There are so many mysteries on Earth… It's hard to even imagine. Mother Nature is full of surprises and constantly surprises with her possibilities.
Just think of how many things: rich flora and fauna, many minerals, substances and matter, physical and geographical phenomena and more. All this is sometimes arranged in a completely miraculous way, scientists are still racking their brains over some riddles.
And what are these geographical phenomena in nature? It's amazing how many of them, both incredibly beautiful and frightening and very dangerous for all living things. What are geographic phenomena? Examples can be given from different countries around the world.
What is a geographical phenomenon
For the first time we come across this concept at school, in geography lessons. Geographical phenomena are all natural phenomena that occur in the four shells of the Earth (atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere). That is, everything that we can see, hear or feel.
In the same way, all geographical phenomena can be divided into several groups depending on their origin - geological, geophysical, hydrological and meteorological. It could be optical illusionssky (rainbow, lights, bizarre clouds, halo), interesting tectonic formations (Eye of the Sahara, blue lava volcano), as well as hydrological "miracles" (pink lakes, brinicle).
We will look at the most amazing geographical phenomena (pictures are given in the article) and the history of their origin.
Eye of the Sahara
Rishat, or the Eye of the Sahara is a formation in the very center of the Sahara (in the west of Mauritania) with a diameter of about 50 km, which consists of concentric rings of different shades of blue. This phenomenon is clearly visible from space.
The origin of the "eye" was originally attributed to a meteorite impact, but studies have shown that the special silicon dioxide alloys that are usually formed in such cases have not been found.
Another version says that Rishat is a long-extinct volcano that collapsed inwards over millions of years.
Most modern version: The Eye of the Sahara is a truncated tectonic dome formed by erosion.
Finger of death, or brinicle
There are also terrifying geographic phenomena. This, for example, is the so-called finger of death, or brinicle. This phenomenon was first recorded only in 2011 in the Arctic, and it was discovered about 30 years ago.
Brinicle is an icicle hanging under water and somewhat reminiscent of a stalactite. Such an icicle is formed due to the fact that glacial s alt rushes to the bottom and freezes the water aroundmyself. Soon the s alt stream is covered with an ice crust and reaches the bottom. Therein lies its danger. Reaching the bottom, the brinicle continues to spread across the area, killing all life in its path.
Halo (Sun Halo)
Most likely, many of us have seen bright or even colored circles around the sun or moon in the sky. This is the halo.
This phenomenon is explained by the refraction or reflection of light by crystals of snow and ice that are in the atmosphere. As a rule, a halo appears in the presence of a light fog or cirrus clouds around the star. Interestingly, the phenomenon can be observed both during the day and at night.
Kawah Ijen blue lava volcano
In Indonesia, in East Java, there is the Ijen volcanic complex, and this volcano is part of it. Its main feature is the color of lava - it is blue. This effect can only be seen at night. Such geographical phenomena are beauty and danger at the same time. Here's why.
The color of the electric lava gives a large amount of sulfur contained in the mountain. When sulfur burns, lava turns icy purple and the area around it becomes highly toxic.
Daytime color of lava is usual - red, but at night - incredibly beautiful and attractive. The height of the flame can reach one and a half meters. Despite the attractiveness of such a spectacle, it must be observed from the side and at a safe distance.
St. Elmo's Fire
A rather mystical and mysterious phenomenon, which also has a simple nature. The pioneers of this phenomenon were sailors who managed to see the fires of St. Elmo on the masts of ships and other vertical objects with sharp edges.
These lights look like luminous spheres, and they arise due to the electric field of great intensity during a thunderstorm or storm (or in a short period before or after). This phenomenon can damage some electrical appliances.
Lake Hillier
Geographical phenomena in nature can be very attractive and not dangerous to people. These are various optical effects and physical manifestations. But the pink Lake Hillier in Australia can also be touched.
This is not a unique pink lake, there are others in the world. The color of the water in them is provided by special algae, crustaceans and microorganisms. But the riddle of Lake Hillier: what gives it such a color has not yet been solved.
Fire Rainbow
The fiery rainbow is not exactly the arc of the sky that we are used to seeing on a rainy day. This is a colored horizontal phenomenon in the sky, and it got its name because of its visual similarity to a burning flame.
This effect is actually created by ice. To do this, the sun in the sky must rise above the horizon above 58 degrees, and there must be cirrus clouds in the sky. This is the type of cloud you needbecause they consist of many horizontally arranged flat hexagonal ice crystals, which refract the sun's rays by analogy with a prism.
The coincidence of all the necessary conditions is extremely rare, so the fiery rainbow is also a rare occurrence.
Lenticular cloud
Very attractive geographical phenomena are lenticular (lenticular) clouds. Such clouds are formed, as a rule, on the crests of air currents or between layers of air. These clouds remain stationary no matter how strong the wind is.
Such a cloud is most often found on the lee side of a mountain at an altitude of 2 to 15 kilometers. But this phenomenon can also occur just in the air.
Green Beam of the Sun
Another effect that appears due to the refraction of sunlight. This phenomenon is subtle and can last from 2 to 10 seconds.
You can observe the green beam of the Sun at its sunset or sunrise, when the first, barely visible part of the Sun appears or disappears (“the last glimpse”) in green. Of course, the Sun itself doesn't turn green, it's just a fleeting optical effect.
Such geographical phenomena are, from the point of view of physics, the last ray, which is decomposed as a result of dispersion into a spectral fan. According to the rules, the last petal of such a fan should be purple, but since it is less visible to the human eye (worse reaches the earth's surface), we see greencolor.
As a rule, a green beam can be seen above the sea horizon or over any other body of water.
Fiery Star Rain
We all know that in August you can most often observe starfall. There is a tradition of making a wish on a shooting star. Shooting stars are very beautiful geographical phenomena. Examples can be found on all continents of the Earth, regardless of climate. It is only important that the sky is clear. But from a scientific point of view, everything is much simpler.
A "star" falling from the sky is a meteorite that enters the atmosphere and burns up before reaching the Earth. At the same time, we see a fiery trail stretching from him. The intensity of such a phenomenon, in order for it to be called a fiery rain, should be about 1000 passing meteors per hour.
Gloria
One of the very interesting geographical phenomena. You can see it at night in the mountains. This is a special optical phenomenon that occurs on clouds, the location of which is in front of the eyes or below them. Appears at a point directly opposite the light source.
If you light a fire in the mountains where there are low clouds, the shadow of a person (your shadow) will appear on these clouds, and a luminous halo (halo) will be visible around the head.
Chinese people call this phenomenon "the light of the Buddha". According to their beliefs, a colored halo always surrounds a person's shadow, and the degree of its brightness speaks of a person's enlightenment, that is, of proximity to Buddha and other gods.
Also, not so long ago, Gloria managed to fix onVenus.
Thus, we can conclude that we are surrounded by the most amazing geographical phenomena. These are examples of the most mysterious and interesting among them.
But any phenomena, such as volcanoes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, acid rains and many other natural phenomena, we can observe much more often. Many of them are dangerous, and some are harmless to humans and animals.
