15 Impressive Natural Phenomena That Only Very Few of Us Can See

Natural phenomena – stunning, breath-taking and beautiful. Dynamic weather conditions result in phenomena that inspire awe and… terror. Have a look at 15 examples of phenomena that fascinate people all over the world.

A light pillar is an atmospheric optical phenomenon occurring just before the sunrise or just after the sunset, when the sun rays are very low. However, they might result from artificial sources of light reflected in numerous tiny ice crystals floating relatively close to the surface of the ground.

Dark clouds that don’t bring along a thunderstorm. They might form everywhere.

It forms in much the same way as common rainbow. The only difference is that the sun must be really low over the horizon.

Polar stratospheric clouds, sometimes also referred to as nacreous clouds or mother of pearl, form at high altitudes. Contrary to majority of clouds, they form in stratosphere at very low temperatures and reflect the sunlight from beyond the horizon. The clouds can be seen in Iceland, Scandinavia, Alaska, northern Canada and the Antarctic.

This is a lightning caused by volcanic eruption. It occurs when ash, pieces of rock and other particles present in volcanic dust collide creating sufficient amount of electrostatic charge.

These are some very peculiar clouds with pouches in their lower part. This spectacular phenomena can be seen in many geographical locations.

Frozen methane bubbles come from decaying plants trapped under the surface of a frozen lake. In the summer the bubbles simply float up to the surface and pop.

This phenomenon is of biological origin. It is a king of chemiluminescence.

It is caused by refraction of sunlight or moonlight in plate-shaped ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere, usually in cirrus or cirrostratus clouds.

There are gigantic whirls occurring in seas and oceans. They are caused by strong currents and may reach speeds of up to 40 km/h

Blue fire is an effect of burning sulphur gases coming out as a result of volcano cracking. Part of the gas condenses and burns blue.

This is a storm with a very deep and clearly visible rotating current. Such clouds may cause tornadoes.

Lightning discharges at the estuary of the Catatumbo River to Maracaibo Lake. They occur approximately 300 days per year and last about 9 hours a day.

Lenticular clouds come in very unusual shapes, for example a saucer or a lens. They usually form when humid air flows over a mountain or other barrier if the temperature is low enough.