A River Of Sand + 12 Strange Natural Phenomena That Will Leave You Baffled

Our planet is full of amazing natural phenomena and mysteries which have left us all confused time and again. Is there a scientific reason behind them, or is it just an act of God? Check this out and know for yourself.

1. The Sand River in Iraq

An interesting weather phenomenon in Iraq has given birth to a ‘sand river’, a flowing mass birthed by rains and hair storms in Iraq. A video that went viral on November 16 shows a frozen river flowing through the desert mass of the country. According to weather reports, heavy downpours during the past weeks gave way to floods that killed several people in Iraq and also caused havoc in neighbouring countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordon, Egypt, and Israel. 

2. The Perseid Meteor Shower

The 'most famous' of the meteor showers, Perseids is an annual phenomenon that occurs between mid-July and early August when Earth passes through the remains of comet 'Swift-Tuttle', the greatest activity occurring in the second week of August, N Sri Raghunandan Kumar of Planetary Society of India said.

Every 133 years the huge comet swings through the inner solar system and ejects a trail of dust and gravel along its orbit. When Earth passes through the debris, specks of comet-stuff hit the atmosphere at 140,000 mph and disintegrate in flashes of light.

3. Red rain in Kerala.

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This strange event took place in Kerala between the 25th of July and 23rd of September, 2001. Heavy downpours of red coloured rain fell sporadically, leaving a pink stain on clothes. At first, scientists thought it was a meteor burst, while some even went to the extent of terming it as "extraterrestrial" rain. However, a study done by the Government Of India later revealed that the rain had been coloured by airborne spores from a locally prolific terrestrial algae.

4. Magnetic Hill in Leh.

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You have to take a trip to Leh and check this out for yourself. Can you imagine a car going up a steep hill with the ignition off? Crazy, right? Standing at a height of 11,000 ft above sea level in gorgeous Ladakh, the Magnetic Hill is known to possess strong magnetic properties which have the strength to pull cars uphill. However, in reality, it's only an optical illusion. No magnetic disturbance whatsoever. 

5. Gravity defying palace in Lucknow.

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An architectural marvel, the Bara Imambara a.k.a the gravity defying palace, is one of the grandest buildings of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The strange thing about this massive shrine lies in its architecture. The superlative central arched hall is almost 50 meters long and about three stories high without any pillars or beams! The shrine is also known for its mysterious design of the "Bhul-Bhulaiya" maze, which is made of more than 1000 narrow staircase passages. It is, however, said to be dangerous to venture into the maze without the help of a guide.

6. Fish rain in Jamnagar, Gujrat.

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'It's pouring cats and dogs' is a well-known phrase. But how about 'it's pouring fish'? That's literally what happened in Jamnagar on 24th October, 2009. It was a foggy day and when the mist finally lifted, residents were bemused to find fish on the roads and their rooftops. What's funny is that this has happened in other parts of the world as well. In fact, in Honduras, it's a yearly occurrence. Witnesses of this event state that it begins with a dark cloud in the sky followed by lightning, thunder, strong winds and heavy rain for 2-3 hours. Once the rain has stopped, hundreds of fish are found on the ground. People take the fish home to cook. Why is this happening? No one seems to have a definite answer till now.

7. The hide and seek beach in Odisha.

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Known as the disappearing beach, Chandipur beach in Odisha is unique in the sense that the water level recedes to almost 5 kilometers during low tide and hits the surface of the shore back during high tides. Truly a captivating sight!

8. Krishna's Butterball in Mahabalipuram.

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Krishna's Butterball is a tourist attraction in Mahabalipuram, a town well-known for its stone carvings. The Butterball is a giant rock, 5 meters in diameter, carefully placed on a smooth slope. The slope is apparently so slippery that the local children use it as a natural slide. Yet, somehow, this massive piece of rock doesn't seem to move, defying all laws of physics. Tourists are often spotted posing, holding the rock from the other end to make themselves look super human.

9. Ghost lights in West Bengal.

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Aleya (or marsh ghost light) is the name given to this unexplained phenomenon over the marshes, often spotted by the fishermen of West Bengal and Bangladesh. It is believed that the light is some kind of marsh gas apparition that confuse the fishermen, making them chase the light. Some have even ended up drowning while following these lights over the marshes. Legend has it that these strange lights are, in fact, ghost lights representing the ghosts of fishermen who've lost their lives fishing in the region. Spooky much?,

10. The great banyan tree of Kolkata.

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This tree has its name in the Guinness Book Of World Records. Located in the Indian Botanical Gardens of Kolkata, this tree is more than 250 years old and covers an area of about 1.5 hectares with about 2880 prop roots. A wonder in the plant kingdom, you can easily confuse this tree for a forest!

11. Skeleton Lake of Roopkund.

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This is the most incredible of them all. Located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, this glacial lake is famous for human skeletons found in and around the lake, dating all the way back to around the 9th century AD. The skeletons are clearly visible in the clear water of the shallow lake for a month, when the ice melts. When a National Geographic team went there to shoot a documentary, they found flesh attached to the bodies of some of the skeletons. 

Legend has it that King of Kanauj, Raja Jasdhaval, with his pregnant wife Rani Balampa, servants, dance troupe and others went on a pilgrimage to the Nanda Devi shrine near the lake. It was on this trip that the group faced a hail storm, where the hail was the size of cricket balls, killing each and every one of them.

12. Blue Moon

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According to NASA, when a second full moon appears during a calendar month, a blue moon occurs. This is rare because most years have 12 full moons, but this year there are 13. Thus the term "once in blue moon". It won't be really blue though. Even though it's called that, a blue moon is rarely blue, most of them are pale grey, or white, just like any other night. Blue moons often appear after volcanic eruptions. The last time such a thing happened was back in 1999. Then next one's supposed to appear in 2018, and in 2037 after that.