Category: Nature
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Puya Raimondii, the flower spike that’s “Queen of the Andes”
Puya Raimondii is a bromeliad species (flowering plant) native to Bolivia and Peru. That’s the same family as pineapples, which the inflorescences (a collection of flowers arranged on a stem) resemble in full bloom. The so-called “Queen of the Andes” stands up to 50 feet high, with a trunk stretching to heights of 16 feet…
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Asperitas clouds form rippling waves in the sky
There are all types of stunning clouds — Lenticular, Mammatas — to name a couple. But the asperitas clouds take center stage. These clouds, which are dark and storm-like, look like Van Gogh painted waves in the sky. Asperitas clouds form in the wake of thunderstorms like Mammatus clouds, yet unlike the latter, asperitas clouds…
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The Wave in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument
The Wave is a sandstone rock formation located in North Coyote Buttes of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument on the Arizona and Utah borders. The swirling stone waves combine water and wind-eroded sandstone dunes, calcified vertically and horizontally, and fossilized over 190 million years. The rich red-vermilion rocks get their colors from iron oxide pigments. Only 20…
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Walking the ocean floor at Hopewell Rocks
The Hopewell Rocks is a series of sandstone pillars along the coast of the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada. The unique-looking rock formations, cliffs, and coves result from centuries of tidal erosion, yet another reminder of how nature crafts its own beauty. Home to the highest tides in the world The tides at the…
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A trip to Portugal’s stunning Benagil Sea Cave
The Benagil Sea Cave, located in a small fishing village 3 hours from Lisbon, is arguably one of the most interesting tourist attractions in the world. Accessible only by boat, the cave contains a peculiar domed ceiling and natural oculus shaped by wave attrition and Miocene limestone built-up over 20 million years ago. Hiding under…
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Where do Attenborough fan-throated lizards live?
Attenborough’s fan-throated lizard (Sitana attenboroughii) is a species of fan-throated lizard that lives in southwestern India, initially discovered in the coastal state of Kerala. A team of Indian researchers uncovered the striking lizard in open ground patches in 2018, subsequently publishing their findings in January 2018’s issue of Zootaxa. They named the lizard after natural…
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The flamboyant cuttlefish
The cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) is a real master of color change. The bioluminescent fish can modify their appearance and shape using flashing LCD-like bands to hypnotize prey before snatching it up. That’s right — these fish use their strobing disco lights to psyche-out crabs and small fish! Like the octopus, the cuttlefish have pigmented chromatophores in…
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Hyperion: The world’s tallest living tree
The Hyperion in Redwood Park in northern California is the world’s tallest living tree. The tree stands at a height of 380.3 feet and is approximately 700-800 years old. To put that in perspective, the tree is nearly 70 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty and 63 feet higher than Big Ben. Hyperion holds…
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The Dragon’s Eye Stone Mine in Lancashire UK
The discovery of the Dragon’s Eye Stone Mine at the Hall of Giants stone mine in Lancashire, UK, resembles a scene from Indiana Jones or J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. The collapse of the mine roof caused the formation of the Dragon’s Eye. The rock’s exfoliation exposed sediments of different colors. The distinct appearance of this structure, composed…