Alien places of our planet (part 21)

: Travels

We have prepared another trip to the alien places of our planet. To see these amazing creations of nature, we will visit Madagascar, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the USA

We have prepared another trip to the alien places of our planet. We found these amazing creations of nature in such countries: Madagascar, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, USA. Enjoy watching!

Stone forest of Tsingy de Bemaraha, Madagascar

Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve — Click on image to enlarge | flickr.com

The Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve is a 152000-hectare piece of untouched nature in Madagascar. The area is particularly notable for its scurvy, or limestone peaks so sharp that they can cause serious injury to an unprepared visitor.

The area was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990 due to its unique geography, preserved mangrove forests and populations of wild birds and lemurs.

The rocks above the Manambolo River form a real "stone forest". Needle-shaped limestone formations above the rocks are called "scurvy", which in the local (Malagasy) language means "a place where one cannot walk barefoot". They were formed thanks to the rains, which dissolve the limestone rock, forming these sharp edges.

These incredibly sharp formations can cut through equipment and flesh with ease, making them extremely difficult to overcome. Walking among scurvy is not only dangerous, but often impossible – only agile lemurs and other representatives of the local fauna can do it.

Mangyshlak, Kazakhstan

Mangyshlak or Mangistau — Click on image to enlarge | airpano.com

Mangyshlak or Mangistau is a peninsula on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan. The climate is sharply continental, extremely dry. However, once a year in May for 7-10 days there are heavy rains here, which makes any dirt road almost impassable.

The scenery here is breathtaking. Bizarre forms of weathering... Soothing "sculptures"... Real magic!

In pre-revolutionary Russia and in the USSR, this region was called Mangyshlak. In modern Kazakhstan, the name Mangistau has been used since the early 1990s.

For 30 million years, on the site of Mangistau there were successive water spaces: the Paratethys Ocean, the Sarmatian Sea, the Pontic Sea, the Akchagyl Sea, the Apsheron Sea... The last time the earth rose 1,5 million years ago. Selective weathering began to occur. All the diverse traces in the paleontological record were exposed, and for landscape painters, forms pleasing to the eye were opened.

You will find more interesting facts and alien photos about this amazing place in our article "Fantastic landscape of Mangyshlak in Kazakhstan | Virtual tour".

Eolian castles, Kyrgyzstan

Konorchek canyons (Eolian castles) — Click on image to enlarge | flickr.com

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Konorchek canyons, known as Aeolian castles, are located in Kyrgyzstan, 125 km from its capital, in the Boom Gorge. Rocky columns of the most unusual forms made of red sandstone and clay stretch here for many kilometers. Here, time seems to stop, and you are captured by these alien landscapes that are impossible to stop admiring.

You can get to the canyons of Konorchek only through the labyrinths of rocks along the bed of a dried up river. Sometimes the rocks close together so much that there is a passage only 1,5 meters wide.

This amazing creation of nature was created over several thousand years by the power of two elements – water and wind. Therefore, the canyon was named "Aeolian castles", from the Greek "Eol" – God of the wind.

Aeolian castles are a great choice for a day trip. The walking path to the canyon is 5 kilometers and it is not at all difficult to master it. Fans of long hikes also have a place to turn around, because the area of the canyon is 200 km, and it can be fully explored in just a few days. In summer it is very hot and dry, in winter it is cold, but almost without precipitation.

Kingdom of furry giants on lake Caddo, USA

Caddo Lake — Click on image to enlarge | wikimedia.org

Lake Caddo (Caddo Lake) is widely known for its cypress forest, one of the largest on the planet. And when the swamp cypress is covered with thick Spanish moss, you get a fabulous kingdom of furry giants, which we see in the photo above.

Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in Texas, USA. In the early 19th century, the Red River became jammed with river debris and logs. Beavers living on the banks of the river have reinforced this congestion with their dams. So a dam was formed, which blocked the movement of the river, and served as the beginning of the creation of the lake.

Now this lake is protected at the international level in accordance with the Ramsar Convention. The area of the lake is 25400 acres (10300 hectares), the average depth is 2 meters. Wildlife that inhabits Caddo Lake includes owls, snakes, frogs, waterfowl, lynxes, river otters, beavers, eagles, and alligators.

Interesting fact
Since 1965, Caddo Lake in Texas has been the focus of hundreds of alleged Bigfoot sightings, according to the North American Forest Monkey Refuge. About this in 2006, the Travel Channel documentary "Bigfoot" was released, telling about the numerous sightings of this semi-mythical great ape near the shores of the lake.
In the fall of 2010, much of the filming of Jaws 3D took place on Lake Caddo.

A similar bizarre ethereal landscape can be seen at Mono Lake. Moreover, you can take a virial walk to this place – just go to our article "Fabulous cypress swamps in USA | 360° visibility".

Ice wall of Bogdanovich glacier, Kazakhstan

Ice wall of the Bogdanovich glacier — Click on image to enlarge | flickr.com

In the Tien Shan mountains in Kazakhstan there is a powerful mountain glacier Bogdanovich. This high ice wall, which you see in the photo above, is one of the five entrances to the Oktyabrskaya cave at an altitude of 3300 meters above sea level in the body of the Bogdanovich glacier.

For many years, the snow falling in the mountains did not melt, but compacted, year after year forming giant layers of ice. Under its own weight, the glacier gradually slid into the valley between the mountain ranges.

With climate warming on Earth, the Bogdanovich glacier is gradually decreasing in size. But for the time being, it exists, and when the snow in winter does not completely cover the thickness of the ice, you can admire such alien beauty.

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