15 MOST Mysterious Landforms

the Earth is full of Wonders but some land forms defy explanation from strange formations carved by unknown forces to Landscapes that seem almost other worldly here are 15 of the most mysterious land forms ever discovered number 15 CI Lake in Kazakhstan Ki lake or CI Lake which is in the tianan mountains of Southeastern Kazakhstan was only formed relatively recently after a massive Limestone landslide in 1911 to create a 1300 foot or 400 m deep lake the result today is an underwater wonder that Fields almost otherworldly especially as after more than a century the trees have

not been fully decayed adding to this effect is the way that the nutrients in tree trunks have actually encouraged the growth of algae and other underwater plants so really beneath the surface the forest is getting bigger and greener it has become a truly bizarre place to visit and to begin with you have to travel to the middle of nowhere in the mountain range Far From Any City and to an altitude of over 6,000 ft once you get there you'll find that the lake has what seems like an unnaturally Vivid blue or green color which changes

because of the varying mineral contents in it and then you'll begin to notice the forest through the Clear Water this Clarity allows you to see far beneath the surface and see the submerged trees in incredible detail it's a place where Nature has created something entirely unique thanks to its location at a random set of events it's something unlike anything else you'll see on Earth number 14 The Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming is undoubtedly one of the most iconic and mysterious natural formations in all of the United States standing

above the plains of Northeastern Wyoming it reaches a height of 867 ft or 264 M and strangely is unlike anything else in the region it's been an important place for so long that in September of 1906 President Roosevelt made it the first United States National Monument which has protected it from Human interference and damage ever since the name Devil's Tower was given to it during an expedition in 1875 after apparently mistakingly translating a local name to mean that but the people who had lived in the region for far longer have known it by various other

names such as bear's house or tree rock or even Brown buffalo horn quite how it was formed remains a mystery as while scientists do have theories no one can definitively explain it the most widely accepted explanation is that Devil's Tower is what's left of an ancient volcanic intrusion which is where a core of magma solidified underground and was then exposed as the surrounding softer Rock was eroded there are some problems with that theory though mainly as there's no evidence of volcanic activity around the tower itself so that's pretty strange that such a massive structure could

have formed in the middle of a relatively flat landscape one of the most visually unusual aspects of the tower is its unique jointing the tower's sides are made up of hundreds of long hexagonal Columns of Rock which appeared to have been perfectly chiseled well it is though a natural phenomenon which is understood scientifically but it still looks and feels deliberate as if the tower were a structure designed by ancient beings the Lota sue for example tell the story of a group of girls who were chased by a giant bear and to escape this the girls

prayed to the great spirit who caused the ground beneath them to rise into the sky lifting them out of reach the Bear in its rage clawed at the sides of the newly formed Tower leaving behind the Deep vertical grooves that are visible today in the absence of any scientific explanation who's to say that that one isn't rooted in the real truth number 13 sakra in Yemen covering an area of about, 1400 square miles or 3700 square kilm cotra is an island archipelago that's just off the coast of Yemen in the Arabian Sea there are four

main islands the largest of which is also called cotra and they're known for their bizarre Landscapes and unique biodiversity this is because they've been isolated from the mainland for many millions of years which has allowed Evolution to have a chance to go in different directions than anywhere else on Earth leading to the formation of rather mysterious places to begin with the vegetation is unlike anything else you'll see its most famous plant for example is the dragon's blood tree which has an umbrella-shaped canopy and thick branches with a blood red resin that's believed to have medicinal

and magical properties local folklore says that the dragon's blood tree is connected to ancient rituals and that the island landscape was one once home to Giants who planted them another plant that's unique to cotra is the desert rose which is a thick stem tree with bulbous roots and pink flowers that makes the most of the Island's arid climate its swollen trunk stores water and then shrinks again as this water is used before it's able to replenish most of sra's 825 plant species over a third of which are found nowhere else on earth have shapes and

features like these that seem more suited to a different planet than our own animal life 2 is kind of a usual on cotra and while there aren't any large mammals or dangerous predators there are a wide variety of unique birds reptiles and invertebrates the cotra Sunbird stands out as a brilliantly colored bird that's found only on the island as is the cotra comant which is a distinctly different subspecies there's also several species of geckos skinks and spiders that are found nowhere else all making this feel truly like a special place number 12 the Giants Causeway

in Ireland no trip to the coastline of County Anum in Northern Ireland is complete without a visit to the Giants Causeway which is one of the most mysterious looking natural formations featuring around 40,000 interlocking Basalt columns that seem too geometric and perfectly positioned to have been shaped purely by Nature these columns most of which are hexagonal form a massive stepped Causeway that leads out into the North Atlantic to make things even stranger different lighting conditions can make the columns appear to change change color beginning as a deep gray and black to reddish and golden colors

during sunset these precise shapes seem almost too perfect but they are in fact the result of volcanic activity that took place around 50 million years ago even though geologists can't explain the process behind the formation the scale and Perfection of this Causeway make it feel very different from other natural phenomena and it's no surprise that there have been plenty of other explanations over the years that's because according to Irish Legend it was built by a giant named Finn mul as a bridge to Scotland so he could confront his rival the Scottish Giant benadon in this

version of the tale when Finn saw how enormous benadon was he fled back to Ireland but not before his wife disguised him as a baby when benadon saw the size of the baby he assumed that the father must be a truly colossal Giant and retreated to Scotland tearing up the causeway behind him to prevent Finn from following it is a myth that has become so deeply important in Irish culture that it's become forever linked with the sight of self and a huge part of the local identity and history number 11 Mount Rima in South America

Mount Rima is an incredibly flat topped Mountain that marks the borders of Venezuela Brazil and Guana reaching a height of 9,219 Ft or 2,810 m above the surrounding jungle this Table Mountain or toui is a part of the ancient Gana Shield which is one of the Earth's oldest geological formations the result of this is that the plateau toe on top which covers an area of around 12 square mil or about 31 Square km has been cut off from the rest of the world for millions of years the mountain Summit is a strange place with large

carnivorous plants such as the Roa pitcher plant and peculiar endemic frogs that thrive in these Cloud forests it is uniquely cut off from everywhere else with the cliffs that surround the mountain Rising vertically for hundreds of feet making it seem like a fortress in the sky its flat Summit is covered with strange rock formations which have formed over Millennia by wind and rain that take on a bizarre almost unbelievable shape some of these formations even look like ancient ruins or statues leading early explorers to believe that they were looking at the remains of a long-forgotten

civilization for local communities though particularly the pon and Capon tribes Mount Rima is a deeply sacred Place their Legends tell of the mountain as the stump of a giant tree that once held all the fruits and vegetables in the world they believed that the tree was though cut down by one of their ancestors which caused a great flood and left Mount Rima behind as the only place to survive number 10 dead vly Namibia dead vly which is in namibia's Namib knof National Park is surely one of the most mysterious landscapes in the world as part

of the Namib Desert dead is actually an ancient clay pan with a name that means dead Marsh in reference to the barren lifeless feel of the area across this odd landscape the thing that you'll notice first St the dead camelthorn trees which are thought to be around 900 years old these skeletal trees which have been charred by the unforgiving Desert Sun have not decomposed because the climate here is simply too dry for microorganisms to begin the process of Decay these trees which have been preserved in a state of strange Stillness give the dead vly an

unsettling atmosphere it hasn't always been like this though the area was once an oasis that was fed by the Sha river which depending on rainfall elsewhere would occasionally flow through through the desert and allow the camelthorn trees to grow Over time however the sandunes in the desert shifted and eventually cut off the flow of the river which then left the area without any water the trees died but because it was so arid now they were never able to decompose a dead light turned into the ghostly landscape that it is today it has such a mysterious

atmosphere with the dry cracked white clay Pan and the sand dunes around it the dunes themselves are some of the highest in the world with some reaching up to almost 1,000 ft or 300 M High the Bold color comes from the high iron content that's in the sand that's oxidized over millions of years creating a unique and mysterious landscape number nine The moraki Boulders in New Zealand The moraki Boulders which can be found on kooi beach along the otago coast of New Zealand's South Island is one of the most unusual natural wonders in a country

known for its stunning environments there're a series of large spherical Boulders some of which measure 6 and 1/2 ft wide or 2 m in diameter and are scattered across the beach and their smooth almost perfectly round shapes have long been a mystery even though science has now been able to give an explanation for their formation there is still something mystical about this site and it remains hugely important to local beliefs in geological terms there what's known as a septarian concretion which were formed around 60 million years ago the boulders began forming on the ocean floor

when minerals such as calite slowly began to accumulate around a central core in a similar way to how pearls form inside of an oyster over millions of years further layers compressed those formations and resulted in the round stone-like structures we see but despite there being this explanation there's no doubt that the moraki boulders look like they've been purposefully put there because of their size and near perfect spherical shape while similar Boulders can be found in a few places around the world such as on the shores of North America and Costa Rica the Mori Boulders are

unique because of how large and similar to one another that they are some Boulders have even naturally cracked over time and have revealed intricate honeycomb like patterns inside these internal structures are known as the septaria and are actually formed of mineral deposits that have crystallized in geometric patterns but according to local Maui Legend The Boulders are the remains of calabashes eel baskets and gourds that were washed ashore after the AR uru which was a great ancestral canoe was Shipwrecked along the coast with the nearby Cliffs believed to represent the Petrified remains of the wrecked canoe

well for some then the boulders have a great spiritual significance as they're all that's left of a great journey and a connection to ancestors however impressive The Boulders may be from a scientific perspective it's that spiritual link that makes them truly important and it ensures that they keep their air of mystery number eight Vulcan point in the Philippines while every geological formation in the world is unique in its own way there are very few of them that are completely unlike any other but Vulcan point is definitely one of them found within the tall volcano in

the Philippines it's long been a place that's interesting to scientists and those wanting to visit special places that's because Vulcan point is a volcanic island in a lake which itself is on an island in a lake which is also on an island surprisingly there are a handful of other places on Earth that can claim the same thing but Vulcans Point volcanic Origins along with the fact that its host volcano is still very much active is what ultimately makes it stand out volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines and its complex system

is what led to the development of this unusual land form Vulcan point is close to the western shore of Crater Lake which is the lake that fills the main Crater of the tall volcano now this volcano itself sits within the much larger tall Lake which fills a massive Caldera that was formed by an enormous prehistoric volcanic eruption tall lake is a major geological feature of the landscape of Luzan Island which is the largest and northernmost island in the Philippine archipelago but despite all the volcanic activity Vulcan Point has managed to remain intact something that's further

added to its mystery the most recent example of this took place in 2020 when a Time the island was covered in vegetation in January of that year there was a massive eruption that sent Ash as far as Metro Manila at first it was assumed that Vulcan point was completely destroyed but once things had settled it was still there that was despite the fact that all the vegetation had burned away and all of the water in the surrounding Lake had drain ped away through cracks in the volcano this water has though since returned and so too

has the vegetation and soon it'll seem as if the eruption never took place culturally tall volcano and the surrounding areas including Vulcan Point have then become integral part of local lore and mythology for centuries the tall region has been revered and feared by the local communities with stories of spirits and deities that are connected to the volcano and the lake some locals view the volcano as a living entity with Vulcan point and the surrounding Islands being integral parts of the larger mystical body of tall adding further cultural reverence to the mystery surrounding Vulcan Point moving

on to number seven the mount arabis ice towers in Antarctica Antarctica is of course the most inhospitable and difficult to explore continent on the planet because of the freezing temperatures ice sheets and unpredictable weather patterns and the more we learn of it the more mysterious and incredible it seems to be with bizarre structures found all over the place one of the most mysterious are the ice towers of Mount arabus which is the southernmost active volcano on Earth these structures are near the summit of this volcano and almost seem like they're guarding one of the most

remote environments of all Mount arabis itself is located on Ross Island and has been continuously active for decades with A continuous Lava Lake bubbling from within the crater this geothermal activity is what led to the formation of the ice towers which are essentially giant Hollow chimneys of ice that vent Steam from the volcano's internal geothermal system these towers develop when hot volcanic gases Escape through cracks in the ice and snow that cover the upper slopes of arabis and as the steam Rises and cools in the cold Antarctic air it freezes and gradually builds up forming

tall spires that can reach Heights of up to 60 ft or 18 M on a continent that's so associated with freezing temperatures and mostly lifeless these ice towers are alive with activity beneath their Frozen exteriors they continually release Steam and new ice is added as the steam cools and freezes these towers also seem pretty otherworldly with pristine White Ice against the dark Rocky surface of Mount arabus and their Hollow Interiors glow with a strange blue light that's the result of sunlight filtering through the thick ice early studies on Mount arabus have found the existence of

extremophiles in the cracks and crevices and they could well pave the journey to discovering life elsewhere in our solar system like on Mars or the moons of Jupiter or or Saturn in such a remote place and as an active volcanic environment which means it's dangerous even trying to get close to the mountain researchers who have been able to visit the towers say that there's an almost surreal atmosphere where the combination of freezing temperatures volcanic Heat and the silent presence of the towers creates a sense of being in a place unlike anywhere else number six H

cardor geothermal field in Iceland so I'm never going to pronounce this name correctly but the hordor GE thermal field in Iceland is one of the most mysterious landscapes in the country where the raw power of the earth is fully on display it's part of the larger Golden Circle route and it's a geothermal area that's home to some of Iceland's most famous hot springs and geysers including stur which erupts with Clockwork regularly every few minutes shooting boiling water High into the sky in many ways this is the spiritual home of geothermal activity with a Most Fascinating

aspect being the strange nature of the geysers themselves the field is home to several of them with the most famous being Geer which is the one that all other geysers from around the world would get their name from although Geer itself is now largely dormant today it used to erupt with spectacular Force sending boiling water 230 ft into the air Its Behavior though is completely erratic having gone through periods of dorcy and then sudden powerful Awakenings in fact earthquakes in the region are known to trigger geer's eruptions but predicting when or why such activity will

happen remains impossible showing just how much there's still to learn about this area the bubbling mud pools and steam vents scattered across this area further add to creating an alien looking landscape and the boiling sulfur-rich mud constantly churns creating a strange gurgling noise that seems to come from deep within the Earth well despite all the scientific understanding though the intensity and power of these geysers and the unpredictable nature of the geothermal field itself make it feel as though something else is at work too and there's much more to reveal about what's happening neath the surface

this site also holds a deep cultural and spiritual significance for the Icelandic people who have long seen their Island as a land shaped by powerful natural forces the geothermal fields are often associated with stories of the Hidden folk or elves who are believed to live in the rocks and Hills so perhaps it's them who can finally help to uncover its Secrets number five The Dana land form in China covering such a huge area China has some of the most beautiful and varied Landscapes of all from mountain ranges to vast deserts but by far the most

mysterious and spectacular is the Dana land form found mainly in the provinces of Gansu gou and Hunan it's a region that's known for its vividly colored rock formations in particular a series of red Sandstone Cliffs that Ripple across the environment like waves of fire the most famous examples of this landform can be seen in a national geologic Park in Gansu Province where the hills are painted in shades of red red orange yellow and green which have led to them being known as the Rainbow Mountains various minerals in the Rock like the iron oxide are what

give the formations their brilliant colors which seem to further change depending on the time of day and weather but while this basic method of formation is known it doesn't really explain everything though and the precise conditions that led to such intense coloration in specific areas Still Remains poorly understood the landform strange shapes from The Towering Peaks to the narrow ridges and deep Gorges are unlike anything else so there must have been something rare and unusual taking place there to make it all possible temples and shrines were often built into the cliffs here and this has

established the formation as somewhere that's connected to the Divine realm the large formations which are in some way set to resemble castles animals or human figures have directly inspired stories of the Gods and mythical creatures historically though it's been difficult to explore as many of these areas were remote and pretty tricky to reach isolated by rough terrain and deep valleys it's something that helped preserve the natural beauty of the landscape and as With It Out Of Reach it fell even more mysterious it's only been in recent years though with improved transportation and tourism infrastructure that

more people have been able to see the land form for themselves and to see how large it is with the constantly changing colors and on Misty Days the seemingly floating islands in the clouds makes you feel like you've been transported to somewhere truly special number four Mount Thor in in Canada Mount Thor which is on Baffin Island in nunev Canada is part of an iouk National Park known for its sheer Granite Cliffs an Arctic terrain it truly is a record-breaking Mountain because this is where you'll find the world's greatest vertical drop with a nearly 4,100

ft or 1250 M vertical Cliff face there's something quite humbling about the thought of standing up against it the mountain itself reaches an altitude of about 5495 ft or about 1675 M and while this is a little less than 1/5 of the height of Mount Everest Mount Thor is unusual in that it has one Cliff that rises directly above the valley floor beneath its sheer perfectly smooth Western face actually drops at a 105° angle so it overhangs slightly making it almost seem as if it's gravity defying well adding further to the Allure of Mount Thor

is its remote location it's high in the Arctic the mountain is surrounded by a vast icy Wilderness that's largely untouched the region experiences extreme weather conditions with temperatures that can plunge far below freezing even during the summer months the isolation and the brutal climate here make Mount Thor a difficult place to reach let alone explore for climbers Mount Thor despite not being as high as the world's most famous Peaks is a huge challenge the mountains near vertical face combined with the Arctic weather makes it one of the most difficult climbs in the world since the

first successful attempt in 1985 only a handful of climbers have managed to take it on and even few have been able to do so without facing significant obstacles along the way the difficulty of the climb along with the risk and unpredictability of the Arctic environment adds to the sense that mount Thor is more than just an ordinary Mountain but it's a true test of human endurance number three the 12 apostles in Australia the 12 apostles they're a series of limestone Stacks that seem to rise out of the Southern Ocean along Australia's Great Ocean Road and

even though they're one of the country's most recognizable landmarks there's a sense of mystery around them both in how they were formed and in the way that they're constantly changing the Towering Rock Stacks some of which reach as high as 164 ft or 50 m were not always isolated structures in the ocean over time though the continual power of the ocean waves and the prevailing winds carved away the softer Limestone Rock creating caves then arches and finally leaving Behind These freestanding columns surprisingly even though they're called the 12 apostles there were never actually 12 stacks

and originally there were just nine today though only eight of them remain standing after one collapsed in the sea in 2005 this constant erosion which continues to eat away at the stack shows that these formations are just temporary in the grand scheme of things the idea that these massive seemingly permanent structures won't be there forever or even for much longer adds a layer of mystery to them especially as from a human perspective they seem so strong and stable another reason why they've become such a famous landmark is is that depending on when they're viewed the

Limestone Stacks can take on a very different look at sunrise and sunset they glow in soft shades of orange and gold while on stormy days the ocean crashes violently against the base of the pillars covering them in mist and spray and transforming the normally peaceful landscape into a powerful and dangerous place number two is laa in Mexico thanks to modern technology we now have incredibly detailed maps of the entire planet's surface but before satellites were introduced cartographers relied on their experienced Sailors and explorers to know where the land masses were and their shape this did

often lead to small errors or even the belief that entire Islands existed where they didn't and there's one that to this day remains a complete mystery as to whether it was ever there or not known as Isa BHA it was a small island off the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico that for centuries was shown on maps and its existence wasn't in doubt at all in recent times though Expeditions have been unable to find any trace of it making it one of the biggest mysteries in cartography in the Gulf of Mexico the island

was first mentioned in Spanish Maps dating back to the 16th century described as a small reddish Island it was said to be around 100 nautical miles off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula it was only in the late 20th century as Mexico and the United States negotiated Maritime boundaries in the Gulf that it became politically important though because according to International maritime law the Island's existence would have major impact on the boundary line between each country's exclusive economic zones particularly in the oil Rich region known as the dut hole Mexico's territorial claims over a larger

section of this hugely valuable area depended heavily on that island being real in an attempt to prove its existence Expeditions were sent out in the 1990s but couldn't find any trace of it despite using modern mapping techniques satellite imagery and sonar researchers could find no trace of this ilaa where it was supposed to be either above or below the waves one of the more plausible theories is that this island may have eroded over time or sunk due to natural processes such as rising sea levels but even if this was the case you'd expect there still

to be a shallow Mound beneath the water and so far no one's been able to find it it's also quite possible that it was a ghost island or one that explorers mistakingly thought was there but was actually somewhere completely different this wasn't unheard of in the early days of mapmaking as most Maps would use earlier versions as a source mistakes like these could continue for centuries before anyone even noticed of course while the solution to this mystery is most likely one of those suggestions the absence of any certainty has led to some wild ideas too

some claim for example that it was deliberately destroyed by the United States to undermine Mexico's territorial claims there is of course no actual evidence to back that up but it shows just how invested some people are in this particular mystery and how far they'll go to use it to claim a much larger conspiracy number one mount kyash in Tibet the early 20th century was when explorers turned their attention to the highest peaks on Earth and with new technologies they were finally able to reach the summit of famous mountains like Everest K2 and many more there

are though still some that have never been climbed even though they aren't as tall and of these the most mysterious is Mount kyash located in the remote western region of Tibet it is one of the most sacred mountains in the world and holds an important place in a number of religions such as Hinduism Buddhism jism and Bon which sees it at the center of the spiritual Universe reaching a height of 21,000 ft or 6600 m above sea level it's not as tall as many others in the Himalayas but its unique pyramid shape and its location

have made it one of the most special it's thought that the reason why this mountain in particular was seen as so spiritually significant is the unusual G graphy around it whereby two of Asia's most important rivers the indis and the brahmaputra originate close by as do the Sut and the carnali a tributary of the Ganges this concentration of sacred water sources in the region has led many to see kyash as the naval of the world which provides Life Force to the vast lands around it the reason why no one has ever climbed the peak is

not because it's regarded as particularly difficult or to do so in comparison to any other but in respect of how revered of a place it is the Chinese government has expressly forbidden anyone to attempt to climb it and you certainly won't find any tour guides willing to help you while Outsiders may have a curiosity about conquering the mountain locals are highly protective of it and for good reason within the legends of Mount kyash it's believed that even attempting to climb it would bring disastrous consequences and that as a place for deities the Summit is simply

somewhere that was not designed for humans to set foot on perhaps one day that will all change but until then it will remain one of the most mysterious mountains of all thanks for watching Everybody I'll see you next time thank you to our channel members