Photo Essay: The Most Alien Landscapes on Earth
***Copyright: Please visit the photographer links for licensing conditions for each photo. Some are available through a Creative Commons license, but many are copyrighted against unauthorized use. Matador was granted special permission to feature them here. ***
1. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
The largest salt flat in the world reflects the sky during the wet season (above). In the dry winter months, it becomes a mosaic of salt tiles (below).
Photographer: Luca Galuzzi
Photographer: Sergio Pessolano
2. Antarctica
Icebergs drift in dark Antarctic waters.
Photographer: winkyintheuk
3. The Richat Structure, near Ouadane, Mauritania
A circular feature, 50 km across, in the middle of the otherwise featureless Mauritanian Sahara. Picture courtesy of NASA.
Photographer: trodel_wiki
4. Alvord Playa, southeastern Oregon, USA
You might not expect to find a desert in the Pacific Northwest, but this dry lake bed averages only 180 mm of rain a year.
Photographer: rasone
5. Cappadocia, Turkey
Fairy chimneys dominate the landscape between Cavusin and Zelve.
Photographer: Timothy Neesam
6. Socotra Island, Yemen
Socotra’s isolation in the Indian Ocean has given rise to plant life you won’t see anywhere else. Behold the dragon’s blood tree.
Photographer: Sotti
7. Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA
Best known as the staging grounds for Burning Man, the Black Rock Desert is also home to alien features such as the Fly Geyser.
Photographer: Stephen Oachs
8. Black and White Deserts, Egypt
Egypt’s deserts come in many colors, including Black (above) and White (below).
Photographer: Gekko82
Photographer: tronics
9. Kauai, Hawaii
Seaside lava ledges make for otherworldly experiences on this often-overlooked Hawaiian island.
Photographer: PatrickSmithPhotography
10. Namib Desert, Namibia
Sand rarely gets as red as it does in the deserts of Namibia.
Photographer: Brian Preen
11. Torres del Paine, Chile
The most alien of the 8 Natural Wonders of Chile, Torres del Paine’s mountain spires cut into the blue sky.
Photographer: winkyintheuk
12. Dead Sea, Israel/Jordan
Lowest point on Earth, deepest salt lake in the world, saltier than the ocean…the list of the Dead Sea’s bizarreness is a long one.
Photographer: Pennina Neumann
13. Strokkur Geyser, southwestern Iceland
Visitors to the Strokkur Geyser are rewarded with this display every five minutes or so.
Photographer: exfordy
14. Lake Turkana, Kenya
Lake Turkana lies in Africa’s Great Rift Valley. Its salty waters comprise the world’s largest desert lake.
Photographer: Yannick Garcin
15. Four Corners region, USA
The Colorado Plateau gets funky at the Arizona-Utah border. That’s where you’ll find Vermilion Cliffs National Monument (above) and Monument Valley (below).
Photographer: gregmote
Photographer: Wolfgang Staudt
16. Chocolate Hills, Bohol, Philippines
Over 1,700 naturally formed mounds (covered with chocolate brown grass in the dry season) dot the center of the island of Bohol.
Photographer: Lemuel Montejo
17. The Sahara
The world’s largest hot desert is as big as the entire U.S. Get stranded out here and you’ll wish you really were on an alien world.
Photographer: Jay Brezinsky
“Tunisian Sahara: Desert Stop!”
Photographer: andzer
Trying to find new markets or become a successful travel photographer?
Grab Matador’s Free Report 15 Publications That Pay For Travel Photography and help accelerate your career as a photographer.
Community Connection
As most travelers know, you don’t have to be in an alien landscape to experience the surreal. Matador contributing editor Christine Garvin wants to know, What Is Your Most Surreal Travel Experience?
For more photo-inspired gawking (with a bit of vertigo tossed in), check out Photo Essay: 13 Places to Get Close to the EDGE.
About the Author
More By This Author
- Photo Essay: GIANT Redwoods, the Tallest Living Things on Our Planet (11 comments)
- More Bizarre Hotels Around the World (3 comments)
- Followup: Stargazing in Scotland Confirmed as World-Class (3 comments)
Related Posts
140 Comments... join the discussion!
-
-
Nature, pure nature. Nothing is man made. All GOD’s creations.
↵ -
To all those who are using comments here to propagandize your personal belief that nature was created by a god, would you please stop.
It’s not fair to me. I think it’s not fair to others too.
Appreciate the photos and their object & process. Please restrain yourself.
↵ -
EVERYONE has freedom of speech, and EVERYONE is entitled to voice their own opinions. you shouldnt be telling people to not do something just because YOU dont believe in it. take your own advice, and restrain YOURSELF!
↵ -
http://www.funny-design-funny-photos.info/
Appreciate the photos . I like them!↵ -
“omaniblog” What makes you so special? Everyone has their right to their opinions, just as you do!!
I believe God has made this world and you won’t change what Jesus has given me!!
Thank you, Alison Napier, for saying what I was thinking!! =)↵ -
Nice photos. I would like to see them unenhanced. Beauty in photos like these is from the natural color, shadows, and composition not from color and light enhancing program in my opinion. Show before and after photos.
↵ -
Those that don’t believe God created all will receive a hot pitchfork to the butt after they die.
↵ -
I would just like to say how amazing these pictures are, and how horrible it is that this had to turn into a religious debate. But, far be it for me to break with tradition, so I’m just going to say how amazing evolution is–look at those bipeds in the pictures! One could hardly believe they evolved from pond scum!
↵ -
we should all be lucky and proud to be part of this amazing scene!!!
↵ -
Have unsubscribed from this topic…because it’s in human nature to ruin an appreciation with political, religious, and/or selfish destructiveness. Have fun arguing over nothing.
↵ -
Wow! Unbelievable sites. Just gorgeous photography!
↵ -
Stop. I’m Christian and I believe in God. Feel how you want, say what you want, so what follows is not an order: stop being hypocrites by contradicting yourself in the same post. Ex. “Everyone has a right to freedom of speech. Take your own advice and restrain yourself!”. Plus its bullshit to believe with all the discrimination that goes on that everyone has a right. Or perhaps did you mean all rich religious whitefolk(I am Caucasian myself)? And some things ARE manmade in regard to the first comment.
↵ -
Alrighty, folks. It’s been fun, but I’m gonna have to ask that we move away from comments dealing solely with religion. This is a destination-centered travel site–we’re not in the business of affirming or contradicting anyone’s spiritual beliefs.
Nature rocks–let’s leave it at that.
↵ -
Whether created by God, the devil, evolution or Winston Churchill, I love the feeling I get just looking at these and I think that’s something we can all really appreciate. I can’t imagine seeing them with my own eyes. Fantastic finds, Hal, thank you!
↵ -
Wow Awesome, the desolate can be so beautiful, what an amazing variety of scenery
very cool I hope to visit some of these some day.
Thanks for showing us↵ -
Thank you for putting together such an amazing collection of photographs. Much appreciated! (Found via stumbleupon).
On another note, many of your comments epitomize what I see as the sheer folly of providing a space for people to leave comments. The religious comments are inane at best, while the athiestic comments (which I personally appreciate) are equally misplaced and self-serving. The lot of you spit in the face of the author and the photographers by taking advantage of the ability to leave a comment, doubtless that the author intended for commentary to be germane to the photographs. I would suggest to Hal Amen that in the future he disable the ability for the great unwashed to leave commentary so that this kind of internet graffiti can’t be seen to ruin an otherwise splendid experience.
↵ -
I was afraid you were going to forget my Utah! So happy the Four Corners made it in. The slot canyons, hoodoos and goblins are like nothing you’ll ever see!
↵ -
I grew up and live in NYC, and while I love my city, and cityscapes in general, there is absolutely nothing like natural settings. These are a wonderful collection of images, it just reaffirms my desire to get out and try to travel to some more exotic locales.
And bring my cameras.
↵ -
You are little boys and girls in the big sandbox of the world bitching about whos daddy is right. And i’m the senior sitting on a bench near the sandbox laughing silently at you.
You were shown beauty, and you turned it into a fight over who knows better. You silly little things.
↵
