Puyehue-Cordon Caulle Volcano Erupts in Chile

A volcano in the Caulle Cordon of southern Chile erupted on Saturday, June 4, shooting out pumice stones and pluming a cloud of ash 10 kilometers high and five kilometers wide. Flights in the region were canceled and more than 3,500 people stayed away from their homes near the volcano, which produced an eerie show of lightning dancing through its clouds of ash overnight. This is the third volcano to erupt this year after the Shinmoedake eruption and last month’s Grimsvoetn eruption.

Magnificent Photos of Grimsvoetn Volcano Eruption in Iceland

The Grimsvotn volcano began erupting on Saturday, sending clouds of ash up to 12 miles into the air. The amount of ash spewing from the volcano tapered off dramatically on Tuesday, however, said Elin Jonasdottir, a forecaster at Iceland’s meteorological office. She added that because the plume has decreased in height – it’s now at about 5,000 meters (16,000 feet) – the ash won’t travel far and will most likely fall to the ground near its source. Although not as huge as the Eyjafjallajokull eruption, in April 2010, the eruption of the Grimsvotn volcano, under the Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland on May 21, 2011 has caused hundreds of travel delays.

The Living Root Bridges of Cherrapunjee, India

The lower reaches of the southern slopes of Khasi and Jaintia hills, in Northeastern India, are humid, warm and streaked by many swift flowing rivers and mountain streams. On the slopes of this hill, among the dense undergrowth, a species of Indian Rubber tree – (Ficus Elastica) -  thrives and flourishes. These trees shoot out many secondary roots from their trunks. The trees, supported by these secondary roots, can comfortably perch itself on huge boulders along side the riverbanks or in the middle of rivers and send its roots down to the riverbed.

The Secret of the Blood Falls of Antarctica

From a crack in the Taylor Glacier in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica flows a curious blood-red colored water. When it was first discovered by geologist Griffith Taylor in 1911, the color was thought to have come from an algae. The source of the red color was later discovered to be an iron-rich underground saltwater lake that was trapped by the encroaching glacier at least 1.5 million years ago. The temperature of the water is -5 Celsius, but it's so salty that it doesn't freeze.

But the Blood Falls houses another secret, which scientists from Harvard University have started to uncover - it's home to an entire ecosystem of bacteria, trapped for millennia in conditions that are extremely inhospitable to life.

Son Doong, The World’s Largest Cave

Hang Son Doong cave, sometimes called simply Son Doong, is a cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam, that is believed to be the largest discovered till now.
The cave was found by a local man named Hồ-Khanh in 1991 but the local jungle men were afraid to explore because of the whistling sound it makes from the underground river. However, not until 2009 was it made known to the public when a group of British scientists from the British Cave Research Association, led by Howard Limbert, conducted a survey in Phong Nha-Ke Bang in April, 2009. According to Limbert, this cave is five times larger than the Phong Nha cave, previously considered the biggest cave in Vietnam. The biggest chamber of Son Doong is over five kilometers in length, 200 meters high and 150 meters wide. With these dimensions, Son Doong overtakes Deer Cave in Malaysia to take the title of the world's largest cave.

Devils Tower at Wyoming, USA

One of the most spectacular natural creation, the Devils Tower (also called Mato Tipila, which means “Bear Lodge”), is a monolithic igneous intrusion of volcanic rock located in the Black Hillsin Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River. It rises dramatically 386 meter above the surrounding terrain and the summit is 1,558 meter above sea level.

Wave Rock at Hyden, Australia

Wave Rock is an interesting natural rock formation located east of the small town of Hyden in Western Australia. It derives its name from the fact that it is shaped like a tall breaking ocean wave. The Wave Rock is composed of granite and the total outcrop covers several hectares. The rock is about 15 meters high and approximately 110 meters long.

Spectacular Caves and Rocks at Staffa Island

The island of Staffa in Scotland is probably best known for its unique geological features, such as the many caves and the unique shape of the basalt columns which are also found in the Giant's Causeway. This remarkable little island, located south-west off the isle of Ulva and halfway between the Ross of Mull and the Treshnish Isles is one of the smallest in the Southern Hebrides.

The Great Banyan Tree

The Great Banyan Tree located in Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah, near Kolkata, India, is the widest tree in the world in terms of the area of the canopy it covers. It is estimated to be about 200 to 250 years old and occupies an area of about 14,500 square meters (1.5 hectares).

Fly Geyser: A Man Made Geyser in Nevada

Fly Geyser is a very little known tourist attraction, even to Nevada residents. It is located right near the edge of Fly Reservoir and is only about 5 feet high, 12 feet if you count the mound on which it sits. The Geyser is not an entirely natural phenomenon, and was accidentally created in 1916 during the drilling of a well. The well functioned normally for several decades, but then in the 1960s geothermally heated water found a weak spot in the wall and began escaping to the surface. Dissolved minerals started rising and piling up, creating the mount on which the geyser sits, offering an eerie, out-of-the-world sight. The mound is still growing to date.