Most mysterious places on earthSalar de Uyuni is a magical place , Bolivia wildlife When covered by water , the world ' s largest salt flat becomes a mirror , and anyone walking across it appears to be walking on clouds . The salt crust , which covers 10 583 square kilometres in southwestern Bolivia at 11 , 995 feet above sea level , is nearly flat , which makes it ideal for calibrating the altimeters of satellites . Salar de Uyuni ' s origins lie in prehistoric lakes ; it is a major breeding ground for several species of flamingos . There are many different types of animals in Bolivia that can be found throughout the country . Bolivia is home to thousands of species of animals , birds , fish , reptiles , amphibians and insects . Wildlife in Bolivia is diverse , from the high peaks of the Andes to the tropical rainforests of the Amazon , to the Pantanal wetlands and the arid scrublands and grasslands of the Gran Chaco , Bolivia ' s extraordinary range of geography and climate supports one of the most diverse wildlife countries in the world . The Eye of Africa whose official name , the Richat Structure , seems so mundane in comparison — was spotted in central Mauritania by astronauts on early space missions . In the expanse of the Western Sahara Desert , the formation has a diameter of about 48 kilometres . At first , scientists thought a meteorite had hit the Earth , causing this impression . But now it is believed to be a symmetrical uplift that erosion has revealed . No one has explained yet why it is circular . The Giants Causeway , Northern IrelandIf an Irishman tells you that Finn McCool built the Giants Causeway so two feuding giants could settle their differences , check for a twinkle in his eyes , for perhaps he has been telling you a folk tale . Volcanic activity 60 million years ago created these rugged , symmetrical rock formations , seemingly steppingstones that lead into mists and legend . In 1693 , Sir Richard Bulkeley , a fellow at Trinity College in Dublin , presented a paper on this " natural curiosity " near Bushmills in County Antrim , Northern Ireland . The arguing began : Was this made by men with picks ? Was this nature ' s handiwork ? Did a giant place these steppingstones ? It wasn ' t until 1771 that the origin of the causeway was put down to volcanic activity . Or was it ? Irish mythical creaturesIrish fairies fall into two main groups : sociable and solitary . Perhaps the best known of the solitary fairies are the leprechauns . Leprechauns have the distinction of being the most solitary of the solitaries , avoiding contact with humans , other fairies and even other leprechauns . Although the leprechaun has been described as Ireland ' s national fairy , this name was originally only used in the north Leinster area . Variants include lurachmain , lurican and lurgadhan . The ancient origins of what we know today as the leprechaun was a Euro - Celtic god named Lugh ( pronounced " Luck "). Lugh was as important a god to the ancient Euro - Celtic religion as Jesus is in Christianity . Lugh was the great Sun God of the Irish and Euro - Celts , patron of the Arts and Crafts , leader of the Tuatha dé Danaan . Many European cities were named for Lugh such as London , Léon , Loudon , Lyons and others . Racetrack Playa , Calif . The secrets of these stone structures are only now being unravelled , probably because it is nearly impossible to get the entire picture at ground level . But with views from airplanes and satellites , archeologists have discovered thousands of these " floor drawings " of stones in Syria , Jordan and Saudi Arabia . The wheels measure from 25 metres to 70 metres across and could be at least 2 , 000 years old ; other stone structures are far older . What were they used for ? Did they carry special meaning ? That is still yet to be discovered . Even NASA cannot explain it . It ' s best to gaze in wonder at the sliding rocks on this dry lake bed in Death Valley National Park . Racetrack Playa is almost completely flat , four kilometres from north to south and two kilometres from east to west , and covered with cracked mud . The rocks , some weighing hundreds of pounds , slide across the sediment , leaving furrows in their wakes , but no one has actually witnessed it . Is it the wind ? Something to do with ice ? Will it ever be explained ? Spotted Lake , Canada national parkParks Project , a compilation of 13 short films about Canada ' s national parks . .. Daniel Cockburn ' s movie about Bruce Peninsula National Park seeks a spiritual mystery . Many minerals are found in high concentrations in Spotted Lake ; that causes the phenomenon that gives the lake its name . Spots form during summer when much of the water evaporates , leaving the minerals , which harden and form walkways among the spots . The water ' s colour is determined by the unique combination of minerals . The site , near Osoyoos in British Columbia , is owned by the First Nations and is not open to the public . However , it can be easily seen from Highway 3 , which runs past the lake . < 지도 보 기 : http : / / maps . google . com / maps ? q = Spotted + Lake & hl = ko & ie = UTF 8 & sll =- 36 . 763594 , 174 . 718796 & sspn = 0 . 013546 , 0 . 027874 & vpsrc = 0 & hnear =% EC % 8 A % A 4 % ED % 8 C % 8 C % ED % 8 B % B 0 % EB % 93 % 9 C +% ED % 98 % B 8 & t = h & z = 15 > Pamukkale , TurkeyCotton Castle , Pamukkale ' s translated name , is a wildly popular tourist site . Seventeen hot - water springs in the area spill out water in temperatures ranging from 95 degrees to 212 degrees , which contains a high concentration of calcium bicarbonate . The water flows off a cliff , cools and hardens into calcium deposits that form terraces . These terraces are as white as cotton and bright enough to be easily seen from the town of Denizli , which is on the opposite side of the valley , 19 kilometres away . The terraces , which continue to grow , hold pools of water . Soakers are welcome ; shoes are not , to protect the deposits . < 지도 보 기 : http : / / maps . google . com / maps / myplaces ? ll = 37 . 924566 , 29 . 121859 & spn = 0 . 013338 , 0 . 027874 & vpsrc = 6 & ctz =- 780 & t = h & z = 16 > Split Apple Rock , New ZealandWhy do so many insist on clambering atop one side or the other of Split Apple Rock , while the less athletically inclined relax at its core ? The formation is a big hit with visitors to Abel Tasman National Park on the South Island of New Zealand . It is just one of the highlights in the park , which was founded in 1942 , 300 years after Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman became the first European to visit New Zealand . Tourists are lured by golden sandy beaches and rocky outcrops and the likelihood of spotting many birds . The sand of Zlatni Rat ( Golden Cape ) beach in Croatia is continually on the move , as wind , tides and currents sculpt the beach into ever - varying shapes . ( Don ' t worry — these changes are subtle and sunbathers are not washed away ) . The beach is a sand spit extending from a promontory near Bol , on the southern coast of the island of Brac . The same winds that subtly change the shape of the spit are the fuel for windsurfing adventures . Goblins ? HoodoosThe names fit these mysterious - looking rock formations in Goblin Valley State Park in southern Utah , which is surrounded on three sides by Canyonlands and Capitol Reef national parks and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area . Sandstone erosion made the shapes ; the small , spherical shapes of the goblins combine with the hoodoos , rock pinnacles in the shape of mushrooms , to give the landscape an eerie edge . Mono Lake , Calif . " In the middle distance there rests upon the desert plain what appears to be a wide sheet of burnished metal , so even and brilliant is its surface . It is Lake Mono . " So wrote Israel C . Russell in the Quaternary History of the Mono Valley in 1889 . Much of the ancient saline lake hasn ' t changed . Mono Lake , which covers more than 181 square kilometres , has no fish . It is believed the lake could be one million to three million years old , and it is among the oldest lakes in North America . one thing that has changed here as the landscape makes the transition from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Great Basin Desert is the appearance of tufa , unusual rock formations that crowd the shore . The tufa towers are limestone and grow underwater ; they are exposed because the lake grew more shallow when water diversions started in 1941 . Great Blue Hole , BelizeIn 1971 , Jacques Cousteau boldly sailed his ship , Calypso , to the Great Blue Hole , investigated and declared it one of the 10 best diving sites in the world . It ' s a large underwater sinkhole near the centre of Lighthouse Reef , about 100 kilometres from Belize City . So much for the mystery . The circular hole is nearly 305 metres across and 125 metres deep , boasting underwater caves , fantastic coral formations and many species of tropical fish darting through the clear water . Shilin Stone Forest , ChinaAn old local saying says , " If you have visited Kunming without seeing the Stone Forest , you have wasted your time . " The Shilin Stone Forest covers 96 , 000 acres with large and small stands of stone " trees . " They actually are karst formations that stand on the earth like stalagmites and looking like petrified trees . Believed to be more than 270 million years old , the stone trees emerged as limestone eroded . Legend says this is the birthplace of Ashima , who was forbidden to marry the man she loved , drowned and turned to stone in the forest . The Torch Festival celebrates her each year . Mud volcanoes , Azerbaijan . Take what you know about volcanoes and imagine mud volcanoes . Rather than hot lava , steam , ash and rocks , mud volcano eruptions involve cold mud , water and gas . Nearly 400 mud volcanoes , more than half of the world total , are found in Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea . The most common have several small cones or vents and average about four metres high . Just be aware : In 2001 , a mud volcano about nine miles from Baku , Azerbaijan ' s capital , erupted with enough force to send flames hundreds of feet into the sky and spew tons of mud . Moaning Cavern , Vallecito , Calif . The sounds echoing through the cavern might be unnervingly like a human moan . But the sound is created by water dripping into holes in the bottom of the formation , which causes a drumming sound that echoes off the walls and is carried out of the Moaning Cavern ' s natural entrance by the wind . Gold miners came upon this cavern in 1851 ( it is near Angels Camp ) , but it has been known about for far longer ; some of the oldest human remains known in the Americas were found here . Moeraki Boulders , New Zealand . The Moeraki Boulders are a big attraction , found on Koekohe Beach near Moeraki on New Zealand ' s coast . The huge , gray , spherical stones formed in sediment on the sea floor 60 million years ago and were revealed by shoreline erosion . Or , if you take the local Maori perspective , they are the remains of calabashes ( gourds ) , kumaras ( sweet potatoes ) and eel baskets that washed ashore when the legendary canoe Araiteuru was wrecked . Either way , the boulders , some of which stand alone and some in clusters , can weigh several tons and measure three metres across .