10 funny natural phenomena

Much of what we see in the natural world is taken for granted. Of course, we can watch the sunset or gaze at some of the clouds, but for the most part, the mystique of the world around us tends to go unnoticed. But nature can do more impressive things than sunsets or clouds. Look!

(Total 10 photos)

1. Volcanic lightning

If someone asks you to name the two coolest things you've ever seen in nature, your answer is "volcanoes and lightning". Or perhaps "lightning and volcanoes", but only these two options are a fact. But nature seems to be constantly looking for new ways to impress us, which is why she went ahead and made volcanic lightning a reality. And yes, it looks exactly like it sounds - lightning that appears in the middle of a volcanic eruption. Scientists aren't 100% sure why this happens, but the main theory is that when a volcano erupts, it projects positively charged debris into the atmosphere. These emissions react with negative charges, resulting in 1) lightning and 2) a really cool picture.

2. Underwater icicles

When the surface of the sea freezes, for example, around the north and south poles, the process proceeds in such a way that pockets of cold and salty sea water remain on the underside of the ice. This salty mixture is denser than the sea water underneath and tends to slowly sink to the bottom. The cold causes the cold water below the salty mass to freeze around it as it sinks, resulting in a giant icicle below the ice surface. The technical name for this kind of thing is "icy stalactites", but how can there be such boring names for such a spectacular phenomenon? Hence the need for their cool name "underwater icicles".

3. Penitentes

And here is another interesting ice formation, very far from the underwater areas - high in the mountains. These spiky ice fields are called penitentes, and each shard can reach a whopping 4 meters high. These frightening patterns of snow form in high altitude regions with low humidity, such as the Andean glaciers. If the conditions are right, then the sun's rays are so hot that they can actually sublimate fields of snow. This means that frozen water evaporates without ever becoming a liquid. This results in small pockets in the ice, which, due to their shape, attract even more heat. Sharp spikes are those areas of the snow field where the sun was not oriented towards complete and utter destruction.

4. Supercells

If Superman was more powerful than any version of the flying man, then supercells are more powerful than normal storms.

Supercells are the most dangerous of the four main types of storms, but in addition to being scary, there is also something to see. Fortunately, they are also the rarest, and usually take place in the central US in the spring. If you ever happen to encounter such a phenomenon, just remember one piece of advice: run the other way.

5. Fire rainbow

These colorful phenomena can often be seen during the summer season in mid-latitudes such as most of the United States. In fact, they are a large halo of refracted light, and, despite the name, they have nothing to do with either fire or a rainbow. They only appear when the sun is at least 58 degrees above the horizon and when there are cirrus clouds in the sky that are filled with lamellar ice crystals. The refraction of light is always parallel to the horizon, and due to the fact that the arcs are very large, only sections become visible, which is why it can look like patches of clouds on fire.

6. Sunny dogs

Here is another phenomenon associated with ice crystals in the atmosphere. Like fire rainbows, sun dogs are large glows in the sky as a result of light refraction, although in this case, they appear to actually surround the sun. Sun dogs can be recognized by two bright spots on either side of the glow. If these flares are bright enough, they can look like three suns in the sky. And the good news is that this happens all the time, all over the world, so you can start seeing them if you look closely (especially when the sun is low on the horizon).

7. Tornadoes

Tornadoes are as amazing as their name: they are tornadoes that form over water. Because of this, they do not pose a serious threat, but if you happen to be on a boat, be careful because these phenomena can reach speeds of up to 305 km/h. There is speculation that many mysterious shipwrecks, such as those in the Bermuda Triangle, are simply the result of tornadoes. They can occur anywhere over water, but are especially common in the Florida Keys, where there can be 400 or 500 tornadoes a year.

8. Snow donuts

Do you remember how in childhood, when it was snowing, everyone tried to quickly roll up a big snowball? You either played snowballs or made snowmen. Nature has its own way of sculpting from snow - snow donuts. This rare form forms under ideal temperature conditions, during a snowfall or blizzard. If part of the snow sticks together with another part, then gravity and wind do their part of the work, and the lump rolls on its own. But in this case, the tendency to shrink creates a torus shape that can reach up to 66 cm in height.

9. Layers of basalt

At some point, Basalt looked at himself and realized that if he wanted to be noticed, he must activate. And then the basalt organized into pillars.

Admittedly, on the surface it doesn't seem that impressive - the bars aren't very interesting - but when viewed all together, it's a beautiful sight. The unique formations are the result of lava flowing and cooling, perpendicular to the main flow.

10. Ice Flowers

Simply put, ice flowers are a layering of ice particles around the base of some plants and woods. When the temperature around the plant is below freezing but the temperature inside is not, water is drawn to the surface. This leads to the fact that fragile ice compounds are pushed outward, where the formation of the "flower" ends. So they don't really look like flowers, more like leaves, but it's very interesting to look at.