The document lists and briefly describes 10 of the most surreal places in the world, including Mount Roraima in South America, known for its sheer cliffs and tabletop shape formed over 2 billion years; Aogashima in Japan, a volcanic island with steep cliffs and a caldera; and Fly Geyser in Nevada, formed when a well was drilled and left unsealed, causing minerals and algae to form strange mounds. Other surreal places mentioned include Zhangye Danxia in China, known for its colorful rock formations; Socotra Island off Yemen, home to unique flora and fauna; Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia; and Tianzi Mountains in

1. depthworld September 16, 2019
10 Most Surreal Places in the World
depthworld.com/surreal-places-in-the-world
Surreal places in the world that transport you to the world of fantasy. Many surreal
places are present in the world which are extremely beautiful & mind-blowing. These
magical surreal places will inspire, amaze & bring you into your dream world. Here is
the list of many surreal destinations to visit:
Mount Roraima, South America
Mount Roraima is one of the oldest tabletop mountains on the earth, a magical surreal
place in the world which was formed two billion years ago when the land was lifted high
above the ground level by different tectonic activities. It’s nearly impossible to climb
because of its sheer vertical cliffs with a number of waterfalls. This surreal mountain
was described to Europeans by an English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh in 1595. Its 31-
square-kilometer (12-square-mile) summit area is confined on all sides by cliffs rising
400 meters (1,300 ft). The mountain has three-point from where it is connected with
Venezuela, Guyana, and Brazil, these points are known as tripoint. Raleigh learned
about it from native peoples, who lived there before the European attack of the 15-
1600’s.
Aogashima, Japan
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2. Aogashima (Charly W. Karl – Flickr/Creative Commons)
The volcanic island, Aogashima is also one of the astonishing surreal places in the world
located 200 miles from the coast of Tokyo. It is 3.5 km in length with an extreme width
of 2.5 km, molded by the intersecting remnants of at least four submarine calderas.
This surreal island is bounded by very steep rugged cliffs of layered volcanic deposits.
The southern coast also upsurges to a sharp ridge forming one edge of a caldera
named Ikenosawa with a diameter of 1.5 km. The caldera dominates the island, with
one point on its southern ridge, Otonbu with a height of 423 meters (1,388 ft), which is
the highest point of the mountain.
Fly Geyser, Nevada
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3. Fly Geyser is found on the Fly Ranch in Hualapai Flat, is a surreal place in the world. It
is about 0.3 miles (0.48 km) from State Route 34 and about 25 miles (40 km) north
of Gerlach, Nevada. It is due east of Black Rock Desert. Fly Geyser was created
accidentally when a well was bored and left unsealed. Minerals and algae started to rise
from the geyser and gathered to form an alien-like mound. The temperature and
chemical composition of the mineral burdened water are distinctive. The temperature
of the water emitting the geyser can go beyond 200 °F (93 °C).
Zhangye Danxia Landform, Gansu, China
Image Source: christianklepp.com
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4. Zhangye Danxia is also included in the surreal places in the world which are recognized
for the rare colors of the rocks, which are plane, high-pitched and several hundred
meters elevated. They are the result of deposits of sandstone and many mineral
deposits that happened over 24 million years. The result (like a layer cake), was slanted
by the action of the similar tectonic plates responsible for forming parts of
the Himalayan mountains. With the passage of time, wind and rain molded
unexceptional shapes, including towers, pillars, and ravines, with fluctuating colors,
patterns, and sizes.
Socotra, Yemen
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5. Socotra word is described from the Arabic language i.e., ‫ﺳ‬ُ‫ﻘ‬ُ‫ﻄ‬ْ‫ﺮ‬َ‫ى‬ ​ Suquṭrā, also known
as Soqotra, found between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea and it is the
largest island in the Socotra archipelago among the four islands. It is one of the best
surreal places in the world. Socotra Island consists of about 95% of the landmass of the
Image Source: npr.org
Image Source: Pandotrip.com
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6. Socotra archipelago. It contains some 240 kilometers (150 mi) east of the coast of
Somalia and 380 kilometers (240 mi) south of the Arabian Peninsula. Politically,
Socotra is a part of Yemen (an Asian country), and the rest of its archipelago
geographically is part of Africa, that’s why making Yemen a transcontinental country.
This surreal island is very secluded, home to a huge number of endemic species. Socotra
Island having unique flora from which one-third of the flora is found nowhere else on
planet Earth. One of the most peculiar forms of life is the dragon blood tree, which
resembles an umbrella. The Socotra island is known as the most alien-looking place on
Earth. The length of the island is 132 kilometers (82 mi) and the width is 49.7
kilometers (30.9 mi). In 2008, Socotra was accepted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Salar De Uyuni, Bolivia
The world’s largest salt flat is known as Salar de Uyuni (or Salar de Tunupa),
comprised of 10,582 square kilometers (4,086 sq mi). The Salar found in the Daniel
Campos Province in southwest Bolivia, near the apex of the Andes, and is at an altitude
of 3,656 meters (11,995 ft) above sea level.
The surreal Salar was created as a result of transformations between numerous
prehistoric lakes, so it is also included in surreal places in the world. It is surrounded by
a few meters of salt crust, which has an astonishing flatness with the average altitude
deviations within one meter over the intact area of the Salar. The crust obliges as a
foundation of salt and covers a pool of brine, which is extraordinarily rich in lithium. It
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7. comprises 50% to 70% of the world’s lithium reserves. In the rainy season, the Salar
world’s largest salt flat converts into the world’s largest mirror. It is so reflective, so it is
used to adjust satellites.
Tianzi Mountains, China
The Tianzi mountain landscape is the surreal place in the world which comprises 21
square located inside the Wulinyuan Scenic Area amid Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
in the Hunan Province of China. It is one of the most exclusive formations on Earth.
These distinctively tall and thin surreal mountains are so strange and rare that they
were used in James Cameron’s movie “Avatar.” These are formed underwater 380
million years ago, the ground rose due to some volcanic activities. Some of the pillars
have reached up to 4,000 feet above sea level.
Tianzi Mountain is the creation of millions of years of sedimentary rock erosion. These
are antique sandstone peaks, older up to 300 million years (sources vary), have been
slowly stamped out by water and wind. What’s left behind are the weathered, slender
towers (some as tall as about 4,100 feet) that resemble skyscrapers more than a city
landscape.
Skaftafell Ice Cave, Iceland
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8. This surreal place in the world transport to the world of fantasy. Ice caves are transitory
structures that form at the edge of glaciers when flowing water melts a hole into
glaciers. The compactly packed surreal ice has very few air bubbles and captivates all
light except for blue which giving the ice its unique color. It is one of the best surreal
places on earth and many tourists visit it. Ice caves are ever-changing natural
phenomena that are often accessible only during winter when the temperature drops
well below zero so the water from the rivers that run underneath the glacier freezes and
leaves us with this amazing natural wonder to explore.
Sea of Stars, Vaadhoo Island, Maldives
The Maldives is a land of mysterious & surreal places, resorts, beaches, and sparkling
sea. In Maldives’s Indian Ocean billions and billions of micro-organisms are present
including dinoflagellates, which are a type of phytoplankton as well as tropical fish,
sharks, and corals. But the surreal Lingulodinium polyedrum is different from other
organisms because of their exceptional ability to produce light.
Image Source: Travelmint.com
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9. Due to the movement of the sea and waves stress is produced which leads the plankton
to emit light or bioluminescence as a defense mechanism just like in some fireflies. The
emitted bioluminescent light has an electric blue-neon color, glowing further as each
wave breaks. The unique phenomena are one of nature’s rarest events.
Turquoise Ice, Lake Baikal, Russia
Lake Baikal is one of the well-known surreal place in the world, located in Siberia is the
largest freshwater lake on the planet that comprises approximately 20 percent of the
Earth’s freshwater. Lake Baikal is known to be the largest and primogenital freshwater
lake in the world. Apart from being the oldest lake in the world at over 25 million years
old, Lake Baikal is also contained up to two thousand varieties of flora and fauna, of
which almost 1,600 are endemic (only present here) to the lake.
Image Source: Pinterest.com
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10. The water of surreal Lake Baikal is well-known for being some of the clearest in the
world. During winter, the lake freezes, but the water is very clear that you can even see
up to130 feet below the ice, and an incredible phenomenon takes place in a lake; large
shards of transparent ice form on the surface of the lake, giving the astounding
appearance of turquoise ice. At the starting of March, Sun causes cracks in the ice crust,
which results in the turquoise ice shards we see at the surface.
Read also:
10 Most Famous Sea Stacks Around the World
10 Famous Landmarks in Europe
7 Wonderful Pyramids that exist in Mexico
12 Amazing Caves with surprising facts
10 Strangest Islands on Earth
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