rises to the sky, so there's water nearby. Great, because you're thirsty
01:18:06and want to cool down. A loud sound erupts behind you. You turn around. A massive wave
01:18:12of water approaches the fire. Without panic, you take your life jacket out
01:18:17of your backpack, remove your gas mask, and put on a diving mask and fins. The wave blows
01:18:23you off your feet, but you don't drown. Over the years of survival, you have learned
01:18:28to swim very well. You grab a passing tree and wait patiently for the flood to be replaced
01:18:35by another natural disaster. For 5 minutes, you sail under a black stormy sky that sparkles
01:18:41with lightning. Despite the waves, you try to row south. It's getting pretty cold. You
01:18:47finally see the shore, but this is not a land, but ice.
01:18:51A strong wind brought a cold cyclone, which caused a fast temperature change. It's like
01:18:58you're in Antarctica. Snow and blizzards are all around. It's freezing, but you take
01:19:03out a thin space blanket made from foil and walk slowly south. Under your clothes, you
01:19:09put crumpled paper, bubble wrap, pieces of cotton. All this also helps to warm your body.
01:19:15Along the way, you collect several bottles of snow to melt later.
01:19:19Icicles form on your face, and you can't see because of the snowstorm. Suddenly, the
01:19:25snow begins to squish under your feet. The ice melts and turns into water. A hot stream
01:19:31of air blows into your face. You find yourself on hard, dry ground, looking up at the sky.
01:19:37Then at your watch, 5 minutes pass, and the sky is again covered with black clouds. You
01:19:43take a metal plate out of your backpack and cover your head with it. A few seconds later,
01:19:49you are hit by heavy rain and hail. Giant balls of ice knock on the metal shield, but
01:19:55you go calmly and even with a smile on your face. The ground becomes wet and loose from
01:20:00icy rocks. When the hail ends, you pull out all the heat-insulating materials from under
01:20:06your clothes and hide them in your backpack. Then you lay out a few long spokes of steel.
01:20:12The spokes are wrapped with copper wire. You connect the spokes to each other, making one
01:20:17long antenna. You stick it in the ground and run away.
01:20:22After the hail from the rain clouds, lightning strikes the ground. More precisely, it hits
01:20:27the lightning rod you've just built. You wait for the storm to end, then take the lightning
01:20:32rod apart and return it to your backpack. An intense heat begins. You drink some melted
01:20:38snow and break your way through the desert.
01:20:41The Earth trembles, and your adventure begins again. Earthquakes, carbon dioxide, fires,
01:20:47floods, snowfall, tsunamis, lightning, and again and again and again. With the help of
01:20:53a compass, you continue your journey and reach your goal a few months later. You see a long
01:20:59antenna sticking out of the ground. This is a placemark for entering an underground city.
01:21:05The city is built from dozens of massive bunkers connected to each other by tunnels. The city
01:21:10walls don't allow radiation to pass through, and they don't bend from daily earthquakes.
01:21:16People learn to extract energy from the ground. The Earth's core gives heat. This heat boils
01:21:22water, then steam is formed, and electricity is created at special stations. People get
01:21:27water from underground lakes and rivers. Instead of the sun, ultraviolet lamps are installed
01:21:33everywhere, which provide people and plants with necessary light. Natural disasters happen
01:21:39on Earth every 5 minutes, but humanity still has a lot of space underground.
01:21:50The Batsingdae Tsunami, Indonesia An undersea earthquake starts in the morning.
01:21:56Its tremors cause a series of tsunami waves. The largest reaches the height of the Arc
01:22:01de Triomphe in Paris. Unzen volcano megatsunami
01:22:06A powerful volcanic eruption triggers a landslide from a 4,000-year-old lava dome. It sweeps
01:22:12through the city of Shimabara and reaches the sea, setting off a megatsunami.
01:22:18The Vagent Dam megatsunami, Italy A landslide drags 9 billion cubic feet of
01:22:24forest, soil, and rock into the lake. A dark wall of water covers the sky over a tiny village
01:22:31at the bottom of the Vagent Dam. Then, with a deafening roar, the wave overtops the edge
01:22:37of the dam, taking out everything in its path. Mount St. Helens megatsunami, USA
01:22:45As the volcano erupts, the upper 1,500 feet of Mount St. Helens collapses into a massive
01:22:51landslide. Part of this avalanche plunges down into nearby Spirit Lake, which splashes
01:22:56the lake waters into a series of waves almost as tall as the Eiffel Tower.
01:23:02Alaska's Lituya Bay tsunami A landslide caused by an earthquake creates
01:23:07a mega-wave. It surges over the headland and washes away trees, plants, and soil down to
01:23:13bedrock. Molokai, Hawaii
01:23:16A third of the East Molokai volcano caves in and collapses into the Pacific Ocean. This
01:23:21causes a tsunami the size of the second tallest building in the world, Shanghai Tower. The
01:23:27waves reach Mexico and California. The Yucatan asteroid tsunami
01:23:33The asteroid, which is rumored to have wiped out dinosaurs, strikes the Yucatan Peninsula.
01:23:38It creates a mega-tsunami, the largest in Earth's history. The first wave's almost
01:23:44twice bigger than the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
01:23:51Hurricane Mitch Mitch forms in the Western Caribbean Sea.
01:23:55Soon, it strengthens to become the 8th most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever. The storm
01:24:00pours 4 inches of rain per hour for 2 days in Honduras. It causes terrible mudslides
01:24:05and floods. Hurricane Alan
01:24:09Rare and extremely powerful, the storm is one of the few to reach Category 5, the highest
01:24:14possible. It causes more than $2 billion in damage.
01:24:19The Great Hurricane
01:24:21After tearing down Barbados, the storm moves on. It strips the bark off the trees growing
01:24:26on Martinique and Saint Lucia and travels further. This horrific natural disaster lasts
01:24:32for 6 days. Hurricane Dorian
01:24:35It's the most powerful tropical cyclone to hit the Bahamas. The hurricane flattens most
01:24:40of the structures on the islands and sweeps them into the sea.
01:24:45Hurricane Wilma
01:24:46The storm occurs in the Caribbean Sea near Jamaica and heads to the West. Two days later,
01:24:51it gathers enough power to turn into the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic
01:24:56Ocean. Hurricane Patricia
01:25:00A regular storm develops a well-defined eye and turns into a Category 5 hurricane within
01:25:05a mere 24 hours. At one point, it travels faster than a Ferrari moving at its top speed.
01:25:12It makes Patricia the world's most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded.
01:25:18Kamchatka Earthquake
01:25:21It happens in the early morning 80 miles away from the shores of Kamchatka. The earth tremors
01:25:26produce a tsunami. The first two waves are catastrophic, up to 60 feet high. The third
01:25:33one's much weaker.
01:25:35Valparaiso Earthquake, Chile
01:25:38It happens at about 5 a.m. along the boundary of two tectonic plates. The tsunami, triggered
01:25:43by the earthquake, wipes out 620 miles of Chile's coastline.
01:25:48Tohoku Earthquake, Japan
01:25:50The first earth tremors start at a great underwater depth. The earthquake is so strong, it moves
01:25:56Japan's main island. It shifts the planet on its axis by up to 10 inches and increases
01:26:02its rotation speed. The disaster also triggers a tsunami with 133-foot-high waves that travel
01:26:096 miles inland.
01:26:12Indian Ocean Earthquake, Sumatra
01:26:14A rupture along two tectonic plates sets off an undersea earthquake. It begins at about
01:26:208 a.m. near northern Sumatra, Indonesia. It makes the planet vibrate nearly a half inch
01:26:26and sets off earthquakes all over the world up to Alaska.
01:26:30Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska
01:26:33The most powerful earthquake recorded in North America lasts for 4 minutes and 38 seconds.
01:26:39A 600-mile-long crack causes terrible landslides and a 27-foot tsunami. Areas 200 miles away
01:26:46get raised by 30 feet. Other places permanently drop 8 feet.
01:26:53Valdiva, Chile
01:26:54The Great Chilean Earthquake starts in the afternoon and lasts for no less than 10 minutes.
01:27:00The disaster affects an area the size of California. It triggers tsunamis that reach
01:27:05the shore of Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand.
01:27:13The average tornado usually lasts less than 10 minutes, but there are exceptions.
01:27:19El Reno Tornado
01:27:20It's considered the world's largest tornado based on width. At its peak, the twister reaches
01:27:262.5 miles across.
01:27:28The Perryville Tornado, U.S.
01:27:31It occurs at about 2 a.m. and starts with snapping hardwood trees and breaking down
01:27:36stone constructions. Then the whirlwind becomes stronger. It levels two-story buildings, flips
01:27:42and tosses cars as if they were toys.
01:27:46Bridge Creek Moor Tornado
01:27:48When the twister gets into the town of Bridge Creek, its width is at its peak, 1 to 1.5
01:27:55The wind speed of the tornado reaches more than 300 miles per hour. This natural disaster
01:28:00causes $1 billion in damage.
01:28:03Manitoba, Canada
01:28:05An outstanding tornado rages for nearly 3 hours. It breaks tons of trees and utility
01:28:11poles, damages roads and farmhouses, but miraculously misses every town on its path.
01:28:18Tri-State Tornado, U.S.
01:28:21The world's longest-lasting single tornado travels 220 miles through Missouri, Illinois
01:28:27and Indiana. The average tornado's path is usually no longer than 5 miles.
01:28:34Tupelo, Gainesville, U.S.
01:28:36An outbreak that consists of at least 12 single tornadoes wipes out everything on its way.
01:28:42The accompanying rainstorms also trigger severe flash floods that make matters even worse.
01:28:51Valjeant Landslide, Italy
01:28:54At 10 p.m., a landslide with a volume of 100 Great Pyramids of Giza breaks off from the
01:29:00top of Monte Tocco. It falls into the Valjeant Dam Reservoir, producing a tsunami wave taller
01:29:06than the Golden Gate Bridge.
01:29:09Yunnan, China
01:29:10An avalanche of rocks, stones, and mud so big it could fill up Sydney Harbor forms a
01:29:16dam on the Jinsha River.
01:29:18The Hida River, Japan
01:29:21Triggered by a rainstorm, 300,000 Olympic swimming pools of debris flows down before
01:29:26getting stopped by another, earlier landslide. Along the way, the landslide sweeps two buses
01:29:32off the road.
01:29:34Peru
01:29:35A rock slide dams the Rio Montenegro, a long river running through the center of Peru.
01:29:41The whole process takes no more than 3 minutes, which means the landslide moves at a speed
01:29:46of up to 87 mph. It also leaves a trail of debris 5 miles long.
01:29:53The Usoi Dam, Tajikistan
01:29:56Set off by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake, the rock slide falls into the Mergab River and
01:30:02blocks its flow. That's how the Usoi Dam, one of the tallest in the world, appears.
01:30:08Mount St. Helens, USA
01:30:11At 8.30 am, after much build-up, a volcanic vent finally gives way and sets off a catastrophic
01:30:18eruption which makes the entire north side of Mount St. Helens fall away. It's the
01:30:24world's largest recorded landslide.
01:30:27North Bonneville, US
01:30:29In the middle of the 15th century, a great earthquake occurs. An incredible amount of
01:30:34debris rushes down from Table Mountain. It covers more than 5 square miles and blocks
01:30:40the Columbia River with a dam 200 feet high and 3.5 miles long.
01:30:47This is John. John seems to attract all kinds of bad weather and natural disasters wherever
01:30:53he goes. See for yourself.
01:30:56One day, John notices his dog is restless. The pooch keeps scratching the entrance door
01:31:00and wandering around the house. He even tries to hide in the corner, howling and barking.
01:31:07When some mugs start to clink in your cupboard, John realizes what it means. The noise is
01:31:11produced by foreshocks. Mini earthquakes leading up to the main event. Earthquakes often happen
01:31:18in clusters. After a few weak quakes, a much bigger one is likely to be on the way.
01:31:25Sometime before the disaster strikes, people might notice bizarre blue lights. Some of
01:31:29them seem to be coming out of the ground. Others are hovering in the air. These are
01:31:35earthquake lights. They may appear days or mere seconds before the ground starts shaking.
01:31:41Now, John is walking along the ocean shore. Suddenly, he sees the water retreat from the
01:31:46beach really, really fast. Uh-oh! John, run away as quickly as you can and find some high
01:31:53ground! A tsunami is coming! And your life might depend on how fast you react.
01:31:59If John spots a bizarre and unexpected rise in sea level, it can be another sign of an
01:32:03approaching tsunami. This happens in 40% of cases. The incoming water is the first
01:32:10tsunami wave. The second one, way, way larger, will come in in about 10 minutes. John can
01:32:17also notice seawater bubbling, swirling, and creating bizarre patterns. It's another sure
01:32:22sign a tsunami is near.
01:32:25Hmm, John feels there's something strange about the sun. Through his special super dark
01:32:31sunglasses, he sees that there's some uneven flares around the star's contour. If these
01:32:36bizarre rays are accompanied by auroras all over the world, they're a sign of a solar
01:32:41storm. Such storms are usually caused by disturbances in the sun's magnetic field. In this case,
01:32:48the bursts of gas and radiation on the surface of the sun get so massive and powerful that
01:32:54they can even reach our planet. Luckily, solar storms aren't really dangerous for people,
01:32:59they can mess with electricity and even cause blackouts.
01:33:04The sky over John's head is darkening and turning ominously green. Something hits him
01:33:09on the forehead. Ouch! He picks up the offending object. It's a hailstone, but it's not that
01:33:15cold outside, and it's not raining. Soon, he hears some noise. It's approaching rapidly
01:33:21and turns into a loud roar. It sounds as if a freight train is moving towards him, but
01:33:26it's not a train. It's a tornado. The funnel isn't visible behind a cloud of debris, but
01:33:32John can't mistake this rotating column of air for anything else. Are you on the road,
01:33:38John? Then get as far away from your car as you can. Fast! Find a ditch, lie down in it,
01:33:43and cover your head. Oh, you're inside? Then get away from the windows and hide underground
01:33:48if possible. And please, John, be very careful if you spot some conically shaped clouds.
01:33:54Clouds mean severe storms, and if you notice that such a cloud starts spinning around,
01:33:59immediately search for shelter. The cloud is transitioning into a tornado right in front
01:34:04of your eyes. On the bright side, John should only worry about warm conical clouds. Cold
01:34:10ones are totally harmless. The only problem is to figure out the temperature of the cloud
01:34:15he sees. Duh! Ah, look. John just spotted some weirdly shaped trees. They look like
01:34:22the letter J and grow on a slope. It means the ground under John's feet is likely to
01:34:27be unstable. If he keeps wandering around, it can cause a bad landslide. Square waves
01:34:34appear when two different wave patterns crash into each other. This phenomenon does look
01:34:39kinda awesome. No, don't go into the water, John. Keep watching it from the shore. Cross
01:34:44currents in that spot can easily pull even a skilled swimmer under the surface. John
01:34:49keeps walking along the shore. At one point, he sees wild, choppy waves carrying ocean
01:34:54debris and seaweed. This time, he stays out of the water. He knows it can be a sign of
01:35:00a strong rip current. It can carry a swimmer far away into the ocean.
01:35:07How about a walk in the park? John likes this idea. The sun is shining and the sky is so
01:35:12blue and beautiful. Suddenly, he spots a rapidly growing vertical cloud. At first, it looks
01:35:19bright white. But as it approaches, alarmingly fast, it becomes dense and inky. The sky is
01:35:26darkening. It's getting windy. That's when the guy notices that his hair stands on end.
01:35:31It's his cue that he's about to get hit by lightning. At this very moment, positive charges
01:35:36are rising through his body. They're reaching towards the negatively charged part of the
01:35:40storm. If he doesn't react fast, these charges will meet. There's nowhere to hide, so John
01:35:47should crouch down and try to make himself smaller than the objects around him. Oh no!
01:35:52John, don't lie down on the ground! It may be damp and thus a great conductor of electricity.
01:35:59There are other signs that scream danger during a lightning storm. John's palms may begin
01:36:04to sweat. He might hear bizarre crackling and buzzing sounds coming from metal objects nearby.
01:36:10His skin can start tingling. There might be a strange metallic taste in his mouth. Plus,
01:36:16John is likely to smell chlorine. That's how ozone smells. Electrical charges split
01:36:22the molecules of nitrogen and oxygen, which are the main gases making up the atmosphere,
01:36:27into separate atoms. When these atoms come together again, some of them produce molecules
01:36:32made up of three oxygen atoms. That's ozone. We can smell it during a thunderstorm because
01:36:38down drafts bring this gas from high altitudes to your level. Some bugs can feel a storm
01:36:44coming. They get ready for a natural disaster by freezing. So, when John notices that insects
01:36:51around him look drowsy, he knows to get ready. Oh, and bees can predict heavy rainstorms.
01:36:57These critters begin to work much harder the day before it starts raining. While walking
01:37:03next to the river during a period of heavy rains, John hears a roaring sound. He feels
01:37:09paralyzed with fear. It's likely to be a flash flood moving in his direction. Indeed, he
01:37:14soon sees debris coming down with the flow. The water is rapidly changing its color, becoming
01:37:19muddier and darker. Flash floods are very, very dangerous. Take care of your safety immediately,
01:37:27John! Another day, John sees a spectacular wall cloud. It seems to be stretching for
01:37:32up to five miles. In the best case scenario, it's just a severe storm coming. But if the
01:37:38wall cloud begins to move in a circle, it's a sure sign of a tornado. John is walking
01:37:44across a snow field in the mountains, listening to the sounds the ice under his feet makes.
01:37:49The noise is kind of hollow. Hmm. Quickly check whether there are cracks around your
01:37:54footprints, John. If so, the chances are an avalanche is about to happen. Soon, John sees
01:38:01an avalanche moving in his direction. He does his best to get off the slope. In most cases,
01:38:06he could probably outrun it by heading downhill and then veering sideways. But not this time.
01:38:12He realizes he doesn't have enough time and heads for the nearest tree. If John keeps
01:38:16holding onto it really tightly, the avalanche might not pull him along. But if this doesn't
01:38:22work, he should try to swim up to the snow's surface while the avalanche is still moving.
01:38:29On a pretty nice summer evening, John notices leaves with soft stems droop all of a sudden.
01:38:34Ah, it might be because of an upcoming storm. Right before extreme weather arrives, the
01:38:39air usually becomes more humid. Leaves also get damp and heavy, and the wind easily flips
01:38:45them over. John lives in a pretty old house and is used to having cracks in the interior
01:38:51walls. But one day, he notices that some of them have widened. And look, there are a few
01:38:56new ones. It's an alarm bell. He lives in an area with loads of limestone, so new cracks
01:39:02can mean a sinkhole is about to open next to his house. John is hurrying home, trying
01:39:08not to waste time admiring shelf clouds. They look like something from a sci-fi movie. They
01:39:13form when warm and moist air gets caught in a thunderstorm updraft. And these ominous
01:39:18clouds most often mean a storm is coming.
01:39:26You're hiking in the wilderness, looking for a safe spot to set up camp. All you can hear
01:39:30are leaves and branches crackling under your footsteps. Some squirrels are running up a
01:39:35tree over there. But suddenly, something unexpected happens. You notice something weird in the
01:39:41distance in between the trees. It kinda looks like a concrete structure of some kind. Weird.
01:39:48At this point, you're at least 20 miles deep into the woods, and there are no nearby towns
01:39:53or villages, as far as you know. So, you decide to go off the trail with your friends to get
01:39:59a closer look. But as you get nearer, you realize that it's leading to… nowhere.
01:40:05Hmm, what's it doing here, in the middle of literally nowhere? And it doesn't even
01:40:10lead to anything! You put on your Sherlock Holmes cap and investigate. So, maybe there
01:40:17used to be an old house or mansion here that collapsed over the years, and the only thing
01:40:22left is a staircase? But, weirdly enough, after circling the bizarre structure, you
01:40:28realize there's no trace of any ruins or even foundations. It's like someone just
01:40:34sliced a staircase off their house, cake-style, and plopped it here, for no reason. Okay?
01:40:41You and your friends aren't really into getting a whole lot closer. Something feels
01:40:46wrong. The longer you look at this weird structure, the more you feel a super creepy presence.
01:40:53Something tells you you should probably leave the area as fast as possible.
01:40:58As weird as this sounds, discoveries of random staircases, illogically found in the woods,
01:41:04are surprisingly common. Some are made of wood, others of brick or stone. Some look
01:41:09ancient, while others look like they were finished yesterday. The one thing they all
01:41:14have in common – they all lead to absolutely nowhere, and they're all found in super
01:41:19mysterious locations. One of the most famous ones is in Chesterfield,
01:41:24New Hampshire. A long, medieval-looking staircase, made of stones with Roman arches in the middle
01:41:30of the woods. It's believed to have been part of Madame Antoinette Sherry's castle.
01:41:36She was a big singer back in Paris. The castle dates back about 100 years, and it was later
01:41:41discovered again in 1962. This time, there was nothing but a staircase.
01:41:48Another mysterious ancient staircase dates back to 9,000 years ago. It's in a forest
01:41:54in Italy. It looks like a series of stairs that lead to a tiny platform at the top. Now,
01:42:00why go through all the trouble of building the thing if it leads to nowhere? Well, some
01:42:05scientists think it could've been some sort of ritual tower, but your guess is as good
01:42:11as theirs. There's an anomaly in the Indian Ocean known
01:42:15as the Indian Ocean Geoid Low, or IOGL. It produces the largest distorting natural gravitational
01:42:23force in the world. Heavy mineral deposits, many deep-sea trenches, and magma reservoirs
01:42:30disturb the magnetic field in this area. Earth's gravity changes in different places around
01:42:35the planet. It allows researchers to look for patterns and figure out what's happening
01:42:40beneath the surface. Higher gravity fields usually mean denser
01:42:44materials below, and vice versa. Some scientists believe that the anomaly might be a dent in
01:42:50the planet's mantle that is working its way up to the crust.
01:42:55The Niihau Island actually rejects the fruits of today's advancements. There are no cars
01:43:01in sight since the locals get around on foot or by bicycles. No wonder their legs have
01:43:07great definition. They thrive without running water, Internet, or shops. The only school
01:43:14on the entire island is powered by solar energy with a backup generator. And what's awesome
01:43:19is that it's the only school in the state that's powered by the sun. Being a resident
01:43:24of the island, the local explains some ground rules the permanent residents must abide by.
01:43:30If they do break these rules, they can be evicted.
01:43:35Not far from Bangkok, in northeastern Thailand, there's a 75-million-year-old rock formation.
01:43:42These rocks look like three whales swimming together. The beautiful design created by
01:43:47nature became known as Three Whales Rock. Millions of years ago, this area was just
01:43:53a desert, but the land was changing. Gradually, sandstone got pulled apart by the movements
01:43:59of tectonic plates and erosion. That's how these spectacular formations were created.
01:44:05If you decide to explore the system of trails around Three Whales Rock, you'll find waterfalls
01:44:11and an abundance of fauna and flora there.
01:44:15Located on Gamal and Gaiden peninsulas, these expansive pit holes were discovered in 2014.
01:44:21They seem to be still changing and evolving. The pits grow wider, and people find them
01:44:26more often. Of course, there's no shortage of theories about how they appeared. Suggestions
01:44:32range from meteorite impacts to the activity of other civilizations, but the most common
01:44:38explanation is that methane gas reacted to water molecules after the planet's permafrost
01:44:43started to melt. This resulted in bubbles of methane bursting through the ice. The craters
01:44:49could be thousands of years old, but nobody knows for sure.
01:44:54You're driving to the state of New Mexico, to the small town of Taos. 2% of the locals
01:45:01hear a strange buzzing in the air every day. Some residents believe the sound is somehow
01:45:06connected with technologies used by guests from other galaxies. Also, there is a theory
01:45:14that something sinister lives in the town. They say Taos is cursed. An evil spirit or
01:45:20a phantom punishes people for something their ancestors did in the past. Scientists still
01:45:25can't explain the nature of this sound. Another theory says it's caused by unusual acoustics
01:45:31of the location, while others think the buzzing is a hallucination. Some can hear it because
01:45:37everybody talks about something, and our minds create an illusion of the sound that doesn't
01:45:42really exist. The sound isn't the same for everyone either. For some, it's a low hum.
01:45:48For others, it's more of a buzzing sound. But this is not the only place where you can
01:45:52hear the strange noises. It's called the hum, and people worldwide claim to have heard
01:45:59it. Some dwellers of a small village in Scotland describe it as a low, thick hum, while some
01:46:05residents of Florida heard a similar sound too. It's not exactly known where this phenomenon
01:46:11appeared, but the first time the media started talking about it was in the 1970s in England.
01:46:18Also, there are written records of a mysterious buzzing dating back almost 200 years. According
01:46:24to some estimates, only about 2% of people on the planet can hear the hum. Perhaps their
01:46:30ears pick up some low frequency waves, or the reason is something else entirely. Maybe,
01:46:36just maybe, they hear humming because the person doing it doesn't know the words to
01:46:41the song. Yeah, that joke is also 200 years old.
01:46:46A volcano in Indonesia spews bright blue lava and produces electric blue and purple flames.
01:46:54This phenomenon occurs because the volcano has some of the highest levels of sulfur
01:46:59in the world. You can also know you're near it by its foul stench. But I digress. And
01:47:06when sulfuric gases interact with scorching hot air and get lit by the molten lava, they
01:47:12turn blue. You can also find the world's largest acid lake inside this crater. Yup,
01:47:18it's a real stinker. Underwater rivers and lakes are called brine
01:47:23pools for a reason. High salinity makes the water in them denser than the seawater around.
01:47:29That's why it sinks to the bottom, forming rivers and lakes. Those have waves of their
01:47:34own, and these waves can sometimes lap up against the shorelines. If you went down there
01:47:40in a submarine, it would easily float on the surface of a brine pool. But without a submarine,
01:47:45swimming in such a lake would be too risky. They contain too much toxic methane and hydrogen
01:47:51sulfide. Yeah, I'd pass on that too. But hey, be my guest!
01:47:56Cave of Crystals in Mexico is home to the world's most unique crystal formations. Thanks
01:48:02to super-rare conditions in the cave, crystals there grow to unbelievable sizes. The air
01:48:08inside is incredibly humid. The water contains tons of minerals that boost the growth of
01:48:13the milky white giants. Some of them are longer than telephone poles.
01:48:19Cylindrical snow donuts occur when a wind gust starts to roll some snow across a snowy
01:48:24area. As if making a snowball. If it was a real thing, it would eventually become too
01:48:30heavy for the wind to move. But a snow donut's center is hollowed out. This happens because
01:48:36its inner layer is too thin and is blown away when the donut is formed. This makes the thing
01:48:42lighter than a snowball. That's also why it rolls further. Unfortunately, snow donuts
01:48:47are rare because they need very precise conditions to appear.
01:48:52The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is probably one of the most bizarre-looking places you'll
01:48:57ever see. It's dotted with neon-colored hot springs, lava pools, and vast salt flats.
01:49:04You've gotta be especially careful there. Toxic gases are swirling over hydrothermal
01:49:09fields. And many pools are super-acidic. So, don't go swimming. Until at least 30 minutes
01:49:16after lunch. Just kidding.
01:49:19And finally, there's nothing mysterious about 28,000 rubber ducks found in the sea in 1992.
01:49:26That's when a ship transporting bath toys got lost in the ocean while traveling from
01:49:31Hong Kong to the US. Some of these ducks are still floating in the ocean several decades
01:49:36later. They've been spotted in South America, Alaska, Hawaii, and even Australia. And they
01:49:43make bath time lots of fun. Ooh, rubber ducky!
01:49:54The largest tree in the world is so massive, it even earned itself the nickname General
01:49:59Sherman. It stands tall in California's Sequoia National Park, stretching its branches
01:50:04at 275 feet toward the sky. That's almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty. As for its
01:50:11If we could place it on a scale, we'd need 400 elephants to balance things out. Its base
01:50:17stretches 36 feet in diameter, big enough to hide two sedans parked end-to-end.
01:50:24California is the last place on Earth where these colossal trees grow naturally. During
01:50:29the Ice Age, they flourished across North America and Europe, but as the glaciers retreated,
01:50:35so did the sequoias. Today, they thrive along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Range,
01:50:40relying on the melting glacier caps to quench their thirst. General Sherman gathers thousands
01:50:46of visitors every day, and the park's infrastructure caters to this. There's a short half-mile
01:50:51walk from the nearest parking lot that leads to the big green giant. Along the way, a stone
01:50:57marker outlines the shape and size of the tree's base, to give visitors a sense of
01:51:02its immense scale.
01:51:05This sassy sequoia is estimated to be around 23-2700 years old and has witnessed centuries
01:51:12of change. It sprouted during the early days of the Roman Empire. When Europeans arrived
01:51:18in California in the late 1800s, they first tried to harvest the sequoias, thinking they
01:51:23had valuable wood. However, the sheer effort required to take down these giants was enormous
01:51:29for those days. They also soon figured out that this type of wood was a bit more brittle
01:51:35than expected, so they let these trees off the hook. As for its name, the tree shares
01:51:40it with General William Tecumseh Sherman, a 19th-century famous American public servant.
01:51:47Not far from General Sherman stands the world's second-largest tree, named General Grant.
01:51:53Discovered by locals years before General Sherman received its name, this tree has weathered
01:51:58its own share of challenges, including fires. But like its counterpart, it survived, mostly
01:52:04thanks to its thick bark and resilient hardwood.
01:52:08As for the oldest tree, for a long time, we've known it to be a Great Basin bristlecone pine
01:52:14named Methuselah, also found in California. It's been around for more than 4,800 years,
01:52:20way before the Egyptians built the Pyramids of Giza. This tree's location is a bit of
01:52:25a secret to keep it safe from harm. Methuselah and its friends grow way up high in California,
01:52:31Nevada, and Utah, where it's tough to survive. The place is cold, with dry soil and fierce
01:52:37winds, but these strong timbers have figured out how to thrive, getting their nutrients
01:52:42from the hard, rocky ground up in the mountains. Their branches are twisted and gnarled because
01:52:47of the winds blowing in all directions as they reach maturity. It does make their appearance
01:52:52a bit messy, but it's an added layer of resistance for those trees during powerful
01:52:58storms. Their roots only feed the branches right above them, so if one part of the tree's
01:53:03roots fades away, only that part of the tree will be affected.
01:53:07There's a new contender, however, for the same title of the oldest tree. In Chile, there's
01:53:13a Patagonian cypress called Gran Abuello, which means Great Grandfather in Spanish.
01:53:19It might even be older than Methuselah by about 500 years. This would mean this tree
01:53:24has seen people roaming around during the Bronze Age. To figure out a tree's age, we
01:53:30generally need to look inside its bark and count its rings. For the Gran Abuello, though,
01:53:36scientists use complex math to estimate how old it is. Some experts aren't convinced
01:53:41by this method just yet. No matter which tree is older, both Methuselah and the Gran Abuello
01:53:47have seen a lot of changes in their long lives. Each ring in their trunks holds info about
01:53:52the weather from the year it grew. Scientists can learn a ton about past climates on our
01:53:57planet by studying these ancient trees.
01:54:01The world's tallest tree is also off-limit to visitors, but this is a recent safety measure.
01:54:07Its name is Hyperion, and it's located in Redwood National Park, California. Standing
01:54:13at a towering 380 feet, Hyperion is a coastal redwood, taller than the length of an American
01:54:20football field. Named after a character in Greek mythology, Hyperion was discovered in
01:54:252006 by two researchers. The park is home to other incredibly tall trees like Helios
01:54:31and Icarus, both also reaching heights of over 370 feet.
01:54:37The impressive height of redwoods in Northern California is due to their leaves and the
01:54:42region's climate. These trees absorb and store moisture from morning fog, and their
01:54:47sprouts promote growth after injury, allowing them to live for a very long time. However,
01:54:54their shallow roots make them susceptible to damage from hikers. Besides being a record
01:54:59holder, Hyperion's appearance may not live up to the hype. Witnessing its towering height
01:55:04from the ground is hard, and its trunk isn't that impressive.
01:55:08Hyperion is currently tucked away in a closed-off section with no official trail. But despite
01:55:14this, many tree enthusiasts have trampled through over the years, harming the habitat
01:55:19leading up to it. Trash has also been found along the way in the past. The park recently
01:55:24issued a statement urging visitors to steer clear of this tree. Otherwise, they could
01:55:30face hundreds of dollars worth of fines and even end up behind bars.
01:55:35The Tree of Life stands as a resilient symbol amidst the arid desert landscape of Bahrain.
01:55:41Nestled in the highest point of the country, this ancient tree defies odds, captivating
01:55:46visitors with its mysterious and inexplicable presence. It's surrounded by endless stretches
01:55:52of heated dunes in the Arabian desert. Because it stands alone against the desert backdrop,
01:55:58it has puzzled scientists and botanists for years. There's little to no rainfall over
01:56:03there. There are also no freshwater sources nearby. Despite the lack of moisture, the
01:56:09Tree of Life insists on flourishing, flaunting its green foliage. How it manages to survive
01:56:14in such harsh conditions led to some weird theories. Some speculate that the tree's
01:56:20roots go deep into the earth, reaching depths of up to 160 feet to access underground water
01:56:26reserves. Others suggest that the tree has adapted to its environment, drawing moisture
01:56:31from the surrounding sand grains through specialized mechanisms.
01:56:35One other interesting idea is that the Tree of Life lies at the side of the legendary
01:56:40Garden of Eden, getting its water from a mystical source. Apart from its scientific and cultural
01:56:46significance, the Tree of Life is an important tourist attraction for locals, luring in approximately
01:56:5265,000 visitors each year. All for a tree!
01:56:58Poland has its fair share of trees worth mentioning, all gathered in the Crooked Forest. It's
01:57:04a group of 400 trees that bend strangely. They all have a similar shape, curving sharply
01:57:10toward the sky in little J-shapes, almost touching the ground. People have different
01:57:15ideas about why these trees look like that. Some think a heavy snowstorm covered them
01:57:20when they were young, pushing them down. Others believe the area's gravity might have affected
01:57:26how they grow. One interesting theory is that people who planted these trees back in the
01:57:311920s might have bent them on purpose. They wanted to use the curved shapes to expedite
01:57:37the furniture manufacturing process. So, when the trees were about 10 years old, they interfered
01:57:43with their growth, making them develop in this odd shape. After the manipulation process
01:57:49was stopped, it left the trees in this weird position for decades. Either way, whatever
01:57:54happened to one tree happened to them all because they're all adjusted in the same
01:57:59way, so human intervention is the most likely explanation.
01:58:03Even though all the trees in the Crooked Forest look the same with their spooky bend, they
01:58:08still manage to grow tall and healthy. They've adapted to their difficult conditions, and,
01:58:13somehow, they've managed to keep growing upwards.
01:58:17Hey, ever heard of a fire rainbow? Yeah, me neither. How about a circumhorizontal arc?
01:58:24Didn't think so, but just so you know, they're one and the same thing. At first glance, it
01:58:30looks like a painting, or like a rainbow-colored splash in the sky. Despite the name, they
01:58:35have nothing in common with either fire or rain. This phenomenon happens on rare occasions
01:58:41when the sun shines through a particular type of ice cloud formation.
01:58:46The rainbow halos are just as unique. Again, a specific type of ice crystals and clouds
01:58:52needs to be present for the surface of the Earth to bend light from the sun into a perfect
01:58:57ring. The same thing can happen with moonlight. The only difference will be that moon halos
01:59:03are usually white, and sun halos can be rainbow-colored.
01:59:08When visiting regions with high altitudes, you may be one of the lucky people to stumble
01:59:13upon penitentes. They're basically naturally formed ice spikes. For them to be formed,
01:59:19they need a really cold and elevated environment where the air is dry. The sunlight turns ice
01:59:24directly into vapor, rather than melting it into water. And that's why these blades of
01:59:30snow and ice start to pop up on the surface of the Earth. As cute as they may be, they
01:59:35can end up as tall as 15 feet!
01:59:39Now what happens when small, individual droplets of lava meet the wind? Pele's hair, basically.
01:59:46Let me explain. The word Pele comes from an ancient Hawaiian symbol for volcanoes. Whenever
01:59:51the wind picks up little drops of lava, it stretches them into hair-like strands, similar
01:59:57to the process of glass wire creation. These delicate strands can stretch as far as 6 feet.
02:00:05On rare occasions, it can rain without any clouds. But does it really? Let's look at
02:00:10the science behind this rare phenomenon. It's sometimes called a sun shower, just
02:00:16because it looks like the rain is falling straight from the sun. Let's be clear, though.
02:00:21There is no way rain can ever come down directly from a star. Rain clouds are at a bit of a
02:00:27distance from that specific location. With sun rays being angled, the clouds become out
02:00:32of sight. Add a little wind to blow the rain in your direction, and tada! You get sun showers!
02:00:40Located in Bolivia is a place called Salar de Uyuni. It's the largest salt flat in the
02:00:46world. It's also the home of half of the world's lithium, which is a crucial component
02:00:51for making batteries. But what else is so special about this place? Well, whenever the
02:00:56rain season comes, it turns this piece of flat land into a perfectly reflective mirror
02:01:02lake.
02:01:04What comes to your mind when you hear about the Blood Falls? A horror movie? Well, they
02:01:09are merely a series of waterfalls located in one of the driest regions of Antarctica.
02:01:15They emerge from an underground lake filled with a special kind of bacteria. These little
02:01:20organisms use sulfates as fuel instead of sugars, which makes them very intriguing for
02:01:25scientists. The water contained in this lake is so full of iron that it basically just
02:01:30rusts when it meets the air. Hence the reddish color of the waterfall, which also gives it
02:01:36its trademark name.
02:01:38Ok, we all know the song, but it's not really made up. There is actually such a thing called
02:01:44a desert rose. It's not a plant, though, but a unique form of the mineral gypsum. It
02:01:50develops in dry sandy places that can occasionally flood. This constant switching between a wet
02:01:56and dry environment lets the gypsum crystals emerge between grains of sand, trapping them
02:02:01and forming a rose-like shape.
02:02:04Ever heard of the Eye of Sahara? Scientists are still trying to figure out how it was
02:02:10formed. You can only see it if you fly above it, but it's basically a naturally formed
02:02:15dome that dates back to approximately 100 million years ago. And no, I wasn't around
02:02:21then. It has a rough diameter of 25 miles and consists of a bunch of concentric rings.
02:02:27The biggest one, or the central area, measures about 19 miles in diameter. Astronauts were
02:02:33some of the first people to notice it, and it's been studied ever since. In fact, even
02:02:39to this day, when landing in Florida, they know they're almost home when they see the
02:02:44Eye of Sahara.
02:02:46One of the most beautifully colored trees in the world is located in the Philippines
02:02:50and Indonesia. It's called the rainbow eucalyptus. It got its name because of its bark that switches
02:02:57colors and peels away as the tree ages. The bright green bark is the youngest, as it
02:03:03contains a substance called chlorophyll, usually found in leaves. It then switches to purple
02:03:09and then to the color red. And finally, it turns brown as it grows and loses the chlorophyll.
02:03:16Don't be tricked into thinking that's a whole forest. It's one single tree. And
02:03:21no, it's not some sort of optical illusion either. Let me explain. Underneath that soil,
02:03:27there is a complex network of roots that connects around 47,000 tree-like shapes you see above
02:03:34the ground. It's called the quaking aspen. Some of these trees are among the oldest and
02:03:40largest organisms in the world.
02:03:43Now here's a good destination for all travelers. Or maybe not so good, after all. The most
02:03:48lightning-stricken area in the world, according to recent data released by NASA, is Lake Maracaibo
02:03:55in Venezuela. Out of all the days in a year, 300 of them feature thunderstorms in this
02:04:01location. What makes this area so unique, though, that storms happen so often? Well,
02:04:07it's because where cool mountain air meets the warm moist breeze and generates electricity
02:04:12over the lake.
02:04:14The Eternal Flame Falls are located in upstate New York, near the Canadian border. In this
02:04:20region, there is a tiny waterfall with a big secret – a spark about 8 inches tall. Turns
02:04:27out there's a natural gas seep that provides fuel to the flame behind the waterfall. The
02:04:32waterfall provides enough coverage so that it stays lit pretty much every time. Hikers
02:04:37do enjoy to relight it if they see that it's been blown out. This phenomenon is actually
02:04:43quite common, but this one gained more popularity because it is younger than most. And it looks
02:04:49very good in pictures, let's be honest.
02:04:52I've heard of yellow sand, white sand, and even black sand here or there. But I've
02:04:57never heard of green beaches until now. Papakolea, also known as Green Sand Beach, is located
02:05:04in Hawaii and is one of the few beaches in the world that features green sand. The unique
02:05:09coloring comes from olivine rock that was formed when a nearby volcano erupted. Actually,
02:05:15in Hawaii, all the volcanoes are nearby.
02:05:19Move over, green sands, because some of the other beaches around the world can even glow
02:05:24at night. And it's completely natural. The culprit? A little thing called photoplankton,
02:05:30or microalgae as they're sometimes called. They're basically little plants that contain
02:05:36chlorophyll and need sunlight in order to live and grow.
02:05:40Most photoplankton kinds are able to float in the upper part of the ocean, where the
02:05:44sunlight can still reach them beneath the water. When the photoplankton gets agitated
02:05:49by the movement of waves and currents, they emit light, which looks like some glow during
02:05:54the night. These special microorganisms are found on beaches in a lot of places around
02:06:00the world, such as the Maldives, Puerto Rico, and the Everglades.
02:06:05At the base of a mountain located just outside of Afton, Wyoming, is a little river called
02:06:11the Intermittent Spring. There are only three of this kind in the whole world, but what
02:06:16makes this little string of water so mysterious? Well, the fact that it starts and stops every
02:06:21few minutes. Scientists have yet to pinpoint precisely why this happens. They speculate
02:06:27that it's basically just a siphon effect that happens deep within the ground that causes
02:06:32the river to just start and stop so often. Should you ever be interested in checking
02:06:37it out, be sure to do so in the late summer, as that's when the Intermittent Spring is
02:06:42most active. Do you see the irony here? You can only see the spring in the summer? Okay,
02:06:49I'm done. That's it for today, so hey, if you pacified
02:06:52your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends! Or if you
02:06:56want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!