From twin jungle sinkholes atop mountains in South America to frozen lakes hidden below
sea level in Antarctica, today we visit Earth's Strangest Lost Worlds.
Number 13.
Mount Roraima A 12-square mile summit, Mount Roraima stands
tall at 1,300 ft. of green-covered cliffs.
This spectacle acts as the centerpiece between the neighboring countries of Brazil, Guyana
, and Venezuela in the middle of dense rainforests.
From atop the plateau, the misty fog surrounding the mountain transform this exotic location
into a real life Mount Olympus as low-sitting clouds sit far below the ledge.
In addition to its commanding presence, Mount Roraima hosts a plethora of the surrounding
forests' endemic species; animals and plants that can only be found here in the world.
This includes a species specifically unique to the summit: the Roraima Bush Toad.
Small, textured, and stealthy, this toad blends in perfectly with the plateau as even its
croak resembles the sound of dripping water, a tune that's common on the humid peak.
Number 12.
Sima Humboldt & Sima Martel Not far from the towering grace of Mount Roraima
are the treacherous sinkholes of Sima Humboldt and Sima Martel.
These two enormous sinkholes are well known for their size, state and circumstance of
formation.
Sitting atop Sarisariñama , a large flat-top mountain known as a tepui , these two sinkholes
are not only surrounded by forest but carpeted with vegetation and wildlife at their base
as well.
The sinkholes boast volumes up to 640 million cubic feet, with nearly a 100-story drop from
the top to the bottom.
Research in the 1970s uncovered the truth that the tepui is made of quartzite and the
erosive nature of the mineral lead to these sinkholes, as well as cave formations across
the mountain.
Studying this process has helped scientists research the nature of the erosive process
of quartzite for decades as even today the tepui is sealed off to non-scientific visitors.
Number 11.
Easter Island Settled by the easternmost Polynesian tribe
known as the people of Rapa Nui , Easter Island is most well known for the stonework they
left behind.
The Rapa Nui people used different types of stone in their work pulling from the natural
resources of the island for basalt, obsidian, scoria and more.
From this rock they crafted many items, glyphs, buildings, and, of course, the iconic moai
statues characterized by their large oblong shaped heads and rigid expressions.
The island itself maintains a relatively low population at 91 people per square mile, however
it is extremely remote for its size with every nearby island at least 1,200 miles away!
Number 10.
Galápagos Islands One of the more well-known locations on this
list, the famed Galápagos Islands are home to some of the most varied and unique wildlife
in the world.
This archipelago of volcanic isles is a part of Ecuador and hosts 18 main islands of at
least 1 square kilometer in size.
For those unfamiliar, this chain of islands played a major role in the work of biologist
Charles Darwin as the extreme environments of each island provided realtime proof for
variation in a species' evolutionary path.
Some of the creatures that assisted with this find include different species of finches,
ranging from the Woodpecker finch to the Vampire finch, and the Galápagos tortoise, a massive
reptile that lives for up to 150 years or more!
Number 9.
Supai Down in the American Southwest, there's still
a town that has mail delivered by mule.
Settled at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, the town of Supai is the capital of the Havasupai
Indian Reservation and the most remote community in 48 states.
With a population of only a couple hundred as of the last census, this town is a living
relic of the old west combined with native Havasupai culture.
Due to its remote location, this place can only be accessed by foot, mule, or helicopter.
Unfortunately this town being in the Grand Canyon makes it dangerously close to the rivers
and creeks that also line the canyon floor.
In times of rainstorms, Supai has gotten hit with floods so bad that the tribe has had
to close the town to visitors for up to a year at a time as repairs to the bridges and
trail are made.
Between 2008 and 2011, Supai was closed to outsiders for nearly 2 years!
Number 8.
Lake Baikal The Siberian region of Russia is primarily
characterized by harsh, long winters, giving the mental image of a barren frozen tundra.
On the contrary, Siberia hides away one of the largest lakes in the world and a forested,
lively ecology that revolves around it.
With 23% of the planet's freshwater supply, this massive lake dwarfs the North American
Great Lakes in volume.
Sitting much thinner than the expansive width of Lake Superior, Lake Baikal is a rift lake
formed by the shifting of tectonic plates, resulting in an extremely deep and secluded
body of water.
In addition to being the world's deepest lake it is also thought to be the world's oldest
lake, estimated to be nearly 30 million years old.
A pillar of the local ecological development, the area surrounding Lake Baikal features
nearly 1,000 species of plants and more than 2,500 species of animals, over 80% of which
are endemic to the region.
Number 7.
Oymyakon This small Russian town has a population of
only about 500 people and located in an area known by locals as "Stalin's Death Ring."
The village boasts the lowest temperature recorded by a permanently-inhabited settlement
at -96° Fahrenheit.
Blanketed in a fresh layer of never-melting snow, the town consistently looks more like
a gingerbread sculpture than a real place on any given day.
The inhabitants of Oymyakon live in darkness for 21 hours a day, without indoor plumbing,
and subsist on a diet of reindeer meat and frozen fish.
Not quite the winter wonderland you might want, but with everything covered in ice,
it might just be the best view of the Northern Lights on Earth.
Number 6.
Lake Vostok Deep within the icy continent of Antarctica
lie almost 400 subglacial lakes.
But among all of them, only one reigns supreme: Lake Vostok . At 160 miles in length, 30 miles
in width, and 1,300 cubic miles in volume, Vostok only ranks in at the 6th largest lake
by volume and the 16th largest by surface area.
Size alone didn't earn Vostok a place on this list, but rather the 13,000 ft. of ice that
separate the lake from the rest of the world, with the lake itself sitting 1,600 ft. below
sea level.
As such, some scientists believe the actual water of Lake Vostok to have been isolated
for 15 to 25 million years!
Scientists have used Lake Vostok as a focal point for unlocking information in biology
and space travel.
Through deep ice core drilling, researchers have been able to access and find microorganisms
from within the lake, matching species we have here elsewhere on Earth.
The main goal of many of these researchers is to find evidence of the ability to survive
on a subglacial lake as scientists believe Jupiter's and Saturn's moons, Europa and Enceladus
respectively, will have subglacial lakes as well.
Number 5.
Raja Ampat An archipelago in the northwest corner of
Indonesia, Raja Ampat has been referred to as a species factory of sorts.
Hosting a beautiful beach isle backdrop, the powerful deep-sea currents of Raja Ampat provide
bountiful nutrients to the local fauna.
The archipelago's rich biodiversity is a relatively new discovery, with conservation efforts only
beginning in 2001.
Raja Ampat , which translates to The Four Kings, is located in the Coral Triangle, the
core of the planet's coral reef biodiversity.
Among the islands, Raja Ampat is the most biodiverse, thus making it the most diverse
coral reef ecosystem in the world.
Number 4.
Mount Bosavi Composed of the collapsed cone of a volcano,
Mount Bosavi looks more like a small circular mountain range than a singular mountain.
This large green summit has a crater approximately two and a half miles wide and half a mile
deep.
Acting as a landmark for four nearby tribes known as the Kaluli, the Ologo, the Walulu
and the Wisesi, the local groups refer to themselves collectively as the Bosavi Kalu,
or people of Bosavi . Not limited to peoples, the mountain also is home to a number of endemic
creatures such as specific species of frogs, fish, bats and rats.
While the list is currently small for endemic creatures, the expedition that uncovered them
was only launched in 2009.
There is still much research to be done in this area of Papua New Guinea.
Number 3.
Cape Melville Surrounded by a field of granite boulders,
this isolated bit of rainforest atop the Melville mountain range has remained unphased by annual
brushfires.
As a result, many animal species within Cape Melville are believed to have remained preserved
for millions of years.
This rainforest has scientists excited as the first documented exploration of the forestrange
came just recently in 2013.
In their research, scientists discovered a handful of new species including the leaf-tailed
gecko, the blotched boulder-frog, and the foxtail palm.
In addition to these new species, Cape Melville is right in the middle of crocodile country
as nearby beaches, creeks, and more act as home to the ridge-backed reptiles.
In some ways, this might be the only "Lost World" on this list crawling with dinosaurs!
Number 2.
Son Doong Cave In the Quang Binh province of Central Vietnam,
a cave the size of a Boeing jet airliner sat hidden from the world until supposedly first
discovered in 1990.
But the man who claimed to have found it, a local named Ho Khanh, couldn't figure out
how to get back.
So it wasn't until 2008 when the same local rediscovered it, and then 2009 when Khanh
guided the first expedition there, that it became publicly known as Hang Son Doong , or
"Mountain River Cave."
Estimated to be around 3 million years old, the cave is estimated to be the largest cave
in the world.
Standing 200 meters tall and 150 meters wide, and stretching 5 kilometers in length, this
cave is large enough to fit a small college town into, buildings, vehicles and all.
It even has stalagmites that reach 80 meters in height, the tallest in the world!
Number 1.
Socotra Part of a larger Archipelago of the same name,
Socotra is an island off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia near the Arabian Sea.
This island is known as the heart of biodiversity in the Arabian Sea, offering an almost alien
landscape due to its unique flora and fauna.
The plant life on Socotra has especially strange qualities.
The dragonblood tree, for example, features prickly spines similar to those of a pine
tree, however its gnarled and close-knit branches build a muddled web of wood that creates something
wholly unique.
Heavily isolated with a mostly tropical desert climate, Socotra is a haven for reptiles with
more than 30 endemic species found on this one island.
Historical records indicate it may have been home to even more reptiles of larger size,
but consistent attempts at settlement on the island and the introduction of foreign species
have changed the environment too drastically for them to subsist.