The ultimate shape-shifter, water exhibits its fair share of weirdness. Here are some of Earth's more unusual water features.
An underwater sinkhole about 40 miles off the coast of mainland Belize, the Great Blue Hole is considered one of the world's best diving spots. More than 400 feet deep, the collapsed cave is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Antarctica's eerie Blood Falls flows from the end of the Taylor Glacier into ice-covered Lake Bonney. The water comes from a buried saltwater reservoir rich in iron. The liquid oxidizes at the surface, giving it that gruesome hue. At left, a tent provides a sense of scale.
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Rivers have their own way of meandering through the world. The Colorado River meanders in spectacular fashion at Horseshoe Bend near Page, Arizona. An overlook 1,000 feet above the river provides a sinuous view.
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In Turkey, calcite-laden waters have created Pamukkale (Cotton Palace). Terraced basins, petrified waterfalls and mineral forests dot the otherworldly landscape, which is close to the ruins of the Greco-Roman spa town of Hierapolis.
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The Dallol hydrothermal field is northeast of the Erta Ale Range in one of the lowest and hottest areas of the desolate Danakil Depression in Ethiopia. The Dallol craters are the Earth's lowest known subaerial volcanic vents. Salty hot springs featuring a rich palette of colors dot the area. There are hot yellow sulphur fields among the white salt beds.
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Bubble gum-pink Lake Hillier is a nearly 2,000-foot-wide lake on Middle Island, the largest of the Recherche island chain in the state of Western Australia. The remote lake is accessible via plane or boat excursion from nearby Esperance. The cause of the Lake Hillier's color isn't fully known. A high level of salinity and dye-producing bacteria are possible sources of the distinctive hue.
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In mid- to late February, Yosemite National Park's Horsetail Fall appears to be on fire, thanks to the sunset's reflection. The fall flows from about December to April, but the fiery effect is visible only when the sun hits it at a certain time of year.
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The Rio Tinto in southwestern Spain runs through a mineral-rich area that has been mined for thousands of years. Iron deposits in the water give the river its reddish color.
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Dominica's Boiling Lake is a flooded volcanic fumarole in Morne Trois Pitons National Park, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A fumarole is a steam vent in the Earth's surface. Boiling Lake's bubbling blue-gray water is usually shrouded in a cloud of vapor.
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The Kimberley region of Western Australia is home to the Horizontal Falls. Twice a day, a tidal variation of up to 10 meters empties and fills two adjacent narrow gorges in Talbot Bay, creating gushing "pinch rapids."
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Located near the city of Osoyoos in British Columbia, the mineral-rich Spotted Lake contains high levels of magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulphates. In the summer, most of the lake's water evaporates, revealing a bed of mineral deposits.
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Called "The Liquid Rainbow" and "The River of Five Colors," Colombia's Caño Cristales River puts on a splashy show each year between July and November. An eruption of colorful algae brings a predominantly blood-red color to the river when the water levels are right. Guides offer tours of the area, which is part of the national park Sierra de La Macarena in the department of Meta.
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The largest hot spring in Yellowstone National Park, Grand Prismatic Spring in Wyoming is about 300 feet (90 meters) across and 165 feet (50 meters) deep. At 188 degrees Fahrenheit, the bright blue water at the center of the pool is too hot to support life, but bacteria and algae thrive along the edges. The heat-loving bacteria produce orange, yellow and red pigments as a natural sunscreen, creating the spring's psychedelic look.
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Yellowstone is teeming with weird geothermal water features. Old Faithful geyser erupts more frequently than any of the other large geysers in the park, with intervals ranging from 60 to 110 minutes. The water reaches an average height near 130 feet (40 meters). A geyser is a hot spring with constrictions in the pipes, usually near the surface.
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This colorful curiosity in Black Rock Desert in Washoe County, Nevada, is largely unknown because it's not open to the public. But the owners of Fly Geyser do offer occasional tours, and it's visible from the road. Evidently a man-made accident, this formation grew after a hole drilled in the Earth began to spew geothermally heated water. The resulting buildup is this fantastic fountain.
courtesy Jeremy C. Munns
Lake Natron along the Great Rift Valley in Tanzania is extremely salty, hot and inhospitable to most plants and animals. However, flamingos and other wetland birds thrive here alongside a species of alkaline tilapia and the salt-loving microorganisms that give the water an otherworldly red hue.
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At the foot of the half-submerged volcano El Golfo, Lago Verde is a green lagoon filled with minerals and micro-organisms. The striking body of water is located on the island of Lanzarote in Spain's Canary Islands.