5 Strange things found in nature

Trying to survive in nature is normally a case of having the right equipment and knowing how to use it, along with a little bit of luck, but every once in a while something turns up that scares and confuses even the most veteran explorer. These 5 strange things found in nature are some of the most abnormal and plain weird creations from Mother Earth:

1) Lake Natron

This massive lake is located in Tanzania and is over 30 miles long and 14 miles wide. The lake is only about 3 meters deep in most parts and doesn’t have any plunge pools, which is very unusual for a lake of this size. The strangest thing about Lake Natron is that it has a very high alkaline content, and combined with the high water temperature it has the ability to turn animals into stone. Well, not quite stone but the process is called calcification and rapidly sucks all the moisture out of the animal while setting the remains into something close to cement.

Water temperatures can regularly go above 40 °C, and the alkalinity in the lake is normally no lower than a pH of 12. The reason for the high water temperatures is due to the lake’s source which is the Southern Ewaso Ng’iro River in Kenya. Not long before the water reaches the lake it runs over several mineral-rich hot springs which heat it close to boiling, but by the time the water reaches the lake, it’s normally no less than 40 °C.

2) Blood falls – Antarctica

When Australian geologist Griffith Taylor found this in 1911 he probably thought he was seeing things. A huge waterfall of blood-red liquid pouring out of the ground and falling over 20 meters of ice would be enough to scare anyone who saw it for the first time or didn’t know what it actually was.

The source of the red color in the water is actually iron oxide that’s met an underwater lake 400 meters below the ice. With all the glaciers moving millions of tons of rock around, it seems at one point an enormous iron deposit made contact with this sub-glacial lake and burst to the surface. Even though it looks cool, this is nothing more than a rust-filled spring coming to the surface.

3) Tamri Goats

Officially taking the title of “coolest goats in town” the Tamri Goat is unusual for its incredible climbing abilities. Most climbing animals are built to do so, with squirrels and monkeys having claws or hands to grab with, and tails to counterbalance. The Tamri Goat has none of these attributes but is one of the best climbers in the wild, and uses nothing but hooves to do it.

Many species of goats have incredible climbing abilities, including various types of mountain goats whose young can climb steep hillsides and rocks just a few hours after being born. It seems very odd that if nature wanted to give something such great climbing abilities, you’d think it would at least give it opposable thumbs or a tail, but I’m just glad I’m not the guy who has to round them up for the night.

4) Bio-luminescent Waves

These glowing waves occur in various parts of the world normally just south of the equator. The light is created by a type of algae that creates light when it’s disturbed, such as when a wave crashes or some one steps in the water. They also create light during the day but because of the type of light omitted, it’s impossible to see it in sunlight.

Even though it looks pretty you should never go close to this kind of water. Apart from being salt water, the light is created by a type of toxic plankton, so if you’re lucky enough to be in a part of the world where this occurs, just enjoy the view and don’t go for a blue water moonlight swim.

5) Movile cave

Also known as poison cave, this system of caverns was discovered in 1986 when someone was trying to dig a well. The cave itself isn’t anything unusual, but the reason this cave has received so much scientific interest over the years is due to its isolated Eco-system. It’s thought the cave was sealed off from the rest of the world for around 5.5 million years and has developed its own creatures and plant life. The things living in the cave have evolved in a way that’s completely different from the outside world and has its own unique species that can’t be found anywhere else.

The creatures in the cave are things like leeches and spiders, but they are all unique species and haven’t been found anywhere else on Earth. The name Poison Cave was given to it because of the massive arsenic content of the water, along with the levels of carbon dioxide in the air being lethal. The oxygen content of the air is only one-third of the air outside, and carbon dioxide levels are over one hundred times greater, so if you visit bring a mask and don’t drink the water.