10 natural phenomena on Earth that we don't understand

Many fascinating strange phenomenon occurring on other planets. It seems that we need only to reach these distant worlds, all the mysteries will dissipate. However, on Earth there is a lot of unusual phenomena, whose nature scientists do not yet understand.

The Crater, Baldy

A 37-metre hill Baldy, the highest sand dune near the southern shore of lake Michigan. Its main feature is that it moves every year a foot or two. But there is nothing mysterious in this: the work of transporting the performs in the wind.

More darkly: from time to time it formed a funnel, in which people fall into. For example, in July 2013 the land is literally gone from under the feet of the 6-year-old Nathan Fossner, which was buried in the three-meter hole.

Fortunately, after hours-long rescue the boy managed to get out alive and unharmed. Next month suddenly formed another funnel. The causes of this phenomenon, scientists have not been able to identify.

Eye Of The Sahara

The richat structure, otherwise known as Eye of the Sahara, is a 50-kilometer formation of concentric rings in the middle of the great desert. Giant circles painted in various shades of blue color and are clearly visible from space.

For a long time it was believed that the eye of the Sahara was formed because of the impact of a large meteorite. However, in such cases, special alloys are formed of silicon dioxide, which Rishat was not found.

Others believe that it comes on top of an ancient volcano, but this theory has not been confirmed by geologists.

Painting on rocks

Rocks in the deserts are often covered with a thin substance, whose shades vary from light orange to black. Primitive people are scratching "lacquer" layer, their petroglyphs.

Although this phenomenon is widespread across the planet, the formation of this substance still remains a mystery. It is the basis of ordinary clay, and color give inclusions of iron and manganese, the source of which is unknown.

The content of manganese in the rock "varnish" 50 times higher than the average for the surrounding area. It is known that this element can accumulate in some organisms.

Some scientists also believe that the deep layer is a coating from the sky, because the biological theory, the level of concentrations of iron and manganese is too high.

Uturuncu

Uturuncu 6 km stratovolcano in southwest Bolivia, which last erupted about 300,000 years ago. With the help of satellite observations were able to establish that its underground chamber can be filled to 10 times faster than other similar volcanic structures at a rate of 1 cubic meter of magma per second.

In this process, the whole area around the volcano every year up to several centimeters. How long has been going on this process and whether the transformation Uturuncu, in the end, in the volcano, remains unclear.

Mass Permian extinction

Probably the biggest bookateria on our planet occurred at the end of the Permian period, when 93-97% of all the then existing species of living beings on Earth suddenly became extinct.

The reason for the mass extinction is still a mystery to paleontologists. One of the most popular versions: the collision of Earth with a giant asteroid. It is assumed that the crater formed from such a blow is beneath the Antarctic ice, however, reliable evidence for the theory until geologists could not be found.

The inhabitants of the Permian in the representation of the artist / ©Victor O. Leshyk

Lake Hillier

Australian lake Hiller is not the only pink lake on Earth, but among the famous it is the most mysterious. Unlike the others, the reasons for the strange color of lake Hillier has not been fully elucidated.

In another Australian pink lake in the shade due to the combination of activities of small crustaceans and microorganisms. Lake Retba in Senegal culprits are pink algae. The answer to the question that has caused a similar phenomenon in the lake Hiller, scientists are not yet able to.

The formation of the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii were formed by underwater volcanic activity. Tens of millions of years ago, hot magma came to the surface and froze, forming one of the most beautiful archipelagos on the planet. However, the exact reason for the formation of Hawaii in today's form is one of the greatest mysteries of Geology.

Age Of The Grand Canyon

Despite a detailed study of one of the most unusual geological sites on the planet, his exact age remains a subject of heated debate among geologists. Some believe that it is not more than 6 million years, while others estimate the age of the Grand Canyon at 70 million years.
A contentious issue for both camps of scientists also is the following: was the canyon formed by the Colorado river, or simply used ready-made gorge in order to pave through it normal?

Faults in the earth's crust

From time to time in different parts of our planet, strange vibrations of the soil, which lead to faults in the earth's crust. Usually this phenomenon is accompanied by a strong underground rumble. To find the cause of these anomalies geologists are not yet able.

Cracks were recorded, for example, in Windsor (Canada) or in Cleveland (USA). In Paraguay, a fracture in the earth's crust made up in the length of 80 meters and width – 15 cm

It is clear that the sudden appearance of such faults causes mystical horror from local residents and the inability of scientists to identify their exact causes only exacerbates fear. In scientific circles there is a conversation about the "greatest mystery of tectonics".

The peak of the Messinian salinity

About 6 million years ago the Mediterranean sea became a desert and remained so for the next 630 000 years. This era has been called the peak of the Messinian salinity.

There is no doubt that the cause of this phenomenon was the protection of the Mediterranean sea from the Atlantic ocean. But what blocked this giant reservoir?

According to one version, the reason was the buildup of ice of the polar caps, which could lead to a significant reduction in the level of the sea. Other geologists believe that tectonic activity could rise the sea bottom in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar. However, the solution of this remarkable phenomenon in the geological history of the Earth yet and is not expected.

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»