The world is a wonderful place, and with modern technology, many more wonderful things are being discovered. Definitely, most of us cannot travel all over the world, which is why we research to open up the planet and bring pictures to view places we cannot visit physically.
1. THE PLAIN OF JARS, LAO
The Plain of Jars is one of the oldest
archeological mysteries in Southeast Asia. Located on the plateau of Xieng
Khouang, in the mountains of Indochina, there are about 90 different jar sites.
Each site contains from 1 to 400 jars. It has been estimated that they were
created 3,000 years ago, and are made of sandstone, limestone, granite,
breccias and conglomerate, with the majority being made of sandstone. The
tallest jar is about 9 foot tall and all are made from their own individual
slab of stone. At first glance, they appear to be haphazardly placed, with some
standing upright and others on their sides, pointing in different directions.
Further studies have revealed that the jars are placed in positions that
correspond with the constellation patterns of the stars. There has been lots of
speculation about the purpose of the jars: drinking glasses for a giant race,
being used to collect rainwater, or as burial urns. Most of the jars are empty,
but a few have been found with bodies or tools inside, or filled with miniature
Buddha statues. Exploration is difficult as the area is littered with
unexploded bombs from the Secret War.
Spotted Lake of Osoyoos was sacred to the
First Nations of Okanagan Valley Indians. Osoyoos means narrowing waters in the
Okanagan language, and is used to describe what happens to the lake. The lake
is a saline Endorheic lake, which means it is a closed body of water with no
outflow or inflow from other bodies of water. The lake has high concentrates of
many different minerals, and contains some of the highest quantities of
magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulfates in the world. There are also
eight other lesser minerals in the water, including small amounts of silver and
titanium. The minerals in the lake are very beneficial, and were mined during
WWI to use in the making of ammunition for the war. The minerals are what give
the lake its uniqueness. During the summer, as the water evaporates, spots are
formed which have different colors depending on which mineral is most present.
The spots crystallize and form walkways of different colors. The colors can be
white, yellow, blue or green. The lake is on private property and they allow
very little public access.
Cano Cristales is a river located in the
Serrania de la Macarena Mountains. The area where the river is found is so
remote that you can only get there by horse, donkey, or on foot. Cano Cristales
is filled with waterfalls, rapids, wells, and hollows; with water so clear you
can see all the way to the bottom. During most of the year the river seems like
any other, with the water coursing over green algae rocks. Then during the
period of time between September to November, the river transforms, becoming a
river of color. The algae in the water produce a riot of colors: red, blue,
green, black and yellow line the river. This river has no fish because of the
complexity of the channels. Cano Cristales has been called “The River of Five
Colors”, ‘The Liquid Rainbow” and “The River That Ran Away From Paradise.”
The Rio Tinto runs from the Sierra Moreno
Mountains down to the Gulf of Cádiz in Huelva, Spain. Rio Tinto translates into
red river and this is exactly how the river appears. High levels of iron in the
water cause the red coloring of the river. The river has been mined for copper,
gold and silver from ancient times, and continues as of today. The Rio Tinto
has the oldest mines in the world, which are believed to be the fabled King
Solomon’s mines. Due to all the mining, the river has a high acidic content and
is home to organisms that survive in extreme conditions. This has led to
scientific study of the river, used in the study of the underground lakes of
Mars and Jupiter. The link to outer space seems appropriate, as the Rio Tinto area
has an alien lunar like landscape. The mining has created walls of terraced
rock that has formed a natural amphitheater.
Fly Geyser was accidentally created in 1916
while drilling a well for water, though they didn’t start forming until 1960.
The spot picked had an unknown geothermal area. The heated water eventually
found a weak spot in the well and pushed itself to the surface. The minerals
started building up to create a mini volcano of about 5 ft. tall, with layers
of terraces. The terraces have different colors from the minerals in the water
and the geothermal water has found more weak spots to create two more geysers
nearby. The water spouts continuously and fills holes and hollows in the
terraces, to give the area a surreal look. Water, where there isn’t much water
to begin with has attracted swans, ducks, and other animals to the area. Fish
also swim through the ponds, introduced by an unknown human dropping the eggs
in the water.
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