The Bermuda Triangle, Atlantic Ocean
The area referred to as the Bermuda
Triangle, or Devil’s Triangle, covers about 500,000 square miles of ocean off
the southeastern tip of Florida. When Christopher Columbus sailed through the
area on his first voyage to the New World, he reported that a great flame of
fire (probably a meteor) crashed into the sea one night and that a strange
light appeared in the distance a few weeks later. He also wrote about erratic
compass readings, perhaps because at that time a sliver of the Bermuda Triangle
was one of the few places on Earth where true north and magnetic north lined up.
Roopkund Lake Mystery, India
The human skeletons were rediscovered in
1942 by a Nanda
Devi game reserve ranger H K Madhwal, although there are
reports about these bones from the late 19th century.The skeletons are visible
in the clear water of the shallow lake during a one-month period, when the ice
melts. Along with the skeletons, wooden artifacts, iron spearheads,
leather slippers, and rings were also found. When a team from National
Geographic magazine retrieved about 30 skeletons, flesh was still attached to
some of them.
Aokighara, Japan
Found at the base of Mount Fuji, Aokighara
is probably the most renowned forest in all of Japan. This 3,500 hectare wide
forest is thick with gnarled and twisted trees. It’s reportedly haunted, with
legends of ghosts, demons and spirits surrounding the area. Sadly, it’s also
the second most popular suicide spot in the world. More than 500 people have
committed suicide there since the 1950s.
Caño Crystals, Columbia
Caño Cristales is a river located in the Serrenia de la
Macerana region of Columbia. This isn’t just any river, it has been referred to
as and “The Most Beautiful River in the World.” For much of the year it
looks just the same as any other river, but for a short amount of time between
September and November – in the transition period between wet and dry seasons –
it transforms into a wash of color. The reds, pinks, blues, greens and yellows
that adorn the river are actually unique types of flora growing on the
riverbed.
Blood Falls, Antarctica
New work confirms zones of liquid salt water hundreds of meters below the bright red waterfall in icy Antarctica, known as Blood Falls.
Most people won’t see Blood Falls in person, but even in
photographs, the sight is arresting: a blood-red waterfall staining the
snow-white face of Taylor Glacier. Glaciologists and microbiologists have
sought to determine what causes the mysterious red flow. They’ve concluded that
the source is a subterranean lake rich in the iron that gives the water its red
hue. Stranger still, recent research has revealed micro-organisms living 1,300
feet beneath the ice, sustained by the iron and sulphur in the water.
