These Places Shouldn’t Exist On Earth But They Damn Well DO! - Part 2

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The Catatumbo river mouth in Venezuela hosts a perpetual lightning storm, while locations like Mount Roraima and Yellowstone National Park showcase unique geological and natural wonders around the world. Various phenomena such as the Sea of Stars in the Maldives and the Movile Cave in Romania highlight the diverse and fascinating aspects of our planet's natural landscapes.

Insights

  • The Catatumbo lightning storm in Venezuela, with 280 strikes per hour, is caused by warm winds meeting cool air over Lake Maracaibo, creating a unique and continuous natural phenomenon.
  • The Movile Cave in Romania, isolated from the surface, supports a diverse ecosystem through chemosynthesis by bacteria, showcasing how life can thrive in extreme conditions with 48 unique species in a toxic atmosphere.

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Recent questions

  • What causes the Sea of Stars phenomenon on Vaadhoo island?

    Bioluminescent phytoplankton reacting to sudden movement in water.

  • How is life sustained in Romania's Movile Cave?

    Through chemosynthesis by bacteria in a toxic atmosphere.

  • What causes the vibrant colors in Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring?

    Heat-loving bacteria thriving in varying water temperatures.

  • What is the unique feature of Mount Roraima in South America?

    It is a flat-topped mountain hosting unique plant and animal species.

  • What caused the formation of the hexagonal basalt columns on the Isle of Staffa?

    Lava cooling evenly 50 million years ago.

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Summary

00:00

Natural Wonders: Lightning, Sinkholes, Bioluminescence, and More

  • In Venezuela, the Catatumbo river mouth experiences an everlasting lightning storm, with up to 280 lightning strikes per hour, totaling 1.2 million discharges annually.
  • The lightning storm, known as Relámpago del Catatumbo, is caused by warm winds colliding with cool air, forming thunderclouds over Lake Maracaibo.
  • In the Gulf of Mexico, a gas pipe rupture led to a fire on the ocean's surface due to flammable gas components, extinguished by nitrogen to starve the fire of oxygen.
  • The Maldives' Vaadhoo island showcases the Sea of Stars phenomenon, caused by bioluminescent phytoplankton reacting to sudden movement in the water.
  • Dean's Blue Hole in Belize is a massive underwater sinkhole, 330 feet in diameter and 663 feet deep, attracting free divers despite its intimidating appearance.
  • Mount Roraima in South America is a flat-topped mountain formed from ancient sandstone at the bottom of oceans, hosting unique plant and animal species.
  • The Movile Cave in Romania, isolated from the surface, sustains life through chemosynthesis by bacteria, supporting 48 unique species in a toxic atmosphere.
  • Yellowstone National Park's Grand Prismatic Spring boasts vibrant colors from heat-loving bacteria thriving in varying water temperatures.
  • Mauritius features an optical illusion of an underwater waterfall caused by sand currents off the Mascarenes Plateau, creating a cascading effect.
  • Tanzania's Shifting Sand Dunes, with high magnetized volcanic ash content, move up to 55 feet annually due to strong winds, maintaining crescent shapes.

15:05

Mysterious Natural Wonders Around the World

  • Bizarre magnetic dunes with almost no other magnetic ash in the area trail down at least 10 miles to the edge of the extinct Ngorongoro volcano, which erupted around 2.5 million years ago.
  • A massive iceberg, estimated to be 100 feet high and 400 feet long, broke off from the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica in February 2021, forming a 490 square mile iceberg named A74, larger than Los Angeles.
  • The Isle of Staffa in Scotland features hexagonal basalt columns formed 50 million years ago due to lava cooling evenly, creating Fingal's Cave, a sea cave with hexagonal basalt formations.
  • Muynak in Uzbekistan, once a bustling fishing port on the Aral Sea, now lies abandoned in a desert due to Soviet dams diverting water sources, causing a 75% volume loss in the sea.
  • The Bolton Strid in Yorkshire, England, appears as a harmless brook but conceals a dangerous natural shaft with a river's worth of force flowing beneath the surface, claiming the lives of all who enter it.
  • The Al Naslaa Rock formation in Saudi Arabia features a naturally split rock balanced precariously on two small pedestals, possibly caused by tectonic motion or an underground fault line.
  • The Blue Pond in Hokkaido, Japan, artificially created in 1988 to prevent volcanic mudflows, boasts a vibrant blue color due to high aluminium hydroxide concentration and sulphur bleaching the rocks.
  • The Eye of the Sahara in West-African Mauritania, a 25-mile diameter structure resembling a giant eye, is believed to be an old volcanic dome formed around 100 million years ago, eroded by desert sands to reveal concentric rock layers.
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