10 Natural Wonders You May Not Know About (Video)

The world is full of awe-inspiring wonders of nature. We see and hear about them all the time. But there are few that are not that well known, but their unique and oft-time bizarre nature knocks the breath out of one.

This video is barely 2 and a half minutes long but shows 10 such wonders including the following:

The Gates Of Hell Turkmenistan

In 1971 a Soviet drilling rig accidentally punched into a massive underground natural gas cavern, causing the ground to collapse and the entire drilling rig to fall in. Poisonous fumes began leaking from the hole at an alarming rate. To head off a potential environmental catastrophe, the Soviets set the hole alight. The crater hasn't stopped burning since.

Southwestern Slot Canyons

This are a series of deep, narrow canyons in the Colorado Plateau in the southwestern United States is millions of years old. Layers of sedimentation have been sculpted into labyrinths filled with colorful, twisting cathedrals.  Under just the right conditions, reflected sunlight causes the walls of these canyons to glow with intense shades of red, pink, orange and yellow. 

Tsingy Of Bemaraha Madagascar

The landscapes and limestone of this area cut into impressive 'tsingy' peaks and a 'forest' of limestone needles. The undisturbed forests, lakes and mangrove swamps are the habitat for rare and endangered lemurs and birds.

Belize Barrier Reef

The coastal area of Belize is the largest and outstandingly beautiful barrier reef in the northern hemisphere. Inside the reef the water is shallow, with a blue tinge; outside the reef the water is deep and from the air shows a dark royal blue. It is a habitat for threatened species.

Grand Prismatic Spring

Grand Prismatic Spring is located in Yellowstone National Park. It is approximately 90 meters wide and 50 meters deep and expels an estimated 560 gallons of water per minute.  The spring has vivid colors due to the presence of pigmented bacteria around the edges of the mineral-rich water.

Wulingyuan National Park

Located inHuan, China, it is a 243 square mile park full of stunning karst pillars of sandstone, covered with sub-tropical rainforest. Wulingyuan covers 3 natural reserves, and contains over 500 tree species, including dawn redwood, believed extinct until it was re-identified in 1948. There are also giant salamanders, rhesus monkeys, and many bird types.

Namib Desert

Stretching 1,200 miles in length, but averaging a width of only 70 miles, the Namib Desert is home to the highest sand dunes in the world. The Namib Desert is often referred to as the world's oldest desert.

Richat Structure Mauritania

Interestingly called the Earth’s Bulls Eye and even the Eye of the Sahara, it is a prominent circular feature of dark copper tones in the Sahara desert of west–central Mauritania. It has become a landmark for space shuttle crews because of its weird shape.

Salar De Uyuni Bolivia

It is the world's largest salt flat. The Salar was formed as a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes. It is covered by a few meters of salt crust.

Socotra Archipelago Yemen

Socotra is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. It is known for its forest of frankincense trees and rare and unusual animals and birds.