The Most Alien Landscapes on Earth
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
Photo: Rickson Davi Liebano/Shutterstock
The largest salt flat in the world reflects the sky during the wet season…
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
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…and in the dry winter months, it becomes a mosaic of salt tiles.
Antarctica
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Icebergs drift in dark Antarctic waters.
The Richat Structure, near Ouadane, Mauritania
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A circular feature, 50km across, in the middle of the otherwise featureless Mauritanian Sahara.
Alvord Playa, southeastern Oregon, USA
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You might not expect to find a desert in the Pacific Northwest, but this dry lake bed averages only 180mm of rain a year.
Cappadocia, Turkey
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Fairy chimneys dominate the landscape between Cavusin and Zelve.
Socotra Island, Yemen
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Socotra’s isolation in the Indian Ocean has given rise to plant life you won’t see anywhere else. This is the dragon’s blood tree.
Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA
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Best known as the staging grounds for Burning Man, the Black Rock Desert is also home to alien features such as the Fly Geyser.
Black Desert, Egypt
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Egypt’s deserts come in many colors, including Black…
White Desert, Egypt
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…and White.
Kauai, Hawaii
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Seaside lava ledges make for otherworldly experiences on this often-overlooked Hawaiian island.
Namib Desert, Namibia
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Sand rarely gets as red as it does in the deserts of Namibia.
Torres del Paine, Chile
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The most alien of the 8 Natural Wonders of Chile, Torres del Paine’s mountain spires cut into the blue sky.
Dead Sea, Israel/Jordan
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Lowest point on Earth, deepest salt lake in the world, saltier than the ocean…the list of the Dead Sea’s bizarreness is a long one.
Strokkur Geyser, southwestern Iceland
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Visitors to the Strokkur Geyser are rewarded with this display every five minutes or so.
Lake Turkana, Kenya
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Lake Turkana lies in Africa’s Great Rift Valley. Its salty waters comprise the world’s largest desert lake.
Four Corners region, USA
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The Colorado Plateau gets funky at the Arizona-Utah border. That’s where you’ll find Vermilion Cliffs National Monument…
Four Corners region, USA
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…and Monument Valley.
Chocolate Hills, Bohol, Philippines
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Over 1,700 naturally formed mounds (covered with chocolate brown grass in the dry season) dot the center of the island of Bohol.
The Sahara
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The world’s largest hot desert is as big as the entire U.S. Get stranded out here and you’ll wish you really were on an alien world.
The Sahara
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“Tunisian Sahara: Desert Stop!” 