Spotted Lake or lake khiluk, Northwest of Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada

Spotted Lake is a saline endorheic alkali lake located northwest of Osoyoos in the eastern Similkameen Valley of British Columbia, Canada, accessed via Highway 3. Spotted Lake is richly concentrated with various minerals. It contains dense deposits of magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulphates. It also contains high concentrations of eight other minerals and lower amounts of silver and titanium.

Spotted Lake is very highly concentrated with numerous different minerals. It contains some of the highest quantities (in the world) of magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulphates. It also contains extremely high concentrations of 8 other minerals as well as some small doses of four others such as silver and titanium.

Spotted Lake is very highly concentrated with numerous different minerals. It contains some of the highest quantities (in the world) of magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulphates. It also contains extremely high concentrations of 8 other minerals as well as some small doses of four others such as silver and titanium.

Most of the water in the lake evaporates over the summer, revealing colorful mineral deposits. Large 'spots' on the lake appear and are colored according to the mineral composition and seasonal amount of precipitation. Magnesium sulfate, which crystallizes in the summer, is a major contributor to spot color. In the summer, remaining minerals in the lake harden to form natural “walkways” around and between the spots.

Originally known to the First Nations of the Okanagan Valley as Kliluk, Spotted Lake was for centuries and remains revered as a sacred site thought to provide therapeutic waters. During World War I, the minerals of Spotted Lake were used in manufacturing ammunition.

Later, the area came under the control of the Ernest Smith Family for a term of about 40 years. In 1979, Smith attempted to create interest in a spa at the lake. The First Nations responded with an effort to buy the lake, then in October 2001, struck a deal by purchasing 22 hectares of land for a total of $720,000, and contributed about 20% of the cost. The Indian Affairs Department paid the remainder.

Today, there is a roadside sign telling visitors that the lake is a cultural and ecologically sensitive area, and a traditional medicine lake for the Okanagan Syilx people. The lake can be viewed from the fence that has been erected for protection from the liabilities of public access. Many travelers stop to view the site.

Thor's Well (A Drain Pipe Of Sea), Yachats, Oregon, United States

Thor’s Well is at the Oregon coast near Cape Perpetua, a gaping, seemingly bottomless sinkhole swallows the unbroken stream of seawater around it. Thor’s Well, as the natural wonder is known, is not actually bottomless; it is, however, very dangerous. A huge gaping sinkhole that never fills up even as it lies in the middle of the sea. Some call it a ‘sinkhole’, some have named it ‘the gate to hell’, while it is the ‘drainpipe of the Pacific’.

Thor’s Well is an old sea cave that has collapsed, creating almost a “drainage pipe” to the ocean. It’s a seemingly bottomless hole that thrashes and sprays water as the waves crash in and out. It’s quite a spectacular sight when the wave hits Thor’s Well! The water jets out and then gets swallowed back down the hole again.

It’s best to view Thor’s Well at high tide or when there’s a storm coming through for a real show. For a safer visit, high tide on a calm day would be best. Always make sure to assess the weather and the waves along the coast for a moment before heading straight to the rocks.

For those seeking adventure and exploring places shrouded by mysteries, there’s the unsolved mystery of Thor’s Well in Oregon; a phenomenon that people have no explanation for. It’s a popular saying in Oregon, “Don’t go too close to Thor’s Well or it will eat you up!”

According to some researchers, the Well probably started out as a sea cave dug out by the waves, before the roof eventually collapsed and created openings at the bottom and top through which the ocean sprays. The huge hole is likely only around 20 feet (six meters) deep, but it still manages to produce amazing sights. 

The site is most spectacular at high tide, or during storms when water washes violently over the rocks and funnels into the hole. During these sudden torrents, unsuspecting visitors to the site run the risk of being swept right into the maelstrom. Regardless of the risks, photographers and nature lovers continue to flock to the stunning fountain to see the aggressive waters that live up to their godly namesake’s stormy personality. The best time to visit Thor’s Well is one hour before the high tide to see it without water and then observe how the formation fills up.

The Pena Palace, São Pedro De Penaferrim, Municipality of Sintra, Portuguese Riviera.

The Pena Palace is a Romanticist castle in São Pedro de Penaferrim, in the municipality of Sintra, on the Portuguese Riviera. The castle stands on the top of a hill in the Sintra Mountains above the town of Sintra, and on a clear day it can be easily seen from Lisbon and much of its metropolitan area. It is a national monument and constitutes one of the major expressions of 19th-century Romanticism in the world. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. It is also used for state occasions by the President of the Portuguese Republic and other government officials.

The castle's history started in the Middle Ages when a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena was built on the top of the hill above Sintra. According to tradition, construction occurred after an apparition of the Virgin Mary.

In 1493, King John II, accompanied by his wife Queen Leonor, made a pilgrimage to the site to fulfill a vow. His successor, King Manuel I, was also very fond of this sanctuary, and ordered the construction of a monastery on this site which was donated to the Order of Saint Jerome. For centuries Pena was a small, quiet place for meditation, housing a maximum of eighteen monks.

In the 18th century the monastery was severely damaged by lightning. However, it was the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755, occurring shortly afterwards, that took the heaviest toll on the monastery, reducing it to ruins. Nonetheless, the chapel escaped without significant damage.

For many decades the ruins remained untouched, but they still astonished young prince Ferdinand. In 1838, as King consort Ferdinand II, he decided to acquire the old monastery, all of the surrounding lands, the nearby Castle of the Moors and a few other estates in the area. King Ferdinand then set out to transform the remains of the monastery into a palace that would serve as a summer residence for the Portuguese royal family. The commission for the Romantic style rebuilding was given to Lieutenant-General and mining engineer Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege. Eschwege, a German amateur architect, was much traveled and likely had knowledge of several castles along the Rhine river. The construction took place between 1842 and 1854, although it was almost completed in 1847: King Ferdinand and Queen Maria II intervened decisively on matters of decoration and symbolism. Among others, the King suggested vault arches, Medieval and Islamic elements be included, and he also designed an ornate window for the main façade.

After the death of Ferdinand the palace passed into the possession of his second wife Elisa Hensler, Countess of Edla. The latter then sold the palace to King Luís, who wanted to retrieve it for the royal family, and thereafter the palace was frequently used by the family. In 1889 it was purchased by the Portuguese State, and after the Republican Revolution of 1910 it was classified as a national monument and transformed into a museum. The last queen of Portugal, Queen Amélia, spent her last night at the palace before leaving the country in exile.

The palace quickly drew visitors and became one of Portugal's most visited monuments. Over time the colors of the red and yellow façades faded, and for many years the palace was visually identified as being entirely gray. By the end of the 20th century the palace was repainted and the original colors restored.

In 1995, the palace and the rest of the Cultural Landscape of Sintra were classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The Pena Palace has a profusion of styles much in accordance with the exotic taste of the Romanticism. The intentional mixture of eclectic styles includes the Neo-Gothic, Neo-Manueline, Neo-Islamic and Neo-Renaissance. Much of this has been evident since major renovations in the 1840s. References to other prominent Portuguese buildings, such as the Belém Tower, are also present.

Almost the entire palace stands on rock in the Sintra Mountains. Structurally, it can be divided in four sections:

1) The foundations and its enveloping walls, with two gateways (one of which is protected by a drawbridge)

2) The restored structure of the old convent, and the clock tower

3) The Arches Yard in front of the chapel, with its wall of Moorish arches

4) The palatial zone and its cylindric bastion, with interiors decorated in the cathédrale style.

As many elements as possible were preserved of the remains of the Hieronymite convent including the cloister, the dining room, the sacristy, and the Manueline-Renaissance chapel. All were embedded in a new section that featured a wide terrace and a clock tower. The Queen's Terrace is perhaps the best spot for obtaining an overall picture of the architecture of the palace. The terrace features a sundial cannon that used to fire every day at noon. The clock tower was completed in 1843.

The interiors of the Pena Palace were adapted to serve as the Summer residence of the royal family. It has amazing stuccos, painted walls and various revetments in tile from the 19th century, forming part of the numerous royal collections.

The Pena Park is a vast forested area completely surrounding the Pena Palace, spreading for over 200 hectares of uneven terrain. The park was created at the same time as the palace by King Ferdinand II, who was assisted in the task by the Baron von Eschwege and the Baron von Kessler. The exotic taste of the Romanticism was applied to the park as it was to the palace. The king ordered trees from diverse, distant lands to be planted there. Those included North American sequoia, Lawson's cypress, magnolia and Western redcedar, Chinese ginkgo, Japanese Cryptomeria, and a wide variety of ferns and tree ferns from Australia and New Zealand, concentrated in the Queen's Fern Garden (Feteira da Rainha). The park has a labyrinthic system of paths and narrow roads, connecting the palace to the many points of interest throughout the park, as well as to its two gated exits.

Brøndby Haveby, Copenhagen, Denmark

Brøndby Haveby is a series urban spaces in the world that are so uniquely planned it leaves people speechless. Brøndby Haveby or Brøndby Garden City is located just outside Copenhagen, Denmark, this ‘garden city’ is a place of many community gardens that are known for their unique circular arrangement.The houses in Brøndby Haveby have large yards that provide a retreat from the noisy and densely populated city and also giving the opportunity to indulge in the hobby of growing plants and crops.

The curiously circular community of communities was built in 1964 to the design of “genius landscape architect Erik Mygind,” Brøndby Haveby mimics “the traditional patterns of the 18th century Danish villages, where people would use the middle as a focal point for hanging out, mingle and social interchange between neighbors.” 

This unusual form suits the long-established Danish cabin culture in which every city-dwelling Dane who can afford one buys a smaller second home in the countryside as a retreat.

In 1964 when the municipality of Brøndby agreed to dedicated space for allotments, thus the mesmerizing circles started to pop up in the area. The gardens were made known by photographers such as Henry Do who stumbled upon this captivating area.

Recently, a series of seriously visually stunning aerial shots of the Brøndby Garden City have circulated online and has completely captivated the world. And this curiously circular city has completely captivated people from all over the world.

While the gardens can be rented for around €130 per month, the homes in Brøndby Garden City can only be purchased by those who live in a 20 km radius.