Nine alien landscapes on Earth

Antelope Canyon, Arizona
Antelope Canyon is located on the Navajo Reservation near Page, Arizona. The unique erosion of the Navajo Sandstone is formed mostly from flash floods, giving the canyon its stunning appearance.

Giant's Causeway, Ireland
At Giant’s Causeway in Ireland, you can witness the unusual pattern of around 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns, formed from ancient volcanic activity. The natural wonder is Northern Ireland’s number one attraction.

Bryce Canyon, Utah
Reaching 9,000 feet in elevation, southwestern Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park is a spectacular marvel to witness. Abundant in this area are curious geological formations known as “hoodoos”, totem-like spires of red sedimentary rock, some exceeding the height of a 10-story building.

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia is the world’s largest salt flat at over 4,000 square miles. It is a major breeding ground for pink flamingos, and has multiple hotels built of salt bricks.

The Wave, Vermilion Cliffs, Arizona
The Wave is located in the Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness of Arizona, near the Utah border. Like Antelope Canyon, the hypnotizing formation is made of Navajo Sandstone. Because of the delicacy of the environment, the Bureau of Land Management limits access to only twenty permits per day.

Socotra Islands
Socotra is a small group of islands in the Indian Ocean. Visiting the main island really is like a journey to another planet, as 1/3 of its plant life isn’t found anywhere else on Earth. The Dragon’s Blood tree pictured here is just one of the many extraordinary species inhabiting Socotra, valued for its red medicinal sap.

Fly Geyser, Black Rock Desert, Nevada
The Black Rock Desert is a dry lakebed in northwestern Nevada. The flat and barren location has been ideal for attempting records in land speed and rocketry. It is also the annual home of the Burning Man Festival. Among its strange looking features is Fly Geyser. Although on private land, the geyser can be viewed from the nearby road.

White Desert, Egypt
North of Farafara, Egypt, the White Desert is littered with strange chalk formations, carved over long expanses of time from sandstorms and high winds.

Racetrack Playa, Death Valley, California
Racetrack Playa is a seasonally dry lake in Death Valley National Park, California. The hot and arid landscape is home to a truly otherworldly phenomenon: the sailing stones. Ranging from small rocks to large boulders, these stones mysteriously move across the landscape, leaving straight, curved, and even zigzagged trails in their wake. Though many reasonable hypotheses have been offered, the action has never been witnessed in person, and there is still no absolute and verified explanation for these odd traveling stones.