The most alien places on earth. The most “alien” place on Earth is Danakil, cosmobiologists are sure The most alien place on earth

In the northwestern Indian Ocean, 220 miles from the Yemen mainland lies the island of Socotra. Socotra is known for its unique flora and fauna: in fact, 30% of the island's plants, such as the borage tree and cinnabar dracaena, cannot be found anywhere else in the world. It is for this reason that Socotra Island is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

On the island of Socotra (and by the way, Socotra is translated as “island of happiness”) you can see extremely rare representatives of the plant world. In this remote corner of the globe, about 800 rare plants have found refuge, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. All these fantastic views are located 350 kilometers from the Arabian Peninsula.

Thanks to its extraordinary and exotic landscapes, Socotra has been dubbed “the most alien place on earth.” Once upon a time, many millions of years ago, this island was part of the African continent, but about six million years ago it separated from the mainland.
The island is part of Yemen and is part of the Socotra archipelago of the same name, consisting of three inhabited and one uninhabited islands. The “unusual” nature of Socotra is explained, for the most part, by the unique tropical desert and semi-desert climate, which is characterized by an average air temperature of 28.4 ° C and an almost complete absence of rain. In addition, due to its remoteness from the mainland, nature here developed and transformed in isolation for a very long time, which also contributed to the emergence of new unique species of flora and fauna.

The island's landscape is predominantly composed of sandy beaches, limestone caves, majestic mountains, and, of course, unusual exotic plants. Many of the species found in Socotra are native to the island. Flora and fauna have developed here for millions of years without the intervention of civilization and in accordance with difficult climatic conditions. In 2008, Socotra was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

According to the results of botanical field research carried out under the auspices of the Center for Middle Eastern Plants at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, only Hawaii, the Galapagos Islands and New Caledonia can boast more endemic flora than Socotra. In addition, scientists discovered that out of 825 plant species, 307 are absolutely unique and are not found anywhere else in the world. That is why the island has gained the reputation of a “botanical paradise”.

The nature here has retained its pristine quality, largely due to the absence of civilization. For example, despite the fact that the population of Socotra is about 44 thousand people, the first roads appeared on the island only about 5 years ago.

Socotra is the home of the famous Dragon's Blood Tree, or Dracaena vermilion. This is an ancient plant, the tree resin of which is still used to prepare medicines. According to an ancient legend, once on the island there lived an evil and merciless dragon who drank the blood of elephants. Once a very strong elephant did not succumb to the dragon, and a fight began between them.
As a result, the blood of the elephant and the dragon mixed and spilled onto the ground. In these places, bizarre trees grew, which were called “dracaenas” (translated as “female dragon”). from the resin of Dracaena vermilion. In addition, Socotra is famous for the magnificent and amazing flower “Desert Rose”.

It has a powerful “stem” that looks like an elephant’s foot, the top of which is decorated with the most delicate pink flowers. Also growing here is Dorsthenia gigantea and the Cucumber tree, which can only be seen on this island. According to the classification of plants, the cucumber tree belongs to the pumpkin family.
It has a very thick and fleshy trunk, which can reach 1 meter in diameter, and disproportionately small and short branches that make up a sparse crown.
The tree got its name from its fruits, which resemble cucumbers in appearance, but are covered with many thorns.

Socotra is home not only to exotic plants, but also to equally exotic fauna. For example, all the local mollusks, as well as 90% of all reptiles, are endemic, that is, unique, found only on this island.

Up to 140 species of birds also live here. Moreover, 10 of them can be found exclusively in Socotra, and nowhere else. Unfortunately, recently, due to increased human interest in this amazing island, many plants and animals have sharply reduced their numbers, and some of them are even in danger of extinction.

Tourist interest in Socotra is only growing, and every year this unique place is becoming more urbanized, losing all the charm of its pristine, untouched nature.

Earth is a unique planet because life exists on it. It has many beautiful and fascinating places, and some make scientists and tourists think about extraterrestrial origin. Journalists from the publication “Territory of News” offer 10 places on Earth that look “alien.”

Dragon trees, Yemen

Unusual trees grow on the island of Socotra in Yemen. They are called draconian because they secrete a blood-red juice called the “blood” of the dragon. These trees have a dense trunk with branches similar to mushrooms and are unique, because they can only be found in this area.

Sulfur Ponds, Ethiopia

Mysterious ponds are located in the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia. At first glance, it seems that the territory is endless. Experts believe that the depression is not suitable for life due to the harsh conditions, but some microorganisms have been able to adapt to extreme conditions and exist safely in this environment.

Tianzi Mountains, China

Massive and high natural hills look as if they are floating above the earth's surface. It was this area that formed the basis of the “floating” mountains in James Cameron’s film “Avatar”.

Giant's Causeway, Ireland

In the past, there was a huge volcano here, the eruption of which has left its mark to this day. As a result, unusual volcanic rocks remained on the surface, formed in the form of cubes and columns. There are about 40 thousand of them, and their shape is symmetrical.

Deadvlei, Namibia

The Namib Desert is famous not only for its endless sands and harsh climate. There is an unusual “forest” of dry trees here. The endless desert is strewn with dried acacia trunks and dead trees, of which only “skeletons” remain.

"Eye of the Sahara", Mauritania

This area has long been considered a landing site for alien ships. It is not surprising that such theories arise, since on the surface there is a dome with a diameter of 40 kilometers. Photos from space are mesmerizing, as the natural formation resembles an eye with an iris. Scientists are confident that the “Eye of the Sahara” appeared as a result of a natural process - erosion, and therefore has nothing to do with alien life.

"Gates of Hell", Turkmenistan


The hole in the ground, which looks terrifying, was formed in 1971 when a Soviet drilling rig collapsed. She found herself in an underground cave with natural gas, after which the funnel was constantly burning for a long time.

Cave of Crystals, Mexico

Mount Roraima, Brazil

Mount Roraima is also called Table Mountain because it appears to float above a land covered in thick fog. The cloud around the mountain never disappears, which makes it unique on the Planet. Moreover, the vegetation in this area is not found anywhere else on Earth. The height of the mountain is 2723 meters above sea level.

Firefly Cave, New Zealand

The area is part of the Waitomo cave complex and is characterized by the fungus gnat Arachnocampa luminosa. They are the ones who glow in the dark at all stages of development. This type of insect lives exclusively in this place, and therefore is of interest to tourists and scientists.

The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is the most inhospitable place on the planet. Yellow-green, almost boiling water, saturated with acids, bubbles here, and a fog of sulfur and chlorine vapors spreads in the air. The expedition members, led by Felipe Gomez from the Astrobiological Center of Spain, spent three days in these inhospitable places and collected samples for chemical analysis.

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Researchers have found that the Danakil Depression in northern Ethiopia contains at least three extreme ecosystems. According to scientists, studying the geological features and microorganisms of Danakil will provide an idea of ​​what other planets may look like and whether life is possible on them.

“This is an amazing but hostile place. During the day the temperature was 42 degrees Celsius and at night - 30 degrees. Chlorine fumes burned our airways. Any microorganisms living here will be extremely interesting to astrobiologists,” says Felipe Gomez.

The Danakil Depression is a volcanic area that extends from Dallol Volcano to Lake Assal, near Ethiopia's border with Eritrea. This is one of the lowest places on the planet - 125 meters below sea level. Rain and sea water coming here from the Red Sea are heated by magma that comes to the surface. In some areas, the water temperature reaches 90 degrees Celsius, and the reservoirs are yellow due to the high content of acids and sulfur.

Other, less hot pools warm up to 40 degrees and are colored green with copper salts. Nearby you can see something like stone mushrooms - this environment contains practically no water and consists of iron salts.

The expedition members tried to clarify the geological data about the depression, as well as find out what microorganisms inhabit these places. In any case, we are talking about extremophiles - bacteria and microorganisms that are able to live and reproduce in extreme conditions. The study of such microorganisms is especially important for astrobiologists who are searching for life on other planets. Scientists expect that they will be able to obtain more detailed information after conducting a chemical analysis of the samples obtained during the expedition.

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Our planet is a real storehouse of surprises. We think we know everything about it, but sometimes we come across places where, when we get there, it’s hard to believe that this is the same planet.

website invites you to travel to different parts of the Earth, where everything looks so unusual that it seems as if we have left the confines of our cosmic home.

16. Hidden Beach, Marieta Islands, Mexico

15. Lassen Volcanic National Park, USA

In addition to alien landscapes, Lassen Volcanic National Park, located in California, is famous for the fact that it is the only place on Earth where there are all 4 types of volcanoes: a stratovolcano, a shield volcano, as well as lava and cinder cones.

14. Mount Roraima, Brazil - Venezuela - Guyana

At first glance, it may seem that in front of us is a piece of land floating freely among the clouds. In fact, this is Mount Roraima, or, as it is also called, Table Mountain. The cloud near its top never disappears, and many species of plants can only be found in the vicinity of this mountain and nowhere else.

13. Zhangye Danxia National Geopark, China

These colorful mountain “layer cakes” are the result of sandstone and other rocks layered on top of each other over 24 million years. Winds and rains over millions of years have given these mountains a variety of shapes - from rounded to cone-shaped.

12. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

The dry salt lake of Uyuni stores 10 billion tons of salt. Every year during the rainy season, Uyuni is covered with a thin layer of water and turns into the world's largest natural mirror, which is used to calibrate satellites.

11. Salvador Dali Desert, Bolivia

A lifeless desert spread over an area of ​​more than 100 square meters. km, as if she had stepped out of the paintings of a famous genius. Smooth mountains as if painted with watercolors, strange stones resembling trees growing out of nowhere, and endless sand - it seems that this is where Dali wrote his surreal masterpieces.

10. Danakil Depression, Ethiopia

The Danakil Depression is a place that can be considered the cradle of humanity, because it was here that the remains of Lucy, the first hominid known to science, were found. Thanks to the sulfur lakes, which are home to unique microorganisms that have adapted to extreme conditions, the local landscape resembles the views of Io, one of the moons of Jupiter.

9. Wave Gallery, Arizona, USA

“Wave” is a natural gallery formed from sandstone. 200 million years ago there were sand dunes here, which, under the influence of time and natural phenomena, turned the local landscape into an alien one. Getting here is not easy - local authorities issue no more than 20 vouchers per day, which also need to be won in a lottery.

8. Valley of the Moon, Atacama Desert, Chile

The Valley of the Moon is located in one of the driest places on the planet - the Atacama Desert. The landscape of the valley is very similar to the lunar one, because even the local lakes consist exclusively of a salt crust, and stone cliffs here and there rise above the surface.

7. Flying Geyser, Nevada, USA

The Fly geothermal spring was formed due to human intervention: a mistake was made during the construction of the well, as a result of which boiling water came out. The minerals contained in it formed a “volcano” 1.5 meters high, which continues to increase in size.

6. Prohodna Cave, Bulgaria

Prohodna Cave, or "Eyes of God" is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Bulgaria. The through holes in the rock are surprisingly symmetrical and really look like eyes, especially during rain, when water begins to flow through them, resembling tears.

5. Crooked Forest, Pomerania, Poland

Almost 400 pine trees, whose trunk sharply bends strictly in the north direction a few tens of centimeters from the ground, grow in one of

There are many so-called “alien” places on Earth, which seem to be either Martian deserts or lunar craters. It is there that science fiction films are usually shot, and NASA stages unsurpassed hoaxes of flights to the Moon and Mars.

And yet, according to researchers, there is the most “alien” place on Earth, and this is the Danakil Depression, which is located in Ethiopia, in the very north of this African country.

In Danakil, three completely different extreme systems can be distinguished, which can easily be confused with other planets. For example, in one of them you will find an unearthly world of boiling liquid, and this is not just water with a temperature close to one hundred degrees Celsius, this environment is full of sulfur, various acids, and therefore is colored poisonous yellow.

The second system of the depression is colder - only forty degrees Celsius, but it is notable for the fact that it is oversaturated with various copper salts, giving this area a truly fantastic look. But the third system is a kind of mushroom world, however, these “mushrooms” are not living, they are of a completely different type, since they consist of iron salts.

The unique Danakil depression, according to the Spanish scientist Felipe Gomz, is a completely unexplored territory unknown to people. Its beautiful, albeit harsh world is located one hundred meters below sea level, and therefore water constantly rushes here, but passing through rocks heated by lava, it is enriched with all kinds of inorganics, turning into a kind of “chemical soup”. Such ecosystems, the researcher says, existed during the birth of our Earth. That is why they so easily imitate extraterrestrial conditions to this day...

However, the Danakil Desert is not so beautiful as it is dangerous for humans, including from the still wild African peoples living next to it. And yet, there are many hunters who want to get here, who are not afraid of any obstacles or dangers. However, this is really simpler and, of course, safer than going to, say, Mars or Venus...