Earth is beautiful, no denying it. But when earth
happens to make you feel like you could well be on another planet, it reaches
another level. From a crystal-filled cave to a salty red river, these places
will make you think you’ve left Earth’s atmosphere… or the whole solar system
entirely.
Walking with crystal giants
Where: Cave of Crystals, Mexico
Could the
centre of another planet look like this extraordinary cave in Mexico? The
glittering Cueva de los Cristales, or the Cave of Crystals, was found by
drilling nearly 1000ft below ground in the working Naica mine.
Space-age mountains
Where: Lastarria Volcano, Atacama Desert, South America
The
Lastarria Volcano on the Atacama Desert allows these yellow, sulphur fumaroles
to develop. The steaming hills could be the landscape of an inhospitable alien
planet – if they weren’t in South America.
Space lake
Where: Emerald Lakes, New Zealand
OK, so the
Curiosity Rover didn’t find such a glorious body of water on its travels to
Mars. But we can dream that this neon blue lake could be lying on some planet
far, far away can’t we? Of course, it exists on earth. Where? The
magical-looking Emerald Lakes can be found in New Zealand.
The country that could be another planet
Where: Kerlingafjoll, Iceland
Iceland.
It’s a country still undergoing incredible amounts of volcanic activity which
means the whole place is full of scenes that could belong on another planet.
These sulphur spewing folds of mountain can be found at Kerlingarfjoll.
Countless movies have been filmed in Iceland, including the Alien prequel
Prometheus.
A view from space
Where: Richat Structure, Mauritania
A marking
from take-off of a huge spacecraft? Or an impact crater from a meteorite
hitting some far off planet? Nope, it’s the Richat Strucutre in Mauritania as
seen from space. Astronauts use the circular land feature in the Sahara desert
as a landmark when on their missions.
The pink river
This shocking pink lake could
perfectly host some space explorers running from whatever nasty creature they
found lurking beneath. Lake Natron in Tanzania is such a colour because of its
composition of salt and soda. The lake has a pH of 10.5 which is pretty nasty
if you’re not used to it. It has a preservative nature, meaning animals that
die there look like they have turned to stone!
Riding the wave
Where: The Wave, Arizona, USA
It could
host a scene from Star Wars, space pods racing overhead. This sandstone rock
formation is called The Wave and can be found in the USA. It is located near
the Arizona-Utah border, on the slopes of the Coyote Buttes.
Volcanic scene
Where: Danakil Depression, Ethiopia
It’s sci-fi
perfection, but is actually found in the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia. It’s
bursting with hydrothermal activity – with water literally boiling out of the
ground. The Dallol Volcano causes this activity, and the astounding landscapes
that result.
Glowing lake
Where: Wai-O-Tapu, New Zealand
Wai-O-Tapu certainly looks otherworldly with its bright orange water. Found in New Zealand, this body of water has also been created through geothermal activity. The area features lots of interesting thermal anomalies, all pretty space age.
Salt pans
Where: Salt pans, Namibia
The salt pans on the
Namibian desert could be situated on another planet. It could certainly host
space travellers trekking across some unknown surface! The pans can be found in
the Etosha National
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