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Aug 1, 2024 31 tweets 9 min read Read on X
Thread of places that don't look real 🧵

1. Sea of Japan, where snow, beach & sea meet 📸: Hisa (@Hisa0808)
2. Biking in the sky at Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

The remnants of long-gone prehistoric lakes have given way to what is now the largest salt flat on Earth.

3. Despite being on Earth, the Danakil Depression looks more alien than most images we've seen from other planets.

Known as the “gateway to Hell,” this Ethiopian geological marvel features vibrant acidic springs, salt lakes, lava lakes, and volcanoes. Image
4. Waterfall of the Bride, Peru

Legend tells of a couple torn by family rivalry. On their wedding day, the bride's father murdered the groom. Devastated, the bride begged Mother Nature to turn her into a waterfall, a symbol of her eternal love.

5. Lake MacDonnell, Australia

This picture hasn't been photoshopped. The vibrant color on the right side is due to a type of salt-loving algae called Dunaliella salina, which produces carotenoid pigments that turn the water bright pink. 📸: jaxonfoale
6. Elephant rock, Iceland

7. Sorvagsvatn, the lake suspended above the ocean 📸: https://mybestplace.com/en/article/sorvagsvatn-the-lake-hanging-over-the-ocean
8. Praia da Marinha, Portugal Image
9. Rainbow Mountains, Peru

Also known as Vinicunca, this stunning mountain in the Andes owes its vibrant colors to the interplay of minerals and sediments over millions of years. Layers of red clays and other deposits combine to create this natural masterpiece. 📸: Emmett Sparling
10. Stuðlagil Canyon, Iceland

These massive basalt columns are thought to be over 2 million years old, dating back to the ice age.

11. Namibia, where the desert meets the ocean Image
12. Marble Caves, Chile

The marble caves were shaped over 6000 years by water eroding calcium carbonate, creating smooth marble walls that reflect a spectrum of vivid colors from deep blue to turquoise and light blue.

13. Tunnel of light in Petra, Jordan 📸: Riaad Algarei
14. Nara Park, Japan

15. The rainbow mountains of Utah 📸: Elliott Chau
16. Socotra Island is home to 825 plant species, 307 of which are not found anywhere else in the world.

17. The eye of the Earth, Croatia

It is one of the main sources of the Cetina River, with a depth of over 150 meters. 📸: Peter Rajkai
18. The Wave, Arizona

The Wave started forming 190 million years ago as desert dunes compressed and solidified into the striped sandstone we see today.

19. Corvo Island, Portugal 📸: Karol Nienartowicz
20. Holtsós, a unique spot in Iceland where green fields, a yellow river, a black beach and the ocean come together. 📸: sebastianmzh
21. Heavens Gate in Tianmen Mountain, one of the largest natural arches in the world.

22. Lake Bled, Slovenia 📸: davide.anzimanni
23. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China

These surreal quartz-sandstone pillars inspired Avatar's floating Hallelujah Mountains.

24. The Giant Groundsel is a large prehistoric plant, renowned for its otherworldly appearance and extraordinary adaptability.

It emerged around a million years ago, evolving from a common groundsel that was present on Mount Kilimanjaro. Image
25. Switzerland looks like heaven on earth

26. Tunnel of Love, Ukraine

Linking Klevan and Orzhiv, this railway has turned into a 4-kilometer green corridor with a tree archway. 📸: Cagla Seda Dicleli
27. Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil

The rainy season causes freshwater lagoons to form in the valleys between dunes, with the impermeable rock below stopping them from draining.

28. Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Japan

About 7km west of downtown Kyoto you’ll find this unreal bamboo grove, a stunning forest of tall bamboo with a paved walkway through it known as "Bamboo Alley." Image
29. Salto del Agrio Waterfall, Argentina

The colors here are strikingly vibrant and unique thanks to the various minerals associated with volcanic activity.

30. Chocolate Hills, Philippines

Thank you for reading this thread!

If you enjoyed this tour of some of the most unique places in the world, please share the first post and follow me for more content: @JamesLucasIT

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More from @JamesLucasIT

Jul 14
The genius of the ancient Greeks 🧵

1. Carl Sagan explains how Eratosthenes knew the Earth was round and calculated its circumference over 2,000 years ago.
2. The Antikythera Mechanism, history's first analogue computer.

It could calculate the positions of the sun, moon, and planets, and even predict eclipses.

Experts are puzzled by how such advanced knowledge existed so early and then seemed to vanish for over a thousand years. Image
3. The first vending machine was invented over two thousand years ago by the Greek engineer Heron of Alexandria.

It dispensed holy water when a coin was inserted into a slot, triggering a simple mechanical system.

Read 15 tweets
Jul 13
The beauty of nature’s perfection 🧵

1. This is what happens when a bubble freezes
2. Sunflowers consist of hundreds of tiny flowers arranged in nearly perfect symmetry Image
3. The mandarin duck

This stunning bird was described in 1727 by the German explorer Engelbert Kaempfer: "It is so great, that being shew'd its picture in colours, I could hardly believe my own eyes."

Read 16 tweets
Jul 12
15 villages that seem too beautiful to exist

A thread🧵

1. Imerovigli, Santorini

2. This is a real place...

Gásadalur is a small village located on the west side of Vágar in the Faroe Islands.

Its population peaked at 23 in 2010 but had dropped to just 11 by 2020.

3. Giethoorn, the Dutch Venice

Read 18 tweets
Jul 11
15 streets that don’t look real 🧵

1. Hanoi Train Street, Vietnam

2. Lomanstraat, Amsterdam

This street is framed by a unique archway of leaning London plane trees that create a tunnel-like shape.

It feels like something out of a dream. Image
3. Setenil de las Bodegas, Spain

Calle Cuevas del Sol, translating to "Caves of the Sun," is the town’s main street and runs under a massive overhanging rock.

Read 17 tweets
Jul 9
15 castles that look too magical to be real🧵

1. Neuschwanstein Castle

2. Eltz Castle, Germany

This stunning medieval castle, perched above the Moselle River between Koblenz and Trier, has been owned by the Eltz family since the 12th century. Image
3. Bamburgh Castle, England

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Jul 8
15 beaches you won’t believe are real 🧵

1. Ipanema beach looks like it’s not even Earth

2. Cala Mariolu, Sardinia

Last year, this breathtaking slice of paradise was named the most beautiful beach in Europe and the second most beautiful beach in the world.

3. Diamond Beach

This ethereal Icelandic beach is a stretch of black volcanic sand where shimmering icebergs from the glacier lagoon come to rest.

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