20 of the Most Weird and Strange Places Around the World — Part 01

Vauxpins
8 min readSep 22, 2023

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Image courtesy: Pixabay

Discovering areas that are less well-known to most people is the best part of visiting the world. Even though the media is pervasive and powerful nowadays, it still cannot match the pure thrill and excitement of travel. It has often been acknowledged by even seasoned visitors that it is impossible to discover all the wonders this world has to offer. Some places on earth are simply confusing, whether you like adventurous locations or those that are renowned for their spiritual experiences. For information about some of the most fascinating and downright odd places on Earth, continue reading. These locations are sure to spark lively conversation at every gathering.

01. The Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland

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Northern Ireland is a component of the United Kingdom, and it has a rich history. There are some spectacular natural wonders in Northern Ireland. The Giant’s Causeway is another fantastic and fascinating sight in the nation.

The Giant’s Causeway is located in Northern Island at the base of the basalt cliff that borders the Antrim Plateau. Nearly 40,000 hexagonal stepping stones are present. A volcanic eruption created this UNESCO World Heritage Site over 60 million years ago. These enormous basalt block columns protrude from the water.

The Lower, Middle, and Upper Basalt were produced during various time periods by volcanic crushing, burning, and cooling. The well-known amphitheaters of hexagonal-shaped columns are created from the Middle Basalt Rock.

02. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

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The Potosi and Oruro departments have one of the world’s strangest locations, which also happens to be the location of the largest salt pan on earth.

Additionally, the largest natural mirror in the world is created when a thin film of water forms on the surface. Incahuasi Island’s center offers the best views of this area.

A prehistoric lake that dried up and was replaced by a void filled with bright-white salt, rock formations, and cactus islands is known as Salar de Uyuni. Large groups of stunning pink flamingos can be observed grazing in the water in this location. This is undoubtedly among the strangest places on earth.

03. Pamukkale, Turkey

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The natural marvel Cotton Castle, commonly known as Pamukkale, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988. One of Turkey’s most popular tourist destinations, it is well known for its therapeutic thermal springs, snow-white calcium terraces, and historical significance.

Southwest Turkey’s Denizli Province is home to several mineral springs. The breathtaking natural formation is 2,700 meters (8,860 feet) long and 600 meters (1,970 feet) wide.

A spring with a high concentration of dissolved calcium bicarbonate cascaded over the side of a cliff to create Pamukkale. Calcium deposits were left behind as the water cooled and hardened. People can now enjoy the warm water in natural pools, shelves, and ridges that these deposits have developed over time.

04. Thor’s Well, USA

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Oregon, which is located on the West Coast of the United States in the Pacific Northwest, is peppered with stunning tourist attractions. A sinking hole in the Pacific is also located there, and there are various ideas to explain this weird yet fascinating phenomenon.

There is a gigantic gaping sinkhole on the edge of the Oregon Coast that never fills, even though it is in the middle of the ocean. Thor’s Well is a bowl-shaped hole in the rugged basalt seashore that is also referred to as the “drainpipe of the Pacific” and “the gate to hell.” No one dares to approach the well during high tide since it appears to be draining water from the ocean.

The erosion-causing waves that have been pounding the same area for years are to blame for the 20-foot-deep depression. Thor’s Well is an odd location because, at high tide, the waves roll underneath the pit and fill it from below. The water then suddenly starts to shower ferociously. But eventually, the water inside starts to move. And the procedure keeps repeating. A growing number of adventure photographers are using it. To see the fascinating occurrence of the well filling and emptying from a safe distance, it is preferable to visit an hour before high tide.

05. Spotted Lake Khiluk, Canada

The lake, which lies in Canada’s Okanagan Valley, has the shape of a spotted leopard pattern. It is referred to as “the most magical place in Canada” and is one of the amazing wonders of the world. At first glance, it appears to be just another lake, but throughout the summer, when the majority of the water evaporates, hundreds of large, salty pools remain.

It contains many minerals in the hues of blue and yellow. Due to the lake’s severe salinity, very little life persists. For the nearby First Nation Peoples, this lake is not just a beautiful natural feature but also a very significant historical and spiritual location.

Having no outlet and being a saline endorheic lake, Spotted Lake receives its water from underground springs and precipitation. The lake has a surface area of about 15 hectares and is only about 3 meters deep at its deepest point. The mineral deposits that have accumulated along Spotted Lake’s margins are what give it its distinctive appearance. These deposits are the result of centuries of precipitation and evaporation, creating a magnificent mosaic of different colored dots.

06. Giant Crystal Cave, Mexico

The Giant Crystal Cave, a strange location in Mexico that has become a landmark for the city of Chihuahua, may be found there along with other lovely locations.

Crystal Cave, which is 300 m below the Sierra de Naica Mountains, was formed almost 26 million years ago. The 30 m by 10 m cave has been flooded with groundwater for tens of thousands of years. The mineral anhydrite is present in this water. The magma below maintains the water’s heat.

Eventually, the water’s temperature dropped, which caused anhydrates to dissolve and made the water rich in calcium and sulfate. Between 500,000 and 900,000 years ago, selenite crystals with a white hue began to dominate the cave.

07. Deadvlei, Namibia

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Sossusvlei is a region located in the middle of the tall red sand dunes of Namib-Naukluft National Park in the Namib Desert. It is an unusual and bizarre landscape. Age — the sand has essentially rusted over thousands of years — is what gives the beautiful red dunes that surround the area their color.

The subsoil of Sossusvlei is composed of a thick layer of compact clay and is a broad, flat area covered in salt. Sossusvlei is arid and unyielding when dry and sticky and plastic when wet, as it is every 5 to 10 years when the Tsauchab River feeds it.

The region is where the river ends. The salt/clay pan absorbs water even in the wettest of years, earning the region the title of “place of no return.”

08. Guelb, Mauritania

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In the Adrar Plateau in the Sahara, close to Ouadane, Northwest Africa, there is a magnificent circular geological feature called the Richat Structure, also known as Guelb er Richât. Richat, also known as tagense in Arabic, is a word that means feather in the regional tongue. You should visit one of the strangest places on earth to experience it for yourself.

Due to its circular shape and the different landforms that make up it, which have a 30 to 40-yard gap between each layer, this structure was long thought to be the result of a meteorite strike. However, since 2000, it has been linked to a volcanic phenomenon called the Cretaceous, which is 100 million years old.

This phenomenon will arise from the formation of a magmatic dome on a crop of tectonic cracks that ceased expanding before becoming a volcano, even though no lava has ever been seen on the surface. After karst erosion, it would have eventually collapsed.

09. Caño Cristales, Colombia

You could be excused for wondering what all the buzz is about if you visited Cao Cristales during Colombia’s wet or dry seasons. But if you go there in the middle of the rainy and dry seasons, from July to October, you’ll get to see one of Mother Nature’s greatest wonders.

The Serrana de la Macarena national park in Colombia’s department of Meta is home to the 62.1-mile-long river known as the “River of Five Colors.” Due to its vibrant colors, this “liquid rainbow” — as it is sometimes known — is one of the most remarkable natural wonders in the South American nation.

This Colombian river glows red in the summer. The river bed, one of the oddest places on earth, is covered in a rare variety of plants that turn the water crimson. Another one of those enigmatic underwater locations on earth Here, you can capture the water tumbling down the rocks in slow motion.

10. Lake Retba, Senegal

There is a strange lake less than an hour from Senegal’s capital city that will undoubtedly attract the unwary visitor’s attention due to its unique yet bright pink color.

Only a few short dunes separate Lake Retba (also known as Lac Rose by locals) from the Atlantic Ocean, so it makes sense that its salt concentration is very high. During the dry season, it exceeds the Dead Sea in terms of salinity concentration.

The Dunaliella salina bacteria, which is drawn to the lake’s salt content, is responsible for the color’s distinctive pink. The lake’s distinct color is a result of the bacteria producing a red pigment to absorb sunlight. Its color is most noticeable from November to June, during the dry season, and less from July to October, when it rains.

To fully appreciate the bewildering beauty and magnificent grace of some of the oddest places on earth, you must visit those places. You’ll be startled to learn about some bizarre locations in the world that defy belief. Based on how people have interacted with these locales, we have narrowed down the world’s oddest places to 20. A second part will be added soon to this site. We wager that right about now, you’ll be scrambling to update your bucket list. Take a look at some of the strangest places in world history. You will be overcome by the full range of human emotions, including shock, awe, and astonishment. Wait for the second part, which will be published soon.

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Vauxpins
Vauxpins

Written by Vauxpins

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