14 incredible photos of natural wonders that look Photoshopped but aren't
Talia Lakritz
- Some natural wonders around the world are so distinctive that photos of them look like they've been edited in Photoshop.
- These landscapes haven't been manipulated with photo-editing software — they occur naturally.
- Featured places include Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring, the Serrania de Hornocal mountain range in Argentina, and Australia's pink Lake Hillier.
Some natural wonders seem too extraordinary or outlandish to be real, but their colors and shapes occur naturally — no photo-editing software necessary.
They may look like they've been Photoshopped, but their features are actually the products of microorganisms, erosion, and geothermal activity.
Here are 14 places that look Photoshopped but are just Mother Nature at work.
Morning Glory Pool in Yellowstone National Park glows in vibrant yellow, blue, and green.
The hot spring was originally just a deep blue, but tourists throwing coins and rocks into the pool caused it to cool down, sprout new microorganisms, and change colors.
That's not a highlighted section of Australia's Middle Island — it's the actual color of Lake Hillier.
The saline lake's bubblegum pink color likely comes from microorganisms living inside of it.
At Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park in Zhangye, China, precipitated groundwater leaves colorful mineral deposits in the mountains.
It became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2009.
The Northern Lights require no filter.
Also known as aurora borealis, the Northern Lights can be seen near the Arctic Circle in Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
The Wave in Coyote Buttes North, Arizona, was formed by water drainage and wind erosion in the sandstone.
The rock formation became famous when Microsoft included it in their desktop wallpaper options in 2009, skyrocketing what was once a little-known local gem into a worldwide phenomenon.
Nothing has been Photoshopped out of this image — Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia really is that empty.
The world's largest salt flat offers an expansive surface perfect for creating optical illusions that play with perspective. It also contains about 15% of the world's lithium, according to the US Geological Survey.
Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in the US.
Colorful bacteria and microbes flourish inside the pool, giving it its rainbow rings.
Devil's Bath in New Zealand really glows bright green.
The geothermal pool gets its color from sulfur deposits.
The Serrania de Hornocal mountain range in Argentina's Quebrada de Humahuaca valley boasts colorful layers of limestone.
The Quebrada de Humahuaca valley is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The Cano Cristales river in Colombia is sometimes referred to as the "Liquid Rainbow" and "River of Five Colors."
The river's red color comes from a plant called Macarenia clavigera that blooms from September through November. Yellow and green sands also give the Cano Cristales its rainbow color scheme.
Deadvlei in Namibia looks like a painting, but is an actual barren landscape inside Namib-Naukluft National Park.
Deadvlei is a white clay pan in Namibia. When the sun hits sand dunes, the dried remains of camel thorn trees look like they're up against a painted backdrop.
Rainbow Mountain, also known as Vinicunca or Montaña de Siete Colores (Mountain of Seven Colors), is covered in naturally occurring colorful stripes.
The stripes are a product of weathering, mineralogy, and environmental conditions.
Keukenhof's flower fields are human-made, but the lines of colorful blooms don't require any editing software to stand out.
Every spring, Keukenhof park in the Netherlands blooms with millions of tulips, as well as hyacinths, daffodils, and other flowers.
The Grand Canyon is almost too gorgeous to be real.
The canyon, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, dates back 70 million years and stretches for 277 miles.
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