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The Most Colorful Natural Wonders on Earth

The Most Colorful Natural Wonders on Earth

After 20 months of COVID-19 we could all use a little color in our lives. 24/7 Tempo has compiled a list of the most colorful natural wonders on Earth. Ranging from deserts to oceans and from hot springs to waterfalls, they offer more than a little color and truly span the globe. 

Fortunately, with international travel restrictions being lifted, these amazing places are becoming accessible to adventurous souls once again. (Here are 50 natural wonders everyone should see at least once.)

The reasons why these natural wonders are so colorful vary. For example, the rocks that cap Utah’s Bryce Amphitheater have a pink hue, whereas the waters of Tuscany’s Cascate del Mulino are turquoise. (See these beautiful pictures of the world’s biggest waterfalls.)

In some places wildflowers provide the colors. Antelope Valley and Carrizo Plain are famous for their floral displays. Antelope Valley is home to the state-protected California Poppy Reserve, which boasts the most consistent blooms of the state flower. Colombia’s Caño Cristales River is known as the “River of Five Colors” and the “Liquid Rainbow” because of the amazingly colorful aquatic plants that grow there.

A bioluminescent species of ostracod crustacean known as the sea firefly accounts for Okayama, Japan’s place on our list. It produces a brilliant blue glow that can be seen in the area’s shallow waters and rocky shoreline. 

There’s also Lake Hayes in the South Island of New Zealand, one of the closest countries to the South Pole where the Aurora Australis originates. The skies there are sometimes lit up with amazing green and pink displays

Source: JimVallee / iStock via Getty Images

Amphitheater at Bryce Canyon
> Location: Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Source: tobiasjo / E+ via Getty Images

Antelope Canyon
> Location: Near Page, Arizona

Source: Ron and Patty Thomas / E+ via Getty Images

Antelope Valley
> Location: Los Angeles County, California

Source: chemc / E+ via Getty Images

Aurora Australis
> Location: Lake Hayes, New Zealand

Source: tdub_video / E+ via Getty Images

Bioluminescent Beaches
> Location: Okayama, Japan

Source: Karel Stipek / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Bourke’s Luck potholes
> Location: Blyde River Canyon, South Africa

Source: Claudio Sieber / iStock via Getty Images

Caño Cristales River
> Location: Serrania de la Macarena province of Meta, Colombia

Source: HaizhanZheng / iStock via Getty Images

Carrizo Plain National Monument
> Location: San Luis Obispo, California

Source: fokkebok / iStock via Getty Images

Cascate del Mulino
> Location: Saturnia, Italy

Source: MNStudio / iStock via Getty Images

Cliffs of Moher
> Location: Burren region in County Clare, Ireland

Source: Elen11 / iStock via Getty Images

Eye of the Sahara (Richat Structure)
> Location: Sahara’s Adrar Plateau, near Ouadane, Mauritania

Source: Steve Tietze / iStock via Getty Images

Fly Geyser
> Location: Black Rock Desert, Nevada

Source: Hallestrandsfoto / iStock via Getty Images

Geirangerfjord
> Location: Møre og Romsdal county, Norway

Source: jose1983 / iStock via Getty Images

Grand Canyon
> Location: Arizona

Source: Ajith Kumar / iStock via Getty Images

Grand Prismatic Spring
> Location: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Source: Luisa Trescher Photos / iStock via Getty Images

Great Barrier Reef
> Location: Australia

Source: ansonmiao / E+ via Getty Images

Horseshoe Bend
> Location: Near Page, Arizona

Source: Ericliu08 / iStock via Getty Images

Huanglong Valley
> Location: Sichuan, China

Source: lindsay_imagery / E+ via Getty Images

Lake Hillier
> Location: Western Australia

Source: cokada / iStock via Getty Images

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park
> Location: Brazil’s north Atlantic coast

Source: PEDRE / E+ via Getty Images

Ljotipollur crater lake
> Location: Landmannalaugar, Iceland

Source: R.M. Nunes / iStock via Getty Images

Marble Caves
> Location: General Carrera Lake, Patagonia, Chile

Source: Ron and Patty Thomas / E+ via Getty Images

Maroon Bells
> Location: Near Aspen, Colorado

Source: Ramin Hasanalizade / iStock via Getty Images

Masazir Lake
> Location: Near Baku, Azerbaijan

Source: FilippoBacci / E+ via Getty Images

Monument Valley
> Location: Arizona-Utah border

Source: sara_winter / iStock via Getty Images

Moraine Lake
> Location: Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Source: benedek / iStock via Getty Images

Mount Roraima
> Location: South America

Source: sorincolac / iStock via Getty Images

Na Pali Coast
> Location: Kauai Island, Hawaii

Source: chuvipro / iStock via Getty Images

Ngorongoro Crater
> Location: Arusha Region, Tanzania

Source: La_Corivo / iStock via Getty Images

Northern Lights
> Location: Various

Source: knowlesgallery / iStock via Getty Images

Palouse
> Location: Parts of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon

Source: wanderluster / Getty Images

Paria Canyon
> Location: Northern Arizona and southern Utah

Source: serts / E+ via Getty Images

Plitvice Lakes
> Location: Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Source: travelview / iStock via Getty Images

Punkaharju Esker Nature Reserve
> Location: Finland

Source: Riverwill / iStock via Getty Images

Red Beach
> Location: Dawa County, Panjin, Liaoning, China

Source: Kenneth Keifer / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Rock House
> Location: Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio

Source: Onfokus / E+ via Getty Images

Salar de Uyuni
> Location: Andes in southwest Bolivia

Source: Leonid Andronov / iStock via Getty Images

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall
> Location: South Region, Iceland

Source: diegograndi / iStock via Getty Images

Serrania de Hornocal
> Location: Humahuaca, Jujuy, Argentina

Source: OGphoto / iStock via Getty Images

Skyline Drive
> Location: Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Source: Maxvis / iStock via Getty Images

Spotted Lake
> Location: British Columbia, Canada

Source: SeanPavonePhoto / iStock via Getty Images

Tallulah Gorge
> Location: Tallulah Gorge State Park, Georgia

Source: stevegeer / E+ via Getty Images

The Wall
> Location: Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Source: Dan Badiu / iStock via Getty Images

Turda Gorge
> Location: Transylvania, Romania

Source: bonafau / iStock via Getty Images

Verdon Gorge
> Location: Southeastern France

Source: Kanawa_Studio / E+ via Getty Images

Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park
> Location: Zhangye, Gansu, China

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