Nature is full of surprises, and some of them are really strange! One of the coolest is the Qiantang River in China, where you can see the world’s largest tidal bore—huge waves that rush up the river like a wall of water. Then there's the phenomenon of “fire rainbows,” which look like rainbow flames in the sky but are actually caused by sunlight hitting ice crystals in clouds. Ever heard of blood falls? That’s when red-colored water pours out of a glacier in Antarctica! There’s also bioluminescent beaches, where the water glows at night due to tiny glowing organisms. Nature sure knows how to create some jaw-dropping sights! Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/ Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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00:00The surface of this river looks as if it's covered with fish scales.
00:04Is it a giant water dragon or some other ancient monster?
00:08Not really.
00:09The explanation is much more boring, but surprising at the same time.
00:13Now let's start from the very beginning.
00:15This is the Shantang River in China, and this is Hangzhou Bay, its estuary, which is the
00:20tidal mouth of a river, where the tide meets the stream itself.
00:24Now this area is home to the world's largest tidal bores.
00:28A tidal bore is a strong tide that pushes up the river against the current.
00:32In the Shantang River, such tidal bores can reach a whopping 29 feet.
00:37The area regularly sees trains of large waves moving upstream.
00:42But in 2021, during a scientific expedition, experts discovered a marvelous natural phenomenon
00:48unique to this area.
00:50Sometimes, the tide comes in swirling waves.
00:53That's the famous fish-scale tide.
00:57Thing is, this region has rotating currents, which means that the tide doesn't just move
01:01inland and then simply reverses its direction.
01:04Uh-uh.
01:05Instead, a rotating current easily changes direction without changing its speed.
01:10This makes the Shantang River perfect for winding up with groups of waves crashing into
01:15one another at oblique angles, which is like a cross-sea.
01:19Let's speak about this phenomenon now.
01:22These four-sided wave patterns in the ocean look mesmerizing, as if the ocean deities
01:27decided to play a round of giant chess.
01:30But what you observe is the phenomenon known as square waves.
01:34They're often called cross-sea and grid waves too.
01:37The thing is, most waves reach the shore and break parallel to the coastline.
01:42But in some regions of the world, these waves create a chessboard-like pattern on the surface
01:47of the water.
01:48When you look at these waves from above, you might think there's an underwater grid forming
01:52square-shaped ripples.
01:54But square waves aren't caused by anything taking place beneath the surface of the water.
01:59They're the result of the way the water moves.
02:02Weather patterns in certain regions make waves form at different angles.
02:06When two opposing swells crash, we've got this unique pattern on our hands.
02:11However beautiful and unusual this natural phenomenon is, it's also extremely dangerous.
02:17Few spots where waves, while swimming, get out of the water immediately.
02:22Square waves usually come hand-in-hand with rip currents, incredibly strong currents flowing
02:27seaward from the shore.
02:28Plus square waves can reach 10 feet in height, and that's not something even an experienced
02:33swimmer can deal with.
02:36So we're done with the seas for the moment and are moving to the largest active volcano
02:40in Europe.
02:41It's Etna, and it continues to amaze us with jaw-dropping smoke green shows.
02:46But wait!
02:47People live there!
02:48Isn't it time to evacuate them?
02:50The volcano looks like it's about to go off.
02:52Well, let's calm down, there's no need to fuss.
02:56Experts assure us that the production of such rings doesn't mean that a big eruption is
03:00on the way.
03:01These white smoke rings are made of water vapor and are generated by bursts of gas bubbles
03:06inside a narrow duct over a magma chamber.
03:10Etna was even nicknamed the Lady of the Ring.
03:13But currently, the volcano is breaking its own records.
03:16For example, in the year 2000, the volcano produced around 5,000 such smoke rings.
03:22According to researchers, no other volcano on Earth produces as many volcanic vortex
03:27rings as Etna.
03:28Southeast Crater is especially active.
03:31It emits countless beautiful vapor rings.
03:35Now don't look away from the sky.
03:37You might witness something like what the residents of New Jersey saw recently.
03:41A massive fireball lit up the sky in the Garden State and surrounding areas.
03:45A meteor falling to the ground looked like a bright streak of light.
03:49And the folks of several New Jersey towns, as well as some parts of New York, Pennsylvania,
03:54and Connecticut reported this show to the American Meteor Society.
03:58Security camera footage posted online by some witnesses of this awesome phenomenon showed
04:03the flash dash across the sky within a couple of seconds at 3.43 a.m.
04:10Another unbelievable phenomenon captured recently is one of the rarest in the world and almost
04:15impossible to see with the unaided eye.
04:18A West Australian photographer was shooting a wet-season thunderstorm just outside of
04:22Derby when he managed to film on camera a few red sprites.
04:27He said later that they were gone in the blink of an eye.
04:30He described red sprites as huge feathery tendrils of purple and red and specks of bright
04:36red.
04:37Red sprites are massive electrical discharges that take different shapes and look like reddish-orange
04:43flashes.
04:44They last for just fractions of a second and occur after super-strong lightning strokes.
04:49Even though they're usually caused by the lightning discharges between a thundercloud
04:52and the ground, sprites soar up into the air, up to 60 miles.
04:57Interestingly, this phenomenon had been dismissed and considered to be fiction for decades until
05:03scientists finally caught it on film.
05:06Since that time, red sprites have been recorded regularly.
05:10Catatumbo lightning is the world's longest lightning storm.
05:14The heart of the storm, which repeats every year, is over the mouth of the Catatumbo River
05:19where it empties into Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela.
05:22This storm towers higher than a regular one.
05:25Catatumbo lightning occurs for 140 to 160 nights a year, lasts for 9 hours a day, and
05:32produces 16 to 40 lightning flashes per minute.
05:36Maybe you've heard of how they say lightning doesn't strike the same place twice?
05:40Well, Catatumbo doesn't seem to know about this rule.
05:43Or at least, it doesn't prevent storm clouds from gathering in the very same place year
05:48after year.
05:51A fellow hill-walking in the UK has captured amazing shots of a weather phenomenon that
05:56was called an angel in the sky.
05:59So look at it.
06:00This scene was captured with a Canon 5D Mark IV camera.
06:04The silhouette, though, isn't some non-material thing.
06:07It's just the shadow of the photographer at the center of a circular rainbow.
06:12Mesmerized, the photographer took a few more photos and continued walking.
06:17Such an effect is produced when an observer stands above the upper surface of a cloud.
06:22It can also be a mountain or some other high ground, and the sun should be shining from
06:27behind their back.
06:28When the observer sees their shadow, the light is reflected in such a way that a bizarre
06:33circular glory appears around the point directly opposite the sun.
06:38Another cool sky phenomenon was witnessed in Auckland.
06:41Look at this.
06:42What does it remind you of?
06:44I bet you think it looks like a spaceship from a different civilization.
06:48But it's just a rare meteorological phenomenon.
06:51Everyone who saw this circular cloud formation said it looked like a hole in the cloud cover.
06:57And some also added that a small rainbow was visible inside.
07:01This phenomenon is known as a fall-streak hole and a punch-hole cloud.
07:06Such a formation is quite rare.
07:08Even experts have seen it just a few times throughout their careers.
07:13What happens here is some sort of atmospheric disturbance within super-cooled water.
07:17The disturbance being an airplane or something similar.
07:20As a result, the super-cooled water rapidly turns into ice crystals.
07:25Since the crystals are heavier than the surrounding cloud, they fall out, leaving a hole behind.
07:30The process happens high up in the atmosphere and is quick.
07:34It takes only minutes or so.
07:35Well, let's get back to the ground and examine the phenomenon people in the US can witness.
07:41It's an extremely rare one.
07:42Nothing similar has happened like this since 1803.
07:46What is it?
07:47Billions of cicadas from two different broods are merging together from the underground
07:52after more than 200 years.
07:55All these loud singing insects belong to two distinct families of periodical cicadas.
08:00One group emerges to the surface every 13 years, and the other every 17 years.
08:06It's a rare occurrence when the cycles of both groups align.
08:10This year, this once-in-a-lifetime event is taking place since two groups with different
08:14cycles are emerging at the same time.
08:18These broods are known as Brood 13 and Brood 19.
08:22They have been seen – and heard – across the southern US and as far north as Illinois.
08:28That's it for today!
08:32So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
08:36friends!
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