4 Natural Phenomena You Must Experience Around the World

Nature can be unpredictable, mysterious, awe-inspiring, and incredibly powerful, leaving us open-mouthed at its incredible and fascinating beauty. Nature isn’t something separate from us, no matter how much we may grow distanced from it. While there is immense beauty in even the little things around us, some natural phenomena can take our breath away. Mother Nature has so many mysteries and beauties to offer, and witnessing them can give you a whole new perspective on life. It can let you connect more deeply with matters and view a real-life work of art unfolding before your eyes. There are numerous locations globally where you can view Mother Nature in action, at her very best. It can become challenging to shorten the list, so we’ve done it for you. Keep reading below for the top four natural phenomena you need to see to believe.

Smoky Mountain forests, USA

Exploring an old-growth forest is akin to traveling back in time and exploring nature at its most unfiltered. Old-growth forests are climax communities where the forest has attained immense age without any human disturbance. Due to them being undisturbed, these forests have an unmatched collection of biodiversity of all kinds. The Great Smokies are home to some of the world’s oldest forest ranges, with trees dating back even before the inception of America. The multi-layered canopies are home to tens of thousands of species of all kinds. Additionally, one may become awestruck upon witnessing the blue fog in this mountainous region. Many people also call it “blue smoke,” and it is the cause of a natural process of VOCs. 

If you want to explore the heritage of these historic mountain ranges, booking a stay in the nearby towns is the best option. Gatlinburg, known as the ‘Gateway to the Smokies’, is a popular destination. It lies nestled nearly within the historic national park itself. All cabins come with modern amenities and let you experience the beauty of the forest up close and personal. Furthermore, you can also find pet friendly cabins in Gatlinburg that allow you to enjoy a comfortable stay with your furry friends. Gatlinburg cabins accommodate groups of all sizes and make for a rustic, relaxing holiday.

Monarch butterfly migration, Mexico

You may have seen flocks of birds migrating to their breeding grounds with the changing seasons, but there is a migration much more magical than that. When the winter months come around in Canada and the US, the Eastern Monarch butterflies begin their dramatic journey thousands of miles across into the heart of Mexico. The migration isn’t that of hundreds or perhaps thousands. Instead, butterflies numbering in the billions migrate to Mexico City, bending entire trees under their weight and coloring the sky a bright, vivid orange. The Monarch Buttery Biosphere Reserve protects these key overwintering sites from any illegal logging or harm.

Tour guides can take you to the resting places of these stunning insects, where you’ll find entire paths littered with lazy, gorgeous butterflies. When the butterflies take off, you’ll see the whole sky become obscured with their vivid orange wings. Although you aren’t allowed to touch any butterflies, they will land on you, allowing you to experience their beauty personally. 

The Great Blue Hole, Belize

Off the coast of Belize, you can witness a natural phenomenon that is both spectacularly beautiful yet terrifying simultaneously. From an aerial view, you’ll see the light blue waters abruptly give way to an enormous, dark blue hole. This massive sinkhole goes down 135 meters deep into the Earth’s crust and formed hundreds of thousands of years ago when the Earth was still young and shifting.

The Blue Hole is one of the world’s most popular scuba diving locations, and you can plunge into the pristine waters to view marine life unlike ever before. Expeditions to the bottom of the cave have revealed that it used to be a dry cave, which eventually filled up with water as the ocean levels rose. The Blue Hole is a part of the Belize Barrier Reef System, where you can view hundreds of species of marine and plant life. The Blue Hole is thus a visual as well as historic spectacle you need to see to believe.

Darvaza Gas Crater, Turkmenistan

Four decades earlier, a gaping crater opened up in Northern Turkmenistan and soon became a jarring sight in the middle of an otherwise barren landscape. It’s said that the cavity opened up due to a drilling mishap and began to leak methane gas. The Soviet researchers then set fire to the crater to burn off the gases. However, Turkmenistan has the sixth-largest natural gas reserves, and the cavity stays alight to this day.

The crater is also called the ‘gateway to hell’ and looks like something out of an apocalyptic film. The heat is so scorching that it distorts the air around it, giving everything an ethereal glow. Witnessing this terrifying yet fascinating phenomenon up close and personal is likely to be a trip you’ll never forget.

Conclusion

No art can compare to the majesty and beauty of nature at its most unfiltered. A trip to any of these places will let you see just that. You get to explore not just the beauty of natural landscapes of all types, but you can interact with wildlife as well. These breathtaking sights will stay with you for the rest of your life and give you a newfound appreciation of Earth.