Where to Find the Most Colorful Natural Wonders Around the World

Michelangelo may be considered the master of marble, but he is no match for Mother Nature. For more than 6,000 years, waves have been eroding calcium carbonate in the Patagonian Andes. Visitors who venture into the caves now can marvel at the gentle curves of the marble cuts and the aquamarine, cream, and ice blue.

New Mexico’s 275 square miles of white sand is a stunning place to visit to be surrounded by white. The white color is gypsum crystals and the desert is considered to be the world’s largest gypsum dunefield.

If you’re in Capri, board a rowboat to explore this glowing blue grotto. In order to enter the cave, oarsmen must wait until it’s low tide and then navigate their boats through a four-foot opening. Once inside, visitors can marvel at the sapphire light. Any objects that are dipped in the water will appear silver because of tiny bubbles that appear on their surface.

Not only is Grand Prismatic Spring Yellowstone’s largest hot spring, it is the most photographed. For good reason. The rainbow thermal spring is a pool of vibrant colors. The outer orange, yellow and green rings are each caused by a different species of microbes and bacteria that flourish at different temperatures. However, at the deep blue center of the hot spring, the water is so hot (almost 190°F), it’s completely sterile.

Just when you think Sardinia could not get any more magical, you discover a pink beach. The flamingo-hued Mediterranean sand is made from a combination of crushed fossils, crystal and coral. If you visit the beach, resist the urge to collect the sand. The beach used to be much more vibrant, but after decades of tourists collecting sand, the tint has lightened into a blush color.

The color in Antelope Canyon is perhaps one of the most otherworldly natural wonders in the United States. Depending on the time of year you visit, the canyon can glow a fiery orange or a regal purple. Photographers particularly love the canyon from the end of March until early October when light beams through the tops of the canyon to create shining highlights.

It’s possible to hike somewhere over the rainbow in Peru. The multicolored mountain was “discovered” only within the last few years. But now, about 1,000 tourists per day flock to see the otherworldly bands of turquoise, lavender and gold. Local elders say the mountain emerged within the past few years after the snow that covered it melted away (which some link to global warming).

Some of the world’s most beautiful sights were created by accident. In 1964, a geothermal company drilled a test well. But something went wrong and the well remained open after the company was done. Hot water began to shoot out and calcium carbonate began to accumulate. The deposits kept growing larger and larger and the water kept shooting higher and higher. Today, the geyser is about five feet high and 12 feet wide, and continuing to grow. The fantastic color is caused by thermophilic algae, which flourishes green and red in hot, wet environments. While initially not a natural wonder, only nature could create this out of an accidental well.

This park is sometimes referred to as “China’s Rainbow Mountains.” Technicolor stripes of sandstone and siltstone sweep across the rocky range, drawing thousands of tourists each year. The colorful mountains are the result of 24 million years of compression and tectonic collision.

Vibrant orange sands blow across the desert in one of the most romantic and photogenic places on earth. For an even more colorful desert experience, plan a trip that includes an overnight stay in a Berber community. Vivid clothing, rugs and tents look even more dynamic against a backdrop of sand and sky.

Not all that’s colorful is full of life. The phantasmagorical Lake Natron is a deceivingly inhospitable environment. The bright pink or red crust is caused by deposits of sodium carbonate and other minerals. The lake is too salty and too hot for most animals to survive there.

Look at life through rose-colored glasses and travel to look at rose-colored lakes. Located in Western Australia, Lake Hillier has become a tourist attraction for its marvelous bubblegum color. The lake is best experienced with a flyover helicopter tour to see the pink lake juxtaposed with the surrounding green forest and blue Pacific Ocean.

One of the hottest places on the planet is also one of the most shockingly colorful. The Danakil Depression hot springs look like something not from this universe. Jolts of chartreuse line the blue pools throughout the rust-colored land. Sulfur springs, volcanoes, geysers, salt plains and mineral lakes add unique features to the rest of the land