7 Bizarre Natural Events You Need To See Before You Die

Forget about over-sized roadside attractions, cheesy theme parks and holing up in your accommodation. The world is full of bizarre natural phenomena that’s begging to be seen! From moving rocks to eternal lightning, here are some of the most spectacular events of the natural world.

On the Racetrack Playa, in Death Valley National Park, rocks move in long tracks on the smooth valley floor without human or animal intervention. They’ve never been caught moving on film, but individual tracks grow for many years. Their paths can stop abruptly, change direction or even backtrack. No one knows for sure why the rocks do this, but it’s thought to be related to ice and strong winds.

Venezuela’ s Catatumbo Lightning is the most persistent thunderstorm in the world, flashing almost continuously for 200 days (and nights) of the year. It only happens over Lake Maracaibo, where a unique interaction of wind, heat and high mountain ranges results in nearly continuous thunderstorm activity.

I love (LOVE) goats in all shapes and sizes, but these tree goats are a whole new level of goat awesomeness. It’s like a goat Christmas tree, only better because the trees decorate themselves. The goats climb these twisty, gnarly argan trees to munch on the leaves and olive-sized fruit, which has a undigestible nut-like pit. When the goats poo, argan farmers (for lack of a better term) gather the nuts, crack them open to extract the bitter kernels inside, which they grind and press into an expensive oil used in cosmetics and cooking.

Brazil’s famous tidal bore, called a pororoca, is a true tidal wave. The leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water up to 4 metres high that travels as much as 300 km upstream on the Amazon River, according to National Geographic. Despite all the river debris and dangerous animals, the wave is a popular surfing spot. The world record ride is a whopping 43 minutes!

In the spring and fall, huge flocks of black starlings create fascinating patterns in the sky. The flocks can contain hundreds of thousands of birds and are so dense that they nearly block out the sun! The best time to view this phenomenon is right before sunset, when the birds are done feeding and are about to settle in for the night. And when birds of prey like hawks and eagles swoop into the picture, the starlings’ patterns become even more spectacular.

In 2010, a huge sinkhole swallowed a 3-story building in Guatemala. The hole is about 18 metres (60 feet) wide and 30 stories deep, according to a National Geographic article. It’s thought to have been caused by a ruptured sewer line, but no one knows for sure.

The Great Blue Hole is an underwater sinkhole off the coast of Belize. It’s 300 metres (984 ft) wide and about 40 stories deep (124 metres / 407 ft), and so perfectly round that it looks man-made. It’s an incredibly popular scuba diving spot full of bizarre stalactites, limestone formations and mammoth caverns.