Mind-Bending Facts Presents You: US Natural Phenomena!
The United States of America is one of the best countries in the world, and it’s incredibly beautiful. You can swim in the ocean and see the underwater life, or you could have fun on the sandy beaches, stay under the palm trees, climb the most precious mountains, and the list can go on.
But as gorgeous as America is, many people know it through different enigmas, which they call US natural phenomena. There are some secrets around the territory that make people smile or give them shivers down their spines. These US natural phenomena that we’ll talk about in today’s article are so unusual that they seem to come straight from a science fiction film. But they’re real!
Whether they’re understandable or not, they’re indeed fantastic and worthy of being discovered by everyone. We decided to take a trip around the 50 states of the country and discover all those impressive US natural phenomena. Are you ready to catch a glimpse of these enigmas? Buckle up, because we’re going places!
1. A colorful swamp in Florida
Let’s start off this list of US natural phenomena by talking about a colorful swamp that you can find in the state of Florida. It’s a beautiful place that looks like a colored glass floor, and it’s absolutely breathtaking. This beautiful effect appears when the oil released by deteriorating vegetation drifts into the joint water of the Sunshine State’s wetlands, and a sort of rainbow appears on the water.
Those slicks of oil reflect that beautiful sunlight into the bushes and trees around them, making the entire scenery vibrant and fairytale-y. Of course, this popular phenomenon can make an appearance in any swamp in the world, regardless of the time of the year, but it’s even more spectacular when it’s humid outside and there’s not a cloud in the sky.
US natural phenomena, get ready, because here we come!
2. Yellowstone’s geysers
If you’ve ever been to Yellowstone Park, you surely know that this place is one of the prettiest in our country! Of course, it’s part of a natural phenomenon in the US, but it’s one of the attractions that brings plenty of tourists there.
Experts say that those beautiful and natural attractions have been there for more than half a million years, impressing everyone with their gorgeous colors. It seems that the connection between the groundwater and the volcanic activity is responsible for hot springs, fumaroles, geysers, and mud pots.
As pretty as these US natural phenomena look, it might be best not to get too close to them because some of them can be pretty dangerous, and Yellowstone’s geysers are part of that.
For instance, the boiling hot water of hot springs, which is captured in channels that go to the surface, blows up when the steam that’s in the interior layers of the volcanic caldera brings up the cooler water in the layers at the surface, which then causes geysers.
Old Faithful is the most popular volcano in Yellowstone Park, and it erupts every 45 to 100 minutes. You can take pictures or film, but don’t get too close, because those extreme temperatures can hurt you like you can’t even imagine.
3. Death Valley’s sailing stones
We’re just at the beginning of the US natural phenomena journey, but the thing that we’re going to talk about right now is pretty impressive. Have you ever heard of sailing stones? According to different sources, in 1933, Death Valley National Park was established as a natural monument.
Even though the name isn’t exactly the prettiest, beauty is truly there. The main attractions that you could see there are those interesting sailing stones, which are a mystery that scientists have tried for many years to solve.
These rocks range in weight from a couple of hundred pounds to more than 700 pounds, and they move every single winter. What’s interesting is that nobody could explain how those huge stones kept moving without any animal or human intervention.
After much time spent trying to discover what makes those massive rocks move, researchers finally realized that this incredible phenomenon is caused by strong winds.
What helped them uncover the enigma were time-lapse photographs that he took in the early 2010s. They also performed different investigations and saw that the wind was so strong that it could easily move those rocks over delicate sheets of melting ice.
Moreover, they discovered that ice melts and then moves when it’s exposed to the sweet and warming morning light, and the entire process is known as ice shove.
Did you know about any of these US natural phenomena?
4. Lunar rainbows
Generally known as moonbows, lunar rainbows are also a US natural phenomenon that scientists tried to explain for many years, and their efforts paid off. You already know how gorgeous a rainbow looks, and it generally makes people happy when they look at it.
However, this US natural phenomenon is even prettier than a rainbow, and it’s called a moonbow. It’s way rarer than a rainbow, and it only appears when the moon is near or in its full phase.
Moreover, in order for a lunar rainbow to appear, the moon has to be low in the sky, about an hour after sunset or before sunrise, to see its full beauty.
Experts say that the reason why this impressive moonbow might appear is that different water sources, such as breaking waves, waterfalls, or rain, might cause water droplets to remain in the air, and the visual phenomenon is then caused with the help of light. Pretty impressive, right?
5. Thor’s Well
Have you ever heard about Thor’s Well? It’s on the list of US natural phenomena that we have to discover together. The Oregon near Cape Perpetua seems like a magical place at first but the closer the high tide is, everything transforms into something unusual and potentially scary.
As time flies by and the Pacific Ocean gets closer and closer to the shore, Thor’s Well, which is a sinkhole as deep as 20 feet, makes its appearance, leaving all the spectators speechless. Immediately after this interesting phenomenon appears, the water starts overflowing and then erupting to impressive heights of around 25 feet.
Thor’s Well is a part of the most breathtaking US natural phenomena because, during winter storms, the large quantity of water that flows and then ejects through that rock cavity seems like it’s straight out of a pirate’s story. As much as you might want to get closer and try to understand what you see, don’t forget to keep your distance, because it can be pretty dangerous.
Are these US natural phenomena your thing? Leave a comment down below and let us know what you think!
6. San Diego bioluminescent shore
There are many US natural phenomena that are worth talking about, and they surely can make everyone lose their breath. At least this is what the San Diego bioluminescent shore does to people, and it surely happened to me when I saw the pictures. I’ve never been there, but I have to admit that it looks so good that I think that’s going to be my next trip next summer.
If you go to San Diego beaches during the night in the last weeks or days of summer, you’ll be amazed to see some glowing, neon blue sparkle light up the water. The entire scenery seems unreal and unexplainable, and it will surely make you ask some questions.
Experts say that this event happens because there are some microorganisms called Dinoflagellates that travel back and forth on those calming and peaceful ocean waves.
If you plan on going on a road trip to see this beauty with your own eyes, you don’t have to go specifically to San Diego because you can also see these pretty neon lights on different beaches along Cali’s coastline.
Which one of these US natural phenomena do you think is the most gorgeous? If you want to discover more about the inexplicable US natural phenomena or any other events in the world, check out this amazing book here!
Until next time, here’s another article about some mind-bending facts that you have to know about: These 7 Scary Facts About Antibiotics That Will Change Your Mind Forever!
