Geological Oddities

Musical Stone of Gobustan

Resonant stone, that has been played since prehistoric times

The Gobustan National Park is an extremely otherworldly place. More than 400 mud volcanoes are found within the area – the half of all mud volcanoes in the world. Additionally, there are bizarre... »

Natural Wonders, Geological Oddities, Musical Wonders, Cultures and Civilizations , Wondrous Performances | Edited by Tawsam

Moodus, Connecticut, US

Moodus Noises

The Connecticut village named for its subterranean thunder

The small village of Moodus, CT, was name after the Native American term for the area, Machimoodus, which means “Place of Bad Noises” or “Place of Noises.” It’s located within the town of East... »

Natural Wonders, Geological Oddities | Edited by JWOcker and Rachel

Crawford Notch State Reservation, New Hampshire, US

Frankenstein Cliff

Rock face that shares a name with Mary Shelley's famous doctor

Frankenstein Cliff is not named after who you might think. Not an uncommon name in Germany, the cliff itself was named after a German immigrant landscape painter named Godfrey Frankenstein... »

Natural Wonders, Geological Oddities | Edited by JWOcker, Rachel and others

Hingol National Park

Lunar landscape, a mud volcano and bizarre rock formations

The Hingol National Park is situated in Pakistan’s troubled southwestern province of Baluchestan. It is mostly famous for the Makran Coastal Highway, which snakes across an inhospitable lunar... »

Martian Landscapes, Geological Oddities | Edited by Tawsam and Rachel

Sarez Lake

The largest dam in the world and the site of a potential disaster

Sarez Lake is a mountain lake deep in the inaccessible Pamir Mountains of Central Tajikistan. The lake was created in 1911, when an earthquake, estimated at 7.0 at the Richter Scale, and a... »

Natural Wonders, Watery Wonders, Geological Oddities, Disaster Areas | Edited by Tawsam and Rachel

Merzbacher Lake

Glacial lake that mysteriously empties itself every year

A strenuous multi-day trek is necessary to reach Merzbacher Lake, a lake so far away from anything, that even the label "remote" would be an understatement. The lake is located at the confluence... »

Natural Wonders, Watery Wonders, Geological Oddities | Edited by Tawsam and Rachel

Valley of Balls

Mysterious spherical rocks in the semi-desert of western Kazakhstan

Close to the town of Shetpe in Western Kazakhstan lies the Valley of Balls – or Torysh, as it is known in Kazakh. It consists of numerous ball-like rock formations strewn across a wide range of... »

Natural Wonders, Martian Landscapes, Geological Oddities | Edited by Tawsam, Rachel and others

Kaindy Lake

Submerged trees jut ghost-like out of an idyllic turquoise mountain lake

Kaindy Lake is an idyllic mountain lake in Kazakhstan’s portion of the Tian Shan Mountains, close to the country’s largest city, Almaty. The lake was formed after an earthquake in 1911, which... »

Natural Wonders, Watery Wonders, Geological Oddities | Edited by Tawsam and Rachel

City of Carlsbad, New Mexico, US

Lechuguilla Cave

Lechuguilla Cave - A cave's rare beauty held a cavernous secret hidden underground

Until 1986, Lechuguilla Cave was just a dead-end historical site used briefly for bat guano mining and intermittently visited by enthusiastic cavers. In the 1950’s however, light was shed on this... »

Geological Oddities, Curious Caves, Strange Science, Subterranean Sites | Edited by katiebaker4 and Rachel

Flagstaff, Arizona, US

Coconino Lava River Cave

Eons ago, a rushing lava river formed this pristine passage through solid rock

Lava does weird things. When it flows from a volcano or some other fiery leak in the earth's crust, its surface cools and hardens in the open air, but a viscous molten core continues to flow... »

Fiery Wonders, Martian Landscapes, Geological Oddities, Curious Caves, Natural History, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Mark_Casey and Rachel

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