60 Breathtaking Nature Photos
By | March 2, 2019
This Photo From 30 Years Ago Shows What A Woman Saw When She Stuck Her Camera Outside Her Tent And Took A Picture
Whether you like to brave the cold with photos of the Antarctic, hang ten with big waves that crash through the ocean, or get up close and personal with animals that would rather make a meal of you than get their belly rubbed, then we’ve got some pictures for you. The awe inspiring breadth of nature comes in many forms, and we’ve got ‘em all right here.
Along with these wild photos of undersea life and terrifying pictures of super storms we’ve got some facts to help you figure out just what’s going on in these photos. Remember to keep a camera on you the next time you go outside, you never know what you’re going to see. Now let’s rock!
According to a Redditor, one night while their friend was camping 30 or so ago she heard strange noises outside her tent. Rather than poke her head outside and run the risk of a monster chomping into her head she stuck her camera outside the tent and snapped this photo. When she developed the picture she found about 20 furry friends all looking for a snack.
First of all, yikes. Secondly, yikes. Where was this woman staying that was so beset by raccoons? Obviously nature is full of surprises but there’s something about seeing this many raccoons in one place that’s just downright unsettling.
Jean Guichard Captured This Photo Of A Huge Wave Hitting A Lighthouse Off the Coast Of France
In 1989 a storm was bombarded the French coastal town of Brittany as photographer Jean Guichard hovered above it on a helicopter with his camera like a madman. The lighthouse keeper Theodore Malgorne popped outside to see what all the fuss was about and that’s when this photo was snapped. It’s a true miracle that Guichard was able to grab such an amazing shot and live to tell the tale.
Don’t worry about that lighthouse keeper, Malgorne survived this massive tidal wave and the lighthouse is still standing. Now that’s a story he can tell his kids. But maybe the next time he leaves the lighthouse he'll bring an umbrella.
A Cell Tower Following A Snow Storm, Still Think It Has Signal?
It turns out that there is such a thing as texting in a winter wonderland. This photo shows a cell tower covered in rime ice, a kind of precipitation that forms when water droplets from fog freeze outside of an object. While you’re most likely to see rime ice on something natural like a mountain that’s high up, or a tall tree, it’s possible for the ice to form inside of a cloud that’s low to the ground.
Either a freezing fog rolled through the area where this photo was taken and hung around long enough to freeze this cell tower, or a cloud with freezing water inside settled over the tower and gifted us with this fascinating image.
This Woman Taunts Nature And Has Her Photo Taken In Front Of A Tornado
Nature isn’t meant to be trifled with, and it’s not a prop, but that doesn’t stop people from doing all kinds of crazy things in the name of capturing a perfect photo. In 1989 this woman posed in front of a field as a cyclone twisted across the plain behind her. Is it a cool picture? Absolutely. Is it giving me a panic attack? Of course.
The most jarring thing about this photo is how large the tornado even though it’s so far away from her. This is probably about as close as one can come to a brush with death and still get out with only messy hair.
This Giant Manta Ray Was Caught When It Got Caught Up In An Anchor Line
Now that’s what I call a catch of the day. This manta ray was caught in 1933 off the coast of Florida when New York silk manufacturer named A.L. Kahn accidentally snagged it on his anchor line. Kahn had to shoot the fish at least 12 time before he finally killed it. But no matter, after hauling it in he realized just how great his catch was. Supposedly this manta ray was over 20 feet wide and weighed 5,000 pounds.
Captain Kahn later took the giant fish to a taxidermist and had it preserved. He later charged 10 cents per person to everyone who wanted to see the creature and donated the proceeds to the local fire department. Supposedly after three days of showing off his catch the department was able to purchase a new $3,000 fire truck.
This Giant 28ft Crocodile Was Killed In Queensland, Australia, in 1957.
Maybe this is just me, but crocodiles shouldn’t be this big. At most they should be about three or four feet in length. Is that just me? This big boy measured up to 28 feet and was found in Queensland, Australia, a place known for their oversized wildlife.
According to Queensland farm owner John Leaver throughout the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s locals ran into crocodiles this size on a routine basis, and that it’s not out of the question for animals to grow that large in the south of the continent. So keep that in mind the next time you take a trip down to Australia on the hunt for alligator shoes.
Does This Beluga Whale Have Knees? No Way!
Beluga whales are definitely a sight to behold, but as wondrous as they are they don’t actually have knees. In fact, if you look at the skeleton of a beluga whale you’ll see that they don’t actually have knees, although their fins do have arm like bones.
So what made this whale look like it had knees? People are torn on this issue. Either it has a strange arrangement of ventral fat stores, or it had recently given birth. Because the swollen “knee-like” sections are near the whale’s mammary glands. Or maybe, just maybe, this whale was born with knees.
Can This Seagull Save Its Friend From An Eagle?
In spite of what you might think, not every animal is friends with one another. This picture shows a seagull trying to save its buddy from the grasp of a bald eagle - one of the most dangerous winged predators on planet Earth. This picture was captured by David Canales while on Prince William Sound in Alaska.
According to the Express, the eagle ended up winning out over the seagulls and made away with his prey. It’s unfortunate that the eagle won out over the gulls, but that’s the harsh mistress of nature for you. Word to the wise for seagulls - maybe buy some armor?
A Mother Wolf Spider Carrying Her Spiderlings On Her Back
You’re right, that’s way too many spiders. But how can you be grossed out by a bunch of spiders when this mother wolf spider is so loving and carrying around her babies as she chomps down bugs? Wolf spider mothers carry around their babies - or spiderlings - on their backs from their time as egg sacks until they’re ready to crawl around on all eight legs.
If you want to see this miracle of nature up close and personal then you’ve got to get yourself to Australia where there are about 400 species of wolf spiders. Or maybe you can just check them out on the internet.
This Baby Elephant Is Never Going To Forget Being Stuck In A Manhole
In 2009 a young elephant had a spot of bad luck in the Rayong province, eastern Thailand when it made a misstep and ended up in a manhole. The elephant was stuck in a painful position for around three hours. A Thai rescue team had to bring in a bulldozer to widen the manhole and free the elephant, luckily it made it out of the hole unscathed.
It’s amazing that authorities were able to respond so quickly and move with such agility that they were able to save this little guy without doing any harm. Hopefully he watches out for manholes going forward.
A Creepy Aquarium Sculpture At Oregon Undersea Gardens.
This sculpture of an undersea diver being attacked by a wayward squid can be seen at the Oregon Undersea Gardens in Newport Oregon. If you didn’t know that this was a thing then you’d probably freak out and think that the animals of the deep are revolting, finally tired of humans jumping into their homeland.
The design of this sculpture is a lot of fun, and it’s a great way to bring someone into the world of underwater zoos even if they aren’t super interested in learning about animals. That being said, anyone who's super interested in a stature of downed diver is probably super creepy.
Sylvester Stallone Kept The Turtles He Bought While Filming Rocky
What’s your favorite scene in Rocky? Is the triumphant montage where he runs up the Art Museum Steps? Is it when he screams, “Yo Adrian?” Or do you live the scene where Rocky buys a pair of turtles from a pet shop? Turtle fans rejoice because Stallone is still rocking with his best amphibious buddies, Cuff and Link.
Turtles live anywhere from 20 to 100 years, so it’s not a shock that these two turtles are still kicking around, however it is somewhat shocking that a star of Stallone’s magnitude would hold onto a pair of turtles that he bought while filming his star making movie. Good for him!
The Brilliant Catatumbo Lightning Only Occurs In One Place On Earth
If you want to witness the beautiful and awe inspiring crackle of catatumbo lightning you have to travel to the one place where it occurs - over the mouth of the Catatumbo River. This spectacular lightning appears in different frequencies and at different times of the year, and it’s caused by heat and moisture collected across the plains of Catatumbo, Venezuela.
Even though this brand of lightning only occurs in one place, researchers have discovered that it’s possible to predict exactly when it’s going to occur months ahead of time, which means that you can plan your trip south of the border accordingly.
They May Not Look Like It, But Moroccan Tree Climbing Goats Work Hard And Play Hard
Goats all over the world love to climb. But when it comes to being gold medal climbers there are the mountain goats of the Rocky Mountains and the tree climbing goats of Morocco. These North African goats climb argan trees in search of sustenance and and they snack on whatever fruit they find. Usually goats will eat the most low hanging fruit first before traveling up the tree to continue eating.
The goats don’t just snack on argan fruit, they take part in one of the major exports of Morocco - argan oil. The climbing goats eat argan fruit and because they can’t digest the seeds so the nut softens as it passes through their tracts. Once it comes out the locals can press the seed into argan oil. Yum!
This Little Piggy Went Overboard
You know, sometimes you just happen to have your camera out at the perfect time, and this was definitely one of those times. Let’s not think about what happened after this photo was taken, but instead bask in the glory that is this beautiful pork chop sailing through the air, unencumbered by gravity. It makes you want to start following pig trucks with a camera at the ready.
Unfortunately for the other white meat, it doesn’t look like there’s a safety protocol for keeping little piggies from going overboard. Still, it’s better to go out on top. Flying pig, we salute you.
Mount Vesuvius Erupted Over Italy For Five Days While B-25 Bombers Carried Out The Italian Campaign Of World War II
This is truly one of the most astounding photos of World War II. During the Italian Campaign Mount Vesuvius erupted for five days straight, all but destroying the 340th Bombardment Group of the US Army Air Forces:
Dana Craig from the 486th Bombardment Squadron described the day’s events:
On the day prior, Vesuvius was belching smoke. It was an overcast sky with the threat of rain. About midnight, I went out of my billet to answer the call of nature. While outside, in a mild drizzle, I was hit on the head by what I thought was a small rock. Suspecting some sort of joke, I went inside for a flashlight. When I returned, the light revealed a layer of damp cinders on the ground. We knew at that time that Vesuvius was erupting. We began to feel the earth shake as though a bomb had gone off.
The Last Photo Michio Hoshino Ever Took Was Right Before He Was Mauled To Death By A Brown Bear Inside His Tent In 1996
Michio Hoshino was a photographer from Japan who took astonishing nature photographs. His work was found in a variety of nature magazines and he was often compared to Ansel Adams because of his use of black and white film. He was specifically interested in the Alaskan wilderness after spending three months in the state living in Shishmaref taking pictures and catching fish.
At the age of 44 Hoshino traveled to Russia to take photos of the wilderness when he was attacked by a bear in his tent. His final image was taken moments before his death. He truly died for his art.
A Tornado Near Oklahoma City Was Caught On Camera In 1898.
Tornado photos aren’t exactly the most common of pictures, but you usually only see them from the modern era. Cameras are more adept at capturing these quick moving cyclones, and we’ve also got cars that can speed away from tornadoes faster than we can on foot (that being said please don’t try to out drive a tornado).
It’s rare to see a photo from the 19th century that presents farmers checking out the beauty of nature’s destruction. Imagine the work that went into getting this photo snapped. Remember, there wasn't photoshop back in the 19th century so this photographer had to be brave and stand very still.
Lightning Strikes Are Nothing To Mess With
Lighting strikes are nothing to kid around with. While people have survived being struck by lightning it’s still not something you want to seek out. It’s likely that if this tree was hit by a stray last of lightning that it was cooked to the core, and if it wasn’t reduced to ash then it’s a living monument to why you don’t want to mess with Mother Nature.
A bolt of lightning can reach 30,000 kelvins (53,540 degrees Fahrenheit), which is more than enough to cook your TV dinner and make your blood boil, so it can definitely turn a tree into charred piece of ground where a tree once stood.
This Cat Isn't Wasting Any Of Its Lives
Why don’t cats and dogs get along? It’s not like they’re all that different. Both species of animal has been domesticated for generations, and while one is a friendlier species than the other, they both like to lounge around and snack all day. Maybe there’s an innate need for these animals to battle one another, or maybe animals of a different species are just fit to fight.
Whatever the case may be this cat looks to be doing its best to avoid detective by a very friendly pair of dobermans. Maybe it’s planning a sneak attack, or maybe it’s just trying to get through the day without a close call with set of angry dog jaws.
Ahoy! This Hermit Crab Is Living In A Human Skull!
Hermit crabs are crustaceans that are known for using abandoned shells to hide inside of and protect themselves. They carry the shells wherever they go and while they tend to use jettisoned sea snail shells, this crab looks like it used that of someone who met their end on the seven seas. Was it a pirate? Or did this crab make its way through the Atlantic and find the legendary Titanic wreckage?
Hermit crabs move form shell to shell as they grow, whenever they outgrow their shell they go around and look for whatever they can fit their little bodies inside of. This guy looks like he hit the motherlode.
The Star Nosed Mole Looks Like An Alien, But It's Very Much From Planet Earth
One of the weirder mammals on planet Earth, Star Nosed Moles are some of the strangest looking creatures that have ever been seen crawling through the underbrush. These bad boys have a hairless nose made of of 22 pink, fleshy tentacles and unless something’s off about the mole it has 11 tentacles on both side.
If you want to see one of these in the wild you’ve got to travel to eastern North America, most likely on the Appalachian Trail. These moles prefer forests, clearings, wet meadows, marshes and peatlands. They like to burrow for earth worms and other invertebrates, so bring a handful of worms if you want to make a friend.
That's One Way To Train For A Race
In Alaska it’s not out of the question to run afoul of a bear who’s ready to chomp you down so it can stay warm throughout the cold winter months (or just all of them if you’re that far north). Plenty of bike riders have taken photos and videos of their death defying escapes from a crazed bear.
Remember, just because you’re on a bike that doesn’t mean that your escape is definitely going to happen. Brown bears can run up to 30 miles per hour, which means that you need to seriously hoof it if you want to escape from one of these made Alaskan butchers.
Mammatus Clouds Fill The Nebraska Sky
These marshmallow-like clouds may look like something from an alien planet, but they’re actually naturally occurring weather patterns on Earth. Mammatus clouds are puffy little cotton ball-esque clouds that form on the bottom of cumulonimbus clouds. However for a mammatus cloud to form they need cold sinking air that’s full of liquid to be surrounded by hot air.
Many people think that mammatus clouds are signs of a tornado, that’s not accurate. They simply signify moist air that’s sunk into dry air. The easiest way to think about them is that they’re normal clouds that are upside down.
Tippi Hedren Was Scratched Up On The Set Of Roar 1981, By Her Tiger Gregory
Regarded as one of the most dangerous films of all time, Roar is a wild movie that uses a bunch of live animals that were blamed for harming multiple members of the crew. Supposedly at least 70 people were injured during the film’s shoot. However the truth is that less crew members were injured than was touted.
That being said, the injuries on set were still awful. Cinematographer Jan de Bont was “scalped” and he needed 220 stitches to put his noggin back together. Hedren herself broke her leg on set and she also had to deal with a bunch of scratches to her head. As if her injuries on the set of The Birds weren’t bad enough!
Qizai Is The Only Brown Panda In The World And The Chinese Government Is Trying To Breed Him
It’s a sad story, but Qizai the brown panda was abandoned by his mother when he was two months old and even though he was bulled by other pandas as a youngling he’s become a big fat bear that eats 44 pounds of bamboo a day. Qizai’s keeper, He Xin, says that the bear frolics around the forest and that he’s “gentle, funny and adorable.”
The Daily Mail reported that the Chinese government is attemptong to find a mate for this big fuzzball so we can have more brown pandas running around. This bears owner says that he’s “slower than the other pandas, but he is also cuter.”
Unfortunately President Theodore Roosevelt Never Rode A Moose
Theodore Roosevelt is one of the all time great adventurers, and while he was on the forefront of air travel and even took a trip to the Amazon, he never actually rode a moose like this photo shows him doing. in fact, what you’re looking at is an early form of photoshop. The image was pieced together by the photography firm Underwood for the 1912 presidential election, and Roosevelt was running as a member of the Bull Moose party.
That’s right, this famous “photo” is actually a combination of photos used in a political ad. That doesn’t take away any of Teddy Roosevelt’s awesomeness.
Terri and Steve Irwin with a croc at their Australia Zoo in 1996.
Steve and Terri Irwin were the love of a lifetime. These two naturalists met at a wildlife rehabilitation faculty, she’d traveled down under from Eugene, Oregon and four months after meeting they were engaged. Together they both worked with wild animals and they had two children - Bindi Sue Irwin and Robert Clarence Irwin.
After Steve Irwin’s surprising death in 2006 his wife told the Today Show that her husband felt like he wasn’t long for this world. According to Terri Irwin, “[Steve] never thought he’d have a long life.” If only he lived a little longer, it would have been a wild ride.
Get Your Head Out Of The Gutter! These Creatures Aren't What You Think They Are!
Will this is just disgusting. Known as the “penis snake” the atretochoana eiselti is blind, lungless, limbless and one meter long and scientists have known about these things since 1968. While these animals look like giant earth worms they’re actually tetrapods, and the only one without lungs on the planet.
You’ll most likely find the penis snake in the Madeira river in Rondonia, Brazil, which is the last thing that naturalists expected. Brazilian biologist Juliano Tupan explained:
Despite looking like snakes, they aren’t reptiles and are more closely related to salamanders and frogs... The Amazon is a box of surprises when it comes to reptiles and amphibians. There are still much more to be discovered.
Why Yes, That Is A Megalodon Skeleton Outsizing A Great White Shark
Sure, sharks are scary and all, but they don’t have anything on a Megalodon, the prehistoric giant of the sea. These creatures measured up to 60 feet, which is far too large for an animal, especially one that looks as terrifying as this monster of a shark. Their teeth were between six to seven inches in length, while the teeth of a great white is around two inches.
As if their massive size weren’t terrifying enough, the knowledge that they spent tens of millions of years sharpening their teeth down until they were the perfect killing tools. Researchers believe this took so long because of the way these giant sharks ate.
A Destructive Sky Over Moscow
If any city was going to have an apocalyptic hellscape in the sky, it would be Moscow. Russia not only has a series of nuclear reactors that are more than likely pumping all sorts of weird toxins into the sky, but there’s just something dark about this Eastern European city. It very well might have a hell mouth directly below it.
How did a shot like this happen? Who’s to say? Either the Russian devil is rolling into town similar to the Master and Margarita or maybe there’s just some kind of creepy weather out there in Moscow. Or maybe it's a vodka explosion.
Lake Michigan Plays Host To An Amazing Lightning Storm
What is it about Lake Michigan that’s so awe inspiring and special? It’s the best of the Great Lakes and it’s the only one that’s just in America. While it tends to freeze up a bit in the winter, it’s rare to see such an amazing light show from Mother Nature over the water, but in this case she’s really putting on a show.
Lightning doesn’t strike the water as much as it does land, but it’s incredibly dangerous when this happens. Because water is an excellent conductor of electricity the lightning zaps anything that’s in the water, which is exactly what’s happening in this picture. Hopefully no one was going for a late night swim.
When A King Cobra Tried To Make A Meal Out Of A Python It Got More Than It Bargained For
What. The. Fudge. While you might want to disregard this photo as nothing more than Photoshop nonsense, that just isn’t the case. This picture of a King Cobra and a Giant Python going after each other is frankly all to real and absolutely terrifying. National Geographic reports that the King Cobra was trying to catch and kill a Reticulated Python, but that it ended up in a pickle.
This battle of the snakes ended like the best Shakespearian battles, with both sides dying by each others hand. Coleman Sheehy of the Florida Museum of Natural History said, “It’s crazy, but it’s something I could easily see happening…it’s a dangerous world out there, to eat other big snakes and things that could kill you.”
The Giza Pyramids At Sunset
There may not be a more beautiful sight than the sun setting over the Giza Pyramids. It seems as if the Pyramids were specifically constructed to inspire awe in everyone who sees them. Can you imagine having this few every day of your life? What would it be like to have this in your backyard? Would you get bored? Or would you end each day with a glass of wine in the sand?
The Pyramids of Giza have a way of truly inspiring you to fall in love with the things you can’t understand. Like, how did these formations come about? And who knew to build them in such a beautiful and perfect place?
Lenticular Clouds Are Rare And Beautiful Specimens
Lenticular clouds are massive, saucer shaped and stationary clouds that form in the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere. These clouds form when moist, stable air over a naturally occurring body of water falls below the dew point. When that occurs these big boys appear in the sky, and depending on where they are in the atmosphere they can grow so to be humungous.
Because of their lens shape, lenticular clouds have been mistaken as UFOs. This is doubly so because most people have never seen one of these clouds. They rarely form over low or flat terrains. So keep your eyes open for one of these great big clouds!
Is This An Antarctic Ice Wave Or Something Even More Strange?
Even though this picture looks like it shows a giant, 50 foot wave attempting to burst through the Antarctic, it’s actually something much more intriguing. What this picture actually shows is air bubbles that have been squeezed out of the ice and compressed as they rise to the surface. This “wave” has grown so tall because when the ice melts in the summer it creates a new layer.
So why is the ice blue like ocean water? That’s because when it’s hit with sunlight the ice is so thick that it only transmits the color blue. Nature is crazy y’all.
The Black Jaguar Is One Of The Rarest Animals On The Planet
The closest most of us are going to get to black Jaguar is in the parking lot of a fancy hat shop. I kid, but these black jaguars are one of the jungle’s best kept secrets. The last time someone spotted a black jaguar was in 2015 when one was seen crossing the Tapajós River in Brazil's Juruena National Park.
While many people think black jaguars are a different type of cat than their brethren, they’re actually only a variation in the same way that a calico cat is different than a ginger cat. These jaguars are covered in spots and a thick layer of black, and they have yellow irises thanks to melanism. If you see one of these cools cats in the wild, don’t try to pet it, run.
A Smart Dog Lets His Skunk Friend Have A Bite Of Dinner
Skunks and dogs are nature’s mortal enemies. Sure, a dog can tear into a skunk with no problems and end their life. But in order to do that they have to avoid the disgusting stray of a skunk’s anal glands. Skunks are adept at watching out of predators, and they’re quick to spray anything that surprises them.
This dog has obviously dealt with a skunk once or twice in his life, and not wanting to take another tomato soup bath he’s letting this skunk have a bite of his dinner before digging in. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.
These Tasmanian Tigers Were Some Of The Last Of Their Kind
Now Extinct, the Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine was a carnivorous marsupial that last lived in Tasmania, New Guinea, and the Australian mainland. While these animals look like big dogs, they’re actually marsupials and have pouches that are similar to that of a kangaroo. Poaching and hunting drove these creatures into extinction but it’s believed that the animals were already dying off prior to colonization of Australia.
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s various reports of Tasmanian tiger sightings popped up across Australia, but none of these claims could be verified. Stewart Malcolm has offered up a $1.5 million bounty to anyone who can find any of these animals still surviving.
This Squid Carcass Is A Fine Meal For A Crab And Some Star Fish
Everyone loves fresh seafood - even other species of seafood. Even though you might think of sea stars as peaceful creatures who have an easy going life under the sea, they’re actually happy to feast on a carcass of anything they find underwater, and when they’re traveling in packs they can be real hard to deal with.
On the other hand, everyone knows crabs are a catch as catch can species. This little guys will eat whatever they can get their claws on, and if they have to share their meal with a starfish the so be it. These fish look like they've hit the jackpot.
The 'Endurance,' Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Trans-Antarctic Ship Was Stuck In The Ice, Forcing Her Crew To Evacuate
In his attempt to sail to Antarctica's Vahsel Bay before walking across the continent from the South Pole, English explorer Ernest Shackleton ran into a series of problems, all of them weather based. The most frustrating was when his ship, the Endurance was stuck in the frozen waters of the Weddell Sea. To survive the crew had to leave the ship and camp out in the ice for 17 freezing months.
After nearly a year and half the crew was saved but the Endurance remained in Antarctica. A rescue mission was sent in 2019 but it too fell prey to the mysteries of the ocean.
Polar Bears Happily Taking Some Food From Soviet Soldiers, 1950s
When you’re stuck out in the cold you’re going to end up making friends with at least one polar bear - especially if you’re the kind of soldier who likes to hand out free food. During a Soviet military expedition in the Chukchi Peninsula - an area where the temperature falls below 40 C degrees below zero, which is even too cold for polar bears.
The Soviet soldiers fed the bears they found whatever they had extras of, and usually ended up giving out cans of condensed milk to the polar bears. At the time condensed milk is the one thing that the Soviet Army had an abundance of. It turned out that bears loved the stuff, and a longtime friendship was formed.
Morning Glory Clouds Above Australia
This is something you don’t see every day. A Morning Glory cloud formation is one of those extraordinary meteorological phenomenons that require the most perfect of circumstances to appear. While it’s hard to know when these kinds of clouds are going to appear, the one place they can be predicted is near Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria.
Morning Glory clouds are tubular in construction and they can grow up to 600 miles long. Scientists don’t know why these clouds form, but meteorologists think that it takes a line of moisture to hit dense air and merge into these narrow tubes.
On May 4, 1922 Two Tornadoes Whipped Through Austin Texas At The Same Time
While Texas has seen its share of tornadoes, the most rare of instances occurred on May 4, 1922 in Austin, TX when twin tornadoes formed a few minutes apart. Initially they were a few miles apart but as these tornadoes ripped through the city they took on a parallel path. These two tornadoes took a major toll on the city and eventually claimed the lives of 12 people.
The strongest of the two tornadoes was the one that moved along an eastern path but that doesn’t mean that they both didn’t cause some serious damage. Luckily the city was able to bounce back.
Arctic Hares Are Uniquely Suited To Living In The Cold
Don’t expect to see one of these fuzzy buddies in your neck of the woods because they’re not only adept at living on the tundra but they prefer it. The more north you travel the more likely you are to see an arctic hare, but they tend to be found in northern Canada down to Newfoundland in the east and around the coasts of Greenland.
Because they eat mostly vegetables these rabbits live above the tree line and don’t tend to live below an altitude of 900 miles. While they have a lot of predators, their white fur helps them blend in with their surroundings to stay safe.
This Is One Thunderstorm You Don't Want To Get Stuck In
What do you get when you combine the destructive nature of a tornado along with a lightning storm? A super storm, baby! These intense seeds of destruction are, but when the time is right Mother Nature knows how to kick in and show the people of Earth exactly what she’s made of. If you’re caught in one of these mega storms you should find shelter lest you get struck by a wicked shard of lightning.
While this looks like something from a Syfy original movie, it could definitely happen, which means you should stay inside at all times, especially when the skies go dark.
This Is How You Grow A Tornado
Taken by photographer Jason Weingart, this is a collection of eight images of a tornado shot in two sequences. Weingart snapped these pics outside of Minneola, Kansas on March 24, 2016. As crazy as this photo looks, Weingart says that the supercell ended up producing 12 tornadoes which made it possible for two or three of them to touch down at the same time.
The fact that Weingart was able to take these photos is a true sign of his grit in the face of an unstoppable piece of nature. It’s a miracle that he got away from these tornadoes without getting whipped up.
This Is What Happens When Lightning Strikes Water
It’s incredibly rare for lightning to strike water. It tends to strike land more often than not, but when lightning hits water it’s a truly beautiful sight. When a bolt hits the water it spreads horizontally, which means that anyone one the water at the time of a strike is going to be electrocuted, and scientists don’t even have a calculation for the amount of dissipation that would make it possible for someone to last while in the water during al lightning storm.
So why isn’t the ocean full of dead fish after a lightning strike? Fish are able to survive because they swim at a much lower depth which makes them less susceptible to the electricity.
The Milky Way over the ancient Pyramids of Giza.
The pyramids of Giza are a beautiful sight to behold during the day, but they’re a marvel at night. When the sun goes down and the stars come out over Egypt it’s as if someone has pulled back the curtain of the sky to reveal the mysteries of space. There are hundreds of theories about who built the pyramids, but you don’t ancient aliens to show off the beauty of an Egyptian sky.
Without the insane amount of light pollution that most major modern cities have, you can see everything when you’re in Giza. You should really check it out some time.
Do You Believe That This Is Only One Photo?
Nature makes for the best photos, and often times it does its own photoshop. The thing that makes this photo look so crazy is the natural horizontal break that occurs when the lake hits the mountain. This divide makes it look like the image is two different landscapes put together. It’s rare that a photo like this takes on the image of a collage but here’s the proof in plain view.
It’s truly wild that there are places in the world where you can be near the land, the water, and a mountain all at the same time, but this photo is proof that it’s totally possible.
The phenomenon of ball lightning.
Ball lightning is one of the most fascinating types of natural occurrences in the world, and it’s hard to describe exactly makes it happen. It’s believed that ball lightning is a kind of large static charge that hovers in the sky, but the issue is that there aren’t a lot of recorded sightings of ball lightning. The first document of ball lightning was in the 18th century, and even then it was just believed to kill the guy who saw it.
There’s no real explanation for why ball lightning exists, but one theory is that it occurs when chemical reactions from silicon particles burn up in the air.
Honduran White Bats Live In The Rainforest And Cuddle Up Under Tree Leaves
Unless you’re a Transylvanian then most bats aren’t really cute. However, the Honduran white bat is really one of the cutest animals on the planet. While some bats are pretty big, these little guys grow to be about two inches in length, which is so small! They have a white, fluffy coat that stands out against their orange ears and nose.
The only place to find these bats is the rainforests of Honduras, northern Nicaragua, eastern Costa Rica and western Panama. Rather than sleep in caves they cuddle together under heliconia leaves, which means they must be really good snuggle buddies.
Deep Sea Jellyfish Could Just As Well Be From Another Planet
One of the places that we can’t travel on Earth is deep under the sea. When you go down deep enough you find creatures that look like they should live in outer space. More so than other animals of the deep this jellyfish looks like something that you’d see in a 1950s science fiction movie.
Many creatures that live under the sea body parts that make them look like an underwater light show, with flashes of yellow, red, and pink. They’re truly some of the most majestic animals on the planet - or under the planet. You have to go down pretty deep to find one of these creatures, but at least we’ve got the pictures to enjoy.
This Supercell Storm Ravaged An Empty Field
What exactly is a supercell storm? In order to experience one of these you need to find a thunderstorm with a rotating updraft. At times these storms can create hail storms, tornadoes, and incredibly high levels of precipitation. They’re extremely dangerous to people, but they’re also very easy to pin point in the modern era.
Even though supercell storms are incredibly dangerous, they’re also intensely beautiful. While these monsters are worth seeing from miles away, they’re not the kind of thing you want to try and capture.
This Chilean Volcano Is As Beautiful As It Is Destructive
Chile has some of the most active volcanos in the world, with Calbuco being one the most dangerous peaks in the area. These explosive eruptions are some of the most beautiful sights to behold as long as you’re out of harm’s way. However anyone caught in the trail of an active volcano probably isn’t as bowled over by the beauty of an explosion of fire and ash.
Some Chilean volcanoes, like the one in Calbuco, have been known to erupt multiple times in a week, which means that whole towns have to be evacuated in order to keep everyone safe.
Check Out This Baby Elephant Throwing A Temper Tantrum In The Mud
It turns out that toddlers of all kinds throw tantrums, even elephants. Even though these animals are far from human, even the youngest of them all sometimes freak out and disobey their parents when they don’t get their way. This little guy must have really been in a tizzy to toss himself in the mud like this.
When baby elephants throw tantrums they toss themselves down and roll around while they make as much racket as possible. Adult elephants rarely pay attention to these displays of petulance and just go about their business. Still, sometimes you've just got to throw a little fit.
Glacial Melt Water And the Gulf Of Alaska Shall Never Meet
While it may look like someone colored in this water with their own ocean colored marker, it’s actually a natural phenomenon occurring right in front of your eyes. This phenomena takes place just off the shore of Alaska where the gulf waters butt up against the water density, temperature and salinity of the glacial melt water.
These two wildly different waters may mix a little, but they’re so incredibly different that they stay apart, almost like how two negative magnets never touch. As cool as this must be to see up close and personal, it's probably not safe to jump in and out of like you would from a pool to a hot tub.
A Bear Cub Gets In Some Much Needed Playtime
If you live near the woods or in a rural area then you’re more than likely to run into a bear or two. In most cases these bears aren’t looking for trouble, and they’ve just found themselves in a public space in search of food or a place to stretch out. This little guy looks like he got jealous of the kids using a slide and decided to see what the playground was all about.
Usually when this kind of things happen bear cubs tend to get bored and return to their homes in the woods without starting any trouble. If you see something like this happening make sure to take a pic, just don’t engage.
This Water Spout In Florida Is One Water Slide You Don't Want To Ride
Waterspouts are essentially the tornadoes of the ocean and they’re absolutely crazy. These bad boys occur when surface winds are light and collide with sea breeze fronts. Usually they form thunderstorms and if the conditions are just right they can form funnels in the water. They only last for about five to ten minutes, but if they make it to land they can create tornadoes.
As scary as they sound, it would definitely be amazing to see one of these in person, just as long as you had your rain slicker with you. It’s probably just like going to Splash Mountain, right?
This Space Alien Is Actually A Spider's Foot Seen From An Electron Microscope
No matter what you put under a microscope it’s going to look absolutely nuts. That goes doubly for this spider’s foot that’s been magnified under and electron microscope. The foot looks like a creature unto its own right, which is insane and gross but it’s also very exciting. Each of the tendrils that you see help the spider stick to the ground and its webs in one way or another.
While you wouldn’t think of spiders having hairy feet, these creatures all need something to help them climb surfaces. The hairs that you see are called setules, and the only way to see them is via microscope.
