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Whale Valley: The whale graveyard in the Sahara desert that shows they once had feet and toesEgypt's Whale Valley, or "Wadi Al-Hitan" in Arabic, holds more than 400 primitive whale skeletons that offer a snapshot of the evolution of these creatures from land-based to marine animals.
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Taal Lake: The volcanic crater that has 'an island within a lake, within an island within a lake, within an island'Taal Lake on Luzon Island in the Philippines is a volcanic crater lake with a rare geology of nested islands and water.
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Lake Natron: The caustic, blood-red lake in Tanzania that turns animals to 'stone'Lake Natron is a soda lake in northern Tanzania with a volcanic geology that maintains the water's pH around 10.5, which is almost as caustic as ammonia. Some life-forms thrive there nevertheless.
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Kilimanjaro's giant groundsels: The strange plants that thrive on Africa's tallest mountainGiant groundsels are rare plants that grow up to 30 feet (9 meters) tall. They are endemic to the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano in Tanzania and Africa's tallest mountain.
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North America's 'broken heart': The billion-year-old scar from when the continent nearly ripped apartThe Midcontinent Rift is a giant tear that formed in what is now the U.S. Midwest 1.1 billion years ago. Nicknamed North America's "broken heart," it is filled with solidified magma and lava.
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Jellyfish Lake: Palau's saltwater pool with a toxic bottom and surface waters brimming with millions of jellyfishPalau's Jellyfish Lake is home to millions of endemic golden jellies that live in the lake's top layer but never venture below 50 feet, where the water is saturated with poisonous gas.
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El Cono: The mysterious sacred 'pyramid' hidden deep in the Amazon rainforestCerro El Cono is a solitary, pyramidal hill in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest whose origins remain mysterious and that holds spiritual significance for Indigenous people.
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Corryvreckan whirlpool: Scotland's 'raging cauldron' that is named after a Norse king and said to house a witchThe Corryvreckan whirlpool is one of the largest whirlpools in the world, reaching speeds of 8.5 knots and producing a roaring sound that can be heard 10 miles away.
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Iran's folded rocks: The crumpled mountains at the intersection of Asia and EuropeIran's folded rocks are a colorful formation that is part of the Greater Caucasus mountains, which formed when the Eurasian tectonic plate collided with the Arabian plate millions of years ago.
