BRYCE CANYON INTRODUCTIONNational Park Service
From breathtaking canyons to jewel-encrusted mines, discover some of the most spectacular natural landscapes from around the world
BRYCE CANYON INTRODUCTIONNational Park Service
There are some landscapes that are so colorful, so unique, so magical, so downright strange, that it’s hard to imagine they're even real. Just to look at them gives you the feeling that you’re on a far-off planet or have stepped into a fantasy land. The only thing that remains is to take a look at these photos and decide which one you're going to visit first.
1. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA
The striking structures and breathtaking chasms of canyons are typically formed by flowing water (like that of the Colorado River which formed the Grand Canyon) which, over time, eats away at the surrounding rock and gouges out the bottom of the river bed.
BRYCE CANYON INTRODUCTIONNational Park Service
Bryce Canyon, however, with its unique “hoodoo” rock spire formations like the ones shown here, was formed mostly by the erosional activity of freezing and thawing water known as “frost wedging.” There are more “hoodoos” in Bryce than anywhere else in the world. The hoodoos typically range in size from as short as the average human being to as tall as a 10-story building!
By Eliot ElisofonLIFE Photo Collection
Vast rock formations of Bryce Canyon, Eliot Elisofon, 1958 (From the collection of LIFE Photo Collection)
2. Cappadocia, Turkey
Another unique place shaped by the forces of erosion is the volcanic landscape of Cappadocia, in Turkey. Cappadocia also boasts “hoodoos”—or “fairy chimneys”—like those seen in Bryce, but the landscape has also been sculpted by a force as powerful as the elements: human activity.
Rhythms of Life, Turkey (2007/2007) by Andrew RogersRhythms of Life
Rhythms of Life, Turkey, 2007, Andrew Rogers (From the collection of Rhythms of Life)
The presence of people in the region dates back to 4th-century monastic communities, who lived among the rocky ruins in cells and subterranean cities hewn out of the native stone, some of which are still visible today. The area is also quite famous for its hot air balloon rides, a popular tourist attraction above this surrealist landscape.
Time and Space Land Art Park, Turkey (2011-10-18/2011-10-18) by Andrew RogersRhythms of Life
Time and Space Land Art Park, Turkey, 2011, Andrew Rogers (From the collection of Rhythms of Life)
3. Aqua Azul Waterfalls on the Yax-Ha River - Chiapas, Mexico
These gorgeous blue-tinted (“azul” in Spanish) cascades spill over a riverbed of limestone in Chiapas in southern Mexico. The bright blue hue of the pools is, amazingly, real, and is due to the high mineral content of the water, which is rich in lime from the stone deposits. The falls are best viewed for their vibrant blueness in the dry season that lasts from December to May, when the water is not murky from the heavy rains.
Agua Azul waterfalls on the Yax-Ha River - Chiapas, MexicoHUMAN
Agua Azul waterfalls on the Yax-Ha River - Chiapas, Mexico (From the collection of HUMAN)
4. Nathorstbreen Glacier on the Island of Spitsbergen - Svalbard, Norway
Though one typically thinks of glaciers as static, rigid things, made from frozen chunks of ice and snow, the Nathorstbreen Glacier on the Island of Spitsbergen, in Norway, is what’s known as a ‘pulsating glacier’, which means it actually goes through cycles of advancing and retreating, sometimes moving as much as 20 meters per day, which is ten times faster than a normal glacier.
Nathorstbreen Glacier on the Island of Spitsbergen - Svalbard, NorwayHUMAN
Nathorstbreen Glacier on the Island of Spitsbergen - Svalbard, Norway (From the collection of HUMAN)
5. Pico do Itabirito Mine – Gerais Mine, Brazil
In southeastern Brazil, in the region of Minas Gerais, there exists one of the largest mineral deposits in the country, including astonishing deposits of iron ore, gold, emeralds, and tourmaline. When exploration of the remote region began in the 1800s, explorers mistook the brilliantly-colored tourmaline for emeralds.
The Pico do Itabirito Mine is just one of the many mines in the area, activity from which produces the vibrant colors shown in this photo as Earth’s inner technicolor beauty is uncovered.
Pico do Itabirito Mine – Gerais Mine, BrazilHUMAN
Pico do Itabirito Mine – Gerais Mine, Brazil (From the collection of HUMAN)
6. Antarctica - Adelie Land
The region known as Adelie Land in eastern Antarctica is a barren land of snow and ice that stretches over 150,000 square miles from the Indian Ocean inland. “Katabatic” or “downsloping” winds frequently whip through the area, driving snow and ice violently out to sea in a display of nature’s fury worthy of the desolate Arctic setting to which Frankenstein’s monster retreats after being rejected by human society in Mary Shelley’s famous novel.
Antarctica - Adelie LandHUMAN
Antarctica Adelie Land (From the collection of HUMAN)
7. Lençóis Maranhenses National Park – State of Maranhão, Brazil
Is this the surface of Jupiter? A cup of coffee the second after a swirling cloud of cream has been added to it? Surprisingly, no. It’s actually a bird’s-eye view of the sand dune lagoons formed along the northeastern coast of Brazil in the state of Maranhao (the name literally means “the bedsheets of Maranhao” in Portuguese). Two rivers in the region push sand and sediment from deep inland all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, where strong winds that occur during the dry-season months of October and November of each year then push it back nearly 30 miles, creating the beautiful sand dune lagoons seen here. Some reach lengths of nearly 300 feet and depths of more than 10.
Lençóis Maranhenses National Park – State of Maranhão, BrazilHUMAN
Lençóis Maranhenses National Park – State of Maranhão, Brazil (From the collection of HUMAN)
