Our world is full of wonders and miracles, and it has quite a few mysterious, unique and unusual places.
Many sites wrapped in mystery have already gained worldwide fame from Stonehenge in Britain to the Bermuda Triangle and Easter Island.
But there are also many mysterious and strange places that not everyone has heard of.
We chose to bring here several such places, some of which are still considered a mystery and some have explanations, which does not take away from the uniqueness of the place.
Moeraki Boulders, South Island, New Zealand
One of the popular natural sites in New Zealand is the Moeraki Boulders on Koekohe Beach on the South Island, and it is not hard to understand why. On the beautiful beach lie dozens of large and perfectly round stone balls that give the place a primeval feeling.
Some of the boulders are carved in a gridlike pattern so someone seeing them from afar might think it is the shell of a giant turtle.
There is no certain explanation for the phenomenon, but most likely the balls were created from sediment on the sea floor, and their spherical shape is explained by the accumulation of minerals and deposits that hardened evenly around the rock.
There are additional examples of such stones in the world, but the size and shape of the Moeraki Boulders make them an exceptional phenomenon.
Valley of Balls, Torysh, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan also has a phenomenon of giant stone balls.
The balls, located in the Torysh Valley near the city of Shetpe in western Kazakhstan, are symmetrical stone spheres in many sizes.
Some are tiny and others as large as a car, with most being three to four meters in diameter.
The spheres look as though carved by hand, though no one has a real explanation for how they got their shape.
The common opinion is that they were formed by natural erosion caused by wind and rain, and some theories suggest volcanic ash or tectonic processes.
Door to Hell, Darvaza, Turkmenistan
The nomad village of Darvaza, located in the heart of the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan, looks at first glance like an ordinary settlement, but in fact it could easily serve as a set for a horror film.
Near the village, in the middle of the desert, there is a crater about seventy meters wide with fire burning inside it nonstop since 1971.
The sight of flames that do not go out and the great heat they create earned the site the name Door to Hell.
The unusual phenomenon began when Soviet geologists drilled there in the early seventies.
Their drilling equipment fell inside, and then they discovered the pit was filled with toxic gas.
They assumed that if they ignited the gas it would burn out within a few days, but the estimate was wrong and the fire has been burning ever since.
Glass Beach, Ussuri Bay, Russia
Those who visit Ussuri Bay near Vladivostok will encounter a very colorful beach created by countless glass shards shining in many colors.
It is hard to believe that the beautiful beach, which attracts tourists from afar, is actually the result of pollution.
A glass factory was located in the area, and for years waste and broken glass were dumped into the nearby river which carried them to the sea.
The waves polished the shards and washed them onto the beach.
On sunny days the glass sparkles and creates a striking and unusual sight.
Christ of the Abyss, San Fruttuoso Bay, Italy
Those who dive deep in the sea in San Fruttuoso Bay on the Italian Riviera may encounter a powerful and some would say unsettling sight.
On the sea floor stands a bronze statue of Jesus with a height of two and a half meters and his arms raised upward.
Unlike other mysterious phenomena, here it is known who made the statue and why it was placed there.
It was sculpted by Guido Galletti and placed on the sea floor on August 22, 1954.
Additional versions of the statue were cast from the same mold and placed in the sea one on the island of Grenada and another in the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, Florida.
Richat Structure, Mauritania
Sometimes a traveler arrives at a place considered mysterious and does not understand the fuss.
The reason is that in some cases the power and strangeness of the place are visible only from above.
That is the case of the Richat Structure in Mauritania, a wide circular geological formation in the heart of the Sahara.
Only from above can one see that it looks like a target created by nature. Because of its special appearance it is called the Eye of the Sahara.
The place is best seen from space, and it was first photographed by astronauts in 1965.
Its prominent appearance in the middle of the monotone Sahara landscape made it a landmark for space shuttle crews.
There are several theories explaining its formation including claims of a meteor impact, a layered dome created by lava, and more.
Eternal Flame Falls, New York
Chestnut Bridge Park in western New York State looks like an ordinary local park with hills covered in chestnut forests and streams of water.
Even the small waterfall in the park looks innocent enough.
But in a cave beneath the waterfall a flame burns continuously as if someone placed a candle there that never goes out.
This is the reason for the name Eternal Flame Falls.
The flame is caused by methane gas leaking from underground which creates highly flammable conditions.
Visitors who arrived there tried to ignite it and since then the fire burns under the waterfall or so the legend says.
In truth the flame sometimes goes out because of water and only burns again when a determined visitor lights it.
Sailing Stones, Death Valley, California
One of the phenomena that fascinated many people for years especially scientists is the phenomenon occurring in Death Valley in California called the sailing stones.
Large rocks some weighing over 300 kilograms which sometimes stood in place for years mysteriously move for dozens of meters or more with no visible external help.
Their movement path remains clear in the sand with some rocks moving in straight lines and others in zigzags or even in circles.
In 2014 two researchers provided a solution to the mystery.
They discovered that the stones move after very cold nights when a thin layer of ice forms on the desert surface.
In the morning the ice melts and makes the ground slippery.
The wind then contributes to the movement of the rocks something that would not happen without the ice.
This explanation disproved previous theories from magnetic fields under the ground to magical forces of the stones.
