The Greatest Natural Phenomena:

From the fiery glow of the North­ern Lights to the mys­te­ri­ous Blood Falls, our plan­et is home to some of the most awe-inspir­ing and mys­ti­cal nat­ur­al phe­nom­e­na. These breath­tak­ing spec­ta­cles, shaped by the forces of nature over mil­len­nia, offer trav­el­ers the chance to wit­ness the raw pow­er and beau­ty of the Earth in its purest form — for a spec­ta­cle like no oth­er.

Whether it’s the rare sight of a moon­bow light­ing up the night sky, the oth­er­world­ly land­scapes of the Danakil Depres­sion, or the vio­lent beau­ty of a tor­na­do, each nat­ur­al phe­nom­e­non is a reminder of how lit­tle we tru­ly under­stand the mys­ter­ies of our plan­et. Yet seek­ing out these phe­nom­e­na and know­ing how, when and where to find them can be a chal­lenge, so to make things as easy as pos­si­ble we’ve round­ed out the top 15 Great­est Nat­ur­al Phe­nom­e­na on the plan­et:

4) Grand Prismatic Spring

Overview: The Grand Pris­mat­ic Spring in Yel­low­stone Nation­al Park is the largest hot spring in the Unit­ed States and one of the most visu­al­ly strik­ing nat­ur­al won­ders in the world. Known for its vivid rain­bow col­ors, the spring’s hues are a result of heat-lov­ing bac­te­ria that thrive in its dif­fer­ent tem­per­a­ture zones. The rich col­ors, from bril­liant oranges and reds to deep blues, are due to the pres­ence of var­i­ous micro­bial mats that col­or the waters dif­fer­ent­ly depend­ing on the heat of the spring. Vis­i­tors flock here to wit­ness the vibrant, almost oth­er­world­ly dis­play in one of America’s most famous nation­al parks.

When to See: The best time to vis­it is between April and Octo­ber when the weath­er is mild and access is eas­i­er.

Where to See: The spring is locat­ed in the Mid­way Geyser Basin in Yel­low­stone Nation­al Park, USA.

How to See: Vis­i­tors can walk along the board­walk to get close to the spring or hike the Fairy Falls Trail for the best aer­i­al per­spec­tive.

Top Tip: Vis­it in the ear­ly morn­ing or late after­noon to avoid crowds and see the spring’s col­ors at their most vibrant.

5.) Sailing Stones of Death Valley

Overview: The Sail­ing Stones of Death Val­ley are one of nature’s most intrigu­ing mys­ter­ies. These large rocks, some weigh­ing hun­dreds of pounds, mys­te­ri­ous­ly move across the dry desert floor, leav­ing long trails behind them. The move­ment is caused by a rare com­bi­na­tion of ice, water, and wind that allows the stones to slide across the cracked sur­face of the playa. Though the phe­nom­e­non has been stud­ied for decades, the stones’ move­ments con­tin­ue to baf­fle sci­en­tists and fas­ci­nate vis­i­tors from around the world.

When to See: The best time to vis­it is from Octo­ber to April when tem­per­a­tures are cool­er.

Where to See: The phe­nom­e­non occurs in Race­track Playa, locat­ed in Death Val­ley Nation­al Park, Cal­i­for­nia, USA.

How to See: Reach­ing the stones requires a rugged 4x4 vehi­cle, as the area is remote and off reg­u­lar tourist routes.

Top Tip: Bring extra water and fuel, as Death Val­ley is one of the hottest places on Earth, and ser­vices are lim­it­ed.

6.) Blood Falls

Overview: Blood Falls, locat­ed in Antarctica’s McMur­do Dry Val­leys, is a strik­ing and eerie phe­nom­e­non where bright red water flows from Tay­lor Glac­i­er, cre­at­ing a stark con­trast against the icy white sur­round­ings. The red col­or comes from iron-rich salt­wa­ter that oxi­dizes upon expo­sure to air, and it’s believed to be caused by the pres­ence of ancient, salt­wa­ter reser­voirs trapped under the glac­i­er. This phe­nom­e­non has intrigued sci­en­tists and vis­i­tors alike, and despite its blood-like appear­ance, it pos­es no dan­ger to humans.

When to See: The best time to vis­it is dur­ing the Antarc­tic sum­mer, from Novem­ber to Feb­ru­ary.

Where to See: Blood Falls is locat­ed in the McMur­do Dry Val­leys of Antarc­ti­ca.

How to See: The site is only acces­si­ble via spe­cial­ized research expe­di­tions or exclu­sive Antarc­tic tours.

Top Tip: Con­sid­er com­bin­ing your vis­it with a tour of near­by research sta­tions for a deep­er under­stand­ing of Antarctica’s extreme envi­ron­ment.

7.) Morning Glory Clouds

Overview: Morn­ing Glo­ry Clouds are an awe-inspir­ing mete­o­ro­log­i­cal phe­nom­e­non, where giant, rolling, tube-shaped clouds form at dawn. These clouds are most com­mon­ly observed in the Gulf of Car­pen­taria in north­ern Aus­tralia, where spe­cif­ic atmos­pher­ic con­di­tions cre­ate these rare, per­fect spi­rals. The clouds can stretch for hun­dreds of kilo­me­ters, mov­ing with the wind at high alti­tudes and offer­ing an unfor­get­table sight. Wit­ness­ing them in flight or from the ground gives trav­el­ers a rare oppor­tu­ni­ty to see nature’s artistry at its most spec­tac­u­lar.

When to See: The best time to wit­ness these clouds is between Sep­tem­ber and Novem­ber.

Where to See: Morn­ing Glo­ry Clouds are pri­mar­i­ly seen in the Gulf of Car­pen­taria, Queens­land, Aus­tralia.

How to See: The best views come from scenic flights over the region, which allow trav­el­ers to see the full extent of the cloud for­ma­tions.

Top Tip: Pilots and glid­er enthu­si­asts vis­it this area for a rare chance to “surf” the clouds in the sky.

8.)  The Gates of Hell (Darvaza Crater)

9.) The Staircase to the Moon

Overview: The Stair­case to the Moon is a stun­ning opti­cal illu­sion that occurs when the full moon ris­es over the exposed mud­flats of Broome, Aus­tralia. As the moon ascends, the reflec­tion on the wet sand cre­ates the illu­sion of a stair­case lead­ing into the sky. This cap­ti­vat­ing sight is only vis­i­ble dur­ing cer­tain times of the year when the tides and moon phas­es align per­fect­ly. The event attracts both locals and tourists to Broome’s beau­ti­ful coast­line to wit­ness this nat­ur­al won­der.

When to See: The best time to see the Stair­case to the Moon is dur­ing the full moon phas­es, typ­i­cal­ly from March to Novem­ber.

Where to See: The Stair­case to the Moon can be seen in Broome, West­ern Aus­tralia, at Cable Beach and the sur­round­ing mud­flats.

How to See: Head to the beach just before the moon ris­es for the best view, and if you vis­it dur­ing the right times, you’ll wit­ness the moon’s reflec­tion cre­at­ing the illu­sion of a “stair­case.”

Top Tip: Arrive ear­ly to find a good spot and make sure to bring a cam­era to cap­ture this stun­ning phe­nom­e­non!

10.) Solar Eclipse

11.) Tornadoes

12.) Fire Rainbows (Circumhorizontal Arcs)

13.) The Eye of the Sahara (Richat Structure)

14.) Danakil Depression

Overview: The Danakil Depres­sion is one of the hottest and most inhos­pitable places on Earth, locat­ed in the north­east­ern part of Ethiopia. Known for its extreme heat, vol­canic activ­i­ty, salt flats, and col­or­ful min­er­al springs, this desert region is a geo­log­i­cal won­der. The depres­sion sits below sea lev­el and is bor­dered by active vol­ca­noes, cre­at­ing a sur­re­al land­scape of alien-like ter­rain. The region is also home to the Afar peo­ple, who have lived in this chal­leng­ing envi­ron­ment for cen­turies. Vis­i­tors who ven­ture to the Danakil Depres­sion are treat­ed to an oth­er­world­ly expe­ri­ence with views of sul­fu­ric springs, hot lava lakes, salt for­ma­tions, and unique geo­log­i­cal fea­tures like the Dal­lol Vol­cano. This harsh envi­ron­ment is also one of the hottest places on Earth, mak­ing it both a dif­fi­cult and awe-inspir­ing des­ti­na­tion.

When to See: The best time to vis­it is dur­ing the cool­er months, from Octo­ber to March, as tem­per­a­tures can soar above 50°C (122°F) dur­ing the sum­mer.

Where to See: Danakil Depres­sion, Ethiopia, locat­ed in the north­east­ern part of the coun­try near the bor­der with Eritrea and Dji­bouti.

How to See: The best way to explore the Danakil Depres­sion is with a guid­ed tour. The harsh cli­mate, extreme heat, and dif­fi­cult ter­rain make it essen­tial to have an expe­ri­enced guide and the right equip­ment. You can trav­el to the region via the town of Mekelle or through near­by cities, with access to the depres­sion typ­i­cal­ly arranged by spe­cial­ized trav­el agen­cies.

Top Tip: Due to the extreme heat and chal­leng­ing envi­ron­ment, make sure to stay hydrat­ed, wear sun pro­tec­tion, and trav­el with a well-pre­pared guide to ensure a safe and com­fort­able expe­ri­ence.

15.) Moonbow

Overview: A moon­bow is a rare and mag­i­cal phe­nom­e­non sim­i­lar to a rain­bow, but instead of being cre­at­ed by sun­light, it occurs when moon­light is refract­ed through water droplets in the air. Moon­bows appear as arcs of light in the night sky and are typ­i­cal­ly white or faint­ly col­ored due to the dim­ness of the moon’s light com­pared to the Sun. These ethe­re­al rain­bows are most com­mon­ly seen in areas with a full moon, mist, or light rain. The light from the moon is weak­er than sun­light, so moon­bows are usu­al­ly much dim­mer and hard­er to spot than their day­light coun­ter­parts. This rare event is a treat for stargaz­ers and nature lovers, offer­ing a sur­re­al and almost mys­ti­cal expe­ri­ence.

When to See: Moon­bows are best seen when the moon is full or near­ly full, and when there are water droplets in the air, such as after a rain­storm or near water­falls. They are most like­ly to occur on clear, moon­lit nights.

Where to See: Moon­bows can be observed any­where that expe­ri­ences both full moon­light and mois­ture in the air, espe­cial­ly near water­falls like those in Yosemite Nation­al Park in the USA or Vic­to­ria Falls in Africa.

How to See: Look for moon­bows after rain­fall or near water­falls dur­ing a full moon. The best view­ing con­di­tions require the moon to be low in the sky, with the observ­er fac­ing the water droplets and moon­light.

Top Tip: Moon­bows are dim and faint, so bring a cam­era with long expo­sure capa­bil­i­ties to cap­ture their beau­ty, and choose a loca­tion with lit­tle light pol­lu­tion for the best chance of see­ing them.

Best of luck on seek­ing out these stun­ning Nat­ur­al Phe­nom­e­na !