These epic wonders show off the phenomenal beauty of the natural world, awesome abilities of animals, dangerous capacities of the planet and even the amazing environmental designs of our ancient ancestors. Forget your standard sets of wonders: with hundreds of images and links and pages of information, this cunning WebEcoist collection may be the sensational, educational and inspirational eco-series you have ever read. Divided into 10 parts, each featuring 7 themed subjects, here are 70 incredible wonders of the natural world.
7 Phenomenal Wonders of the Natural World
Vast canyons, giant mountains – those are old natural wonders. Many of the most fantastic natural phenomena are far more impressive but correspondingly difficult to capture. Some are incredibly rare while others are located in hard-to-reach parts of the planet. From moving rocks to mammatus clouds and red tides to fire rainbows, here are seven of the most spectacular phenomenal wonders of the natural world. Click Here to Continue.
7 (More!) Phenomenal Wonders of the Natural World
Sailing stones, fire rainbows, red tides and blue holes … were just the beginning.Imagine sidestepping a house-sized hole in the ground as it forms around you in seconds, walking through a field of razor-sharp ice spikes taller than yourself or fleeing from a deadly vortex of smoke and flame far more dangerous than the raging fire that spawned it. From light pillars and sun dogs to firewhirls and sinkholes, here are seven more beautiful, terrifying and awe-inspiring natural wonders of the world. Click Here to Continue.
7 Phenomenal Wonders of the Animal World
Fantastic phenomena are, however, far from all mother nature has to offer – some of her most impressive creations reside in the animal kingdom. Though they may seem too strange to be real, all but a few of these have been extensively documented in photos and videos – and those that haven’t are supported by dazzling eyewitness accounts from around the globe. From raining and exploding animals to amazing animal architects, here are seven sensational wonders of the animal world. Click Here to Continue.
7 Symbiotic Wonders of the World’s Seven Seas
Evolution alone is an amazing thing – but species that evolve together can be all the more spectacular, protecting, feeding and cleaning one another in incredible ways. Sharks pair with fish, fish with shrimp and shrimp with sea cucumbers and much much more. From boxing crabs that wield poisonous anemones as weapons to shrimp that scour the mouths of electric eels, here are seven of the most radical symbiotic relationships from the shallowest to the deepest waters of our world. Click Here to Continue.
7 Soaring Symbiotic Wonders of the World’s Skies
There are many unlikely animal pairings in the world, but some of the most uncanny ones involve birds. Wait, what? Those flighty animals the flit about and flee at the slightest sign of trouble? Precisely those. They have been known to climb in and clean the teeth of a crocodile, lounge on the backs of buffalo, moose, hippos, elephants and zebras and even to share a residence with ants – their natural prey. The first set of symbiotic wonders focused mainly on underwater matches – this set focuses on fliers of the friendly skies. Click Here to Continue.
7 Color-Changing Wonders of the Animal World
Can you spot the creatures the images above? The lizard blends so perfectly it is hard to see even when pointed out. The ability to change color seems like a superpower at times – some amazing animals can alter their appearance to blend with the colors, materials and textures of virtually any surroundings. For some this ‘costume change’ happens quickly, for others it is seasonal – for many it helps them avoid predators, for a few it enables them to sneak up on prey. Culled from around the animal kingdom, here are seven of most impressive color-changing species in the world. Click Here to Continue.
7 Deep-Sea Wonders of the Animal World
Earth’s ocean depths often referred to as the planet’s last great unexplored frontier. Blacker than the darkest night, crushed by unimaginable pressure and for the most part untouched by the hand of man, the world below the water’s surface is bursting with life – though in many cases not life as we know it. Here are seven exceptional examples of weird wonders lurking beneath the waves. Click Here to Continue.
7 Geological Wonders of the World’s 7 Continents
Will wonders never cease? Probably not, Mother Earth has had 5 billion years to sculpt herself into spectacular splendor and it’s certain she’s not done yet. For now though, let’s take a little trip across the seven continents to find our planet’s coolest natural wonders you have likely never seen. Click Here to Continue.
7 Architectural Wonders of the Animal Kingdom
So you thought the ancient and modern wonders created by mankind and creative contemporary architecture were something? From underground ant colonies that extend farther than the Great Wall of China to termite mounds that tower at nearly twice the relative height of the Burj Dubai (tallest skyscraper in the world), and from the largest multi-species spider web ever discovered to the longest beaver dam on the planet, here are seven of the most awe-inspiring animal architects and architectonic structures of the animal kingdom. Click Here to Continue.
7 Green Wonders of the Ancient World
While mother nature herself has much to offer and going green is the latest trend, there have been amazing sustainable designs since the dawn of written history and beyond. We have come a long way since humans first used biomass fuels for their fires over 800,000 years ago. Green design, sustainable innovation, alternative energy – these are all recently-coined buzz-phrases for concepts that in some cases date back tens of thousands of years. The ancient Chinese used concentrated solar power for heat energy and fire, Native Americans used hot springs as renewable geothermal sources for cooking and healing, and some speculate the Egyptians used wind power to help build their pyramids. From Greece and Rome to Persia and North America, here are seven incredibly innovative uses of geothermal, water, wind and solar power from around the ancient world. Click Here to Continue.
Bonus: 82 Epic Elemental Phenomena & Natural Disasters
So you thought this last piece would be a final set of seven to round off the list to 77? As a small surprise, here is an entire additional set that shows the eccentricities and capacities of our planet – also courtesy of WebEcoist, the great green sister site to WebUrbanist (subscribe now!). These amazing natural wonders and epic elemental disasters of the world showcase both the most beautiful and most terrifying sides of Mother Nature. With hundreds of images and over one hundred paragraphs of link-packed information you will not find a more definitive collection anywhere online. Sectioned according to the four classic elements of earth, water, fire and air, here are 52 elemental phenomena and formations and 30 environmental disasters – and to round it off: 100 beautiful HDR photographs of the natural world. Click Here to Continue.
