Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

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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

The Love Valley, a great place to hike after a morning spent on a Cappadocia hot air balloon ride

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Fairy chimneys dominate the landscape between Cavusin and Zelve.

Socotra Island, Yemen

Socotra Island

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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

Torres del Paine Mountains, Patagonia, 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

bears ears national park trivia

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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!”