Top 10 World's Most Colourful Natural Wonders

Earth a surprising planet for its beauty, wonder, mystery, and many more things. So many colourful things have covered the Earth and here are some of the most colourful natural wonders found in our beautiful world.

[1] CAÑO CRISTALES, COLOMBIA   

Caño Cristales (Crystal Channel) is a river located in the Serrania de la Macarena province in Colombia and one of the tributaries of the Guayabero River. The river is usually known as the "Liquid Rainbow" or the "River of Five Colors", and is famous for its remarkable colours. From July to November, the bed of this river is coloured with yellow, green, black, blue, and particularly red. Scientists discovered that the Macarenia clavigera plant (family Podostemaceae) on the riverbed is the main reason behind this colourful outlook.

Considered as the “most beautiful river in of the world”, Caño Cristales (Credit: Mario Carvajal)

Caño Cristales is a high-velocity river with several rapids and waterfalls. Many as giant's kettles (small circular pits) can be found in various parts of the riverbed, which have been formed by the abrasion of pebbles or large pieces of hard rocks. Continuous abrasion by these harder rocks in the pit's walls increasing the dimensions of the pit. It’s important to know that the beauty of this red river is significantly influenced by weather and climate conditions. It is one of Colombia’s most unique and exciting tourist attractions and is well worth a visit.

Caño Cristales, River of Five Colors (Credit: KellyCheng/gettyimages)

Caño Cristales, River of Five Colors (Credit: KellyCheng/gettyimages)

[2] ZHANGYE DANXIA LANDFORM, GANSU, CHINA   

Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park is located in the eastern foothills of the Qilian Mountains in Gansu Province, China. The geopark has a spectacular Danxia (red cloud) landforms area that covers about 50 Km² (19 sq. miles). It was formally known as "Zhangye National Geopark" on June 16, 2016 after it has approved the on-site acceptance test. It has been voted as one of the most beautiful landforms in China by Chinese Medias for its colourful rock formations.

Sunset in China's rainbow mountain (Credit: Kanawa Studio/gettyimages)

Zhangye's Danxia landscape has so many deposited red cliffs, most of which are several hundred meters high and multicoloured ridges formed by weathering. These formations, occasionally smooth or sharp, stand out against the plains, looking majestic and wonderful.

Colorful mountain in Danxia landform in Zhangye, Gansu of China (Credit: Ratnakorn Piyasirisorost/gettyimages)

Across the danxia landscape zone, several red rocky outcrops look like weird and astonishing shapes like castles, cones, towers. The colourful layers of Zhangye Danxia landform area became popular as the "Rainbow Mountains".

Rainbow mountains - In Zhangye, China, there's Danxia UNESCO heritage site (Credit: ©RAZVAN CIUCA/gettyimages)

Colorful mountain in Danxia landform in Zhangye, Gansu of China (Credit: MelindaChan/gettyimages)

[3] PAINTED DESERT — PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK, ARIZONA, USA   

The Painted Desert is a badlands come desert consecutively from near the east end of Grand Canyon National Park and southeast into Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona of the United States. The Painted Desert is famous for its brilliant and varied colours which have included not only the additional common red rock but also shades of lavender.

The Painted Desert: Petrified Forest National Park (Credit: Adventr.co)

The desert is composed of stratified layers of highly susceptible mudstone, siltstone, and shale of the Triassic Formation. Abundant iron and manganese composites in these fine-grained rock layers provide the pigments for the diverse colours of that area. Thin-resistant limestone layers and volcanic flows cap made unique features like mesas. The higher rate of erosion in these layers has formed the badlands topography in this region.

The multitude of already colourful textures and shapes of Arizona's Painted Desert illuminated by the last light of sunset (Photo © copyright by Marc Adamus)

 

Petrified Forest at dusk (Credit: Mint Images/gettyimages)

In the southern portions of the desert, the remains of a Triassic period coniferous forest have fossilized over millions of years. Wind, water and soil erosion continue to change the face of the landscape by shifting sediment and exposing layers of the Chinle Formation. A group of fossilized prehistoric plants (Triassic period coniferous forest) and animals (dinosaur tracks) are observed in this region including the evidence of early human habitat.

Painted Desert, Petrified Forest is a photograph by Ralph Lee Hopkins

[4] DANAKIL DEPRESSION — NORTHERN ETHIOPIA   

The Danakil Depression is a geological depression resultant from the divergence movements of three tectonic plates in the Horn of Africa, located in the northern part of the Afar Triangle or Afar Depression in Ethiopia. The place lies at the triple junction of three tectonic plates and has a complex geological history.

Hot springs in the Danakil depression (Credit: gettyimages/Wysiati)

Danakil depression, Northern Ethiopia (Credit: gettyimages/CarlCourt)

The Danakil Depression is one of the world’s hottest places. Here’s the lowest place is about 100m below the sea level. At the northern end, there is Great Rift Valley, and the place is separated by active volcanoes from the Red Sea. The plain was developed due to the evaporation of an inland water body. Therefore, no streams exist in this place due to its extreme environment as the water entering Danakil starts evaporates. It is covered with more than 10 lakh tonnes of salt. Researchers investigate the environments at the Danakil Depression to understand how life might begin on other planets and moons.

Aerial image of Dallol in the Danakil depression, Northern Ethiopia (Credit: gettyimages/ Ignacio Palacios)

The dynamic and strange geology of this region makes it resemble an alien land. Walking around the area you feel like you are on another planet. There are many volcanoes with bubbling lava lakes, multi-coloured hydrothermal fields, and great salt pans that astonish the eyes.

Aerial image of Dallol in the Danakil depression, Northern Ethiopia (Credit: gettyimages/Ignacio Palacios)

[5] FLY GEYSER — WASHOE COUNTY IN NEVADA, USA  

Fly Geyser, also recognized as Fly Ranch Geyser is a little geothermal geyser situated on private land in Washoe County, Nevada, about 20 miles (32 km) north of Gerlach. Fly Geyser is located near the edge of Fly Reservoir in the Hualapai Geothermal Flats and is just about 5 feet (1.5 m) high by 12 feet (3.7 m) wide, together with the mound on which it be seated.

Fly Geyser, Nevada, USA (Source: Geology Page)

There are two geysers on the Fly Ranch property. The first was created nearly 100 years ago as part of an effort to make a part of the desert usable for farming. A well was drilled, and geothermal boiling water (200 degrees) was hit. This second geyser, known as Fly Geyser, has grown substantially in the last 40 years as minerals from the geothermal water pocket deposit on the desert surface.

Fly Geyser, Northern Nevada, USA (Credit: Matador Network)

The origin of the Fly Geyser field's high temperature is attributed to a very deep pool of hot rock where tectonic rifting and faulting are widespread. The first geyser at the site was developed in 1916 when a well was drilled in search of irrigation water. When geothermal water at close to the boiling point was observed, the well was abandoned, and a 10–12-foot (3.0–3.7 m) calcium carbonate cone formed

Photo of the Incredible Fly Geysers In Washoe County, Nevada (Credit: BuzzFeed)

[6] PAINT MINES — CALHAN, COLORADO, USA  

The Paint Mines Interpretive Park is situated in the northeast sector of the El Paso County near Calhan, USA. In this park varying colourful elements are found in many different clay layers and look like painted over the landscape. Those brightly colourful bands are formed by oxidized iron elements due to long-term chemical weathering. These red, yellow, purple, etc, multi-coloured clays were collected by Anglo-Americans to use making their traditional painting and therefore, it was named Paint Mains. 

Paint Mines Interpretive Park near Calhan in Southern El Paso County (Photo by James Martinez)

In the 1990s, a field study by the archaeologist revealed numbers of prehistoric cultural deposits which are the evidence of human life about 9,000 years ago and thus, recorded the paint mines as a Historic and archaeological place in the USA. The park composed of so many incredible geological formations like spires and hoodoos that developed through successive weathering and erosion that creates incised rills and gullies. In this badlands also found some selenite crystals and petrified woods.