10 Amazing Natural Phenomena That Will Take Your Breath Away

Our natural world is full of wonders and undeniable beauty - but sometimes nature can blow our minds to another level when discoveries are made that can only be likened to fairytales and folklore.

From trees with rainbow bark to bizarre underwater crop circles, here are 10 amazing natural phenomena that will have your jaw dropping at the pure awesomeness of our wonderful world.

Rainbow Eucalyptus trees

These trees are painted, right? Wrong.

This is a particular species of tree which reveals many different colors when shedding bark. It is known as the Rainbow Eucalyptus and it is native to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.

When bark peels off the tree it reveals a bright green color underneath, however this green layer changes color as time progresses - turning hues of orange, blue, purple, brown, yellow and maroon. As parts of the tree are shedding at different rates, the exposed layers can be of different ages and therefore different colors. This is what makes the tree look like it's been streaked with rainbow paint!

Light pillars

It looks like the sky Gods are hosting their annual glow-stick rave again - where's my invite?!

In all seriousness, those aren't giant glow-sticks; but still something equally spectacular. These are light pillars, a rare optical phenomena in which ice crystals in the atmosphere reflect sources of light in a vertical formation. Long, illuminated beams form above or below sources of artificial or natural light due to the air being extremely cold, creating a dazzling, ethereal, effect. Beam me up, Scotty!

The Goblin Forest of New Zealand

This picture isn't a still from a fantasy movie - these woods are known as 'The Goblin Forest' and they are located in the Taranaki region of New Zealand.

An extraordinary species of tree - the kamahi tree - is responsible for the forest's crooked appearance. Over thousands of years kamahi trees have grown around existing trees, their branches entwining to create unique twists and nobbles. The growth of moss on the trees has also helped to create the appearance of a magical forest that you would only expect to read about in fairytales.

Frost flowers

Frost flowers are a stunning phenomena which occur when the air around plants is at a subzero temperature but the ground hasn't frozen yet. The sap inside the plant stems expands due to the cold and this causes cracks in the stems - the sap seeps out and once it comes into contact with the freezing air, curling, thin layers of ice (or 'petals') are formed, and frost flowers begin to bloom.

Snow donuts

Snow donuts - or as I like to call them, 'snonuts' - are a phenomena which occur when the wind blows snow over a snowy layer of ground and other ice particles and material are collected along the way until large rings or 'rolls' are formed. Be careful though - you might get brain freeze if you try and bite into one of these!

Snapdragon pods that turn into skulls

The snapdragon: when alive and flourishing, it looks like any other beautiful plant. However, when the flowers begin to wither and die, they transform into something much more macabre and begin to resemble tiny human skulls.  Weirdly cute or just plain creepy? You decide.

Lightning sprites

Lightning sprites are electrical discharges which can resemble jellyfish and take place high above thunderstorms. They are triggered when a stormcloud produces a positively charged lightning bolt and the remaining energy is dispersed vertically, creating a red, spindly formation between 30-50km above the cloud.

Sprites are only visible for 20 milliseconds, and this is one of the reasons why they are called sprites - because of their fleeting, fairy-like nature.

The basalt columns of The Giant's Causeway

If you're a Led Zeppelin fan like me, you will have seen The Giant's Causeway on the cover of "Houses of the Holy". If you're not familiar with this legendary spot in Northern Ireland, you probably thought those were bricks or stone pillars adorning Zep's album artwork.

Prepare to have your mind blown - these are not man-made structures but natural basalt columns that were formed 50-60 million years ago when a volcanic eruption caused basalt lava to shape chalk into hexagonal pillars. Pretty rock 'n' roll, I'd say!

River of five colours

One of the most beautiful natural spectacles can be found in Colombia - the Caño Cristales river is known as the 'River of five colours' or 'the liquid rainbow' due to the fact that for several months each year the river comes alive with dazzling hues of red, pink, yellow, green and blue.

This enchanting display is a result of the blooming of an aquatic plant known as macarenia clavigera, combined with green algae and yellow sand. Those who love a dip will be happy to know it's safe to swim in too!

Underwater crop circles

Who knew that there was such thing as underwater aliens?!

I'm joking, of course. Although these pretty circular formations look like something out of a science fiction movie, there is a simple - but fascinating - explanation for them. It's our good friend the male Japanese pufferfish, who occasionally takes up a career as a sand artist to attract a mate.

If you're a female pufferfish who likes all that hipster stuff, it's right up your street. But even if it's not for you, you have to appreciate the lengths these little guys go to - these formations can take 7-9 days to complete and measure about 2 meters in diameter! Watch the video below to see how he does it - isn't it nice when guys put in the effort?