You’re living a comfortable illusion, folks. You spend so much of your time traveling the same streets each day that you’ve become convinced that the world surrounding you is a small and manageable thing. See, repetition breeds comfort, so after you establish your routine, your everyday environments start to shrink down to accommodate you. Things appear to get smaller because things get more familiar, more cozy. That’s your illusion, though. The world is actually a mammoth place filled with mind-boggling vistas and awe-inspiring natural formations that will make you feel like an ant on a hill. Because that’s what you are, and aren’t things way more exciting that way?
1. This Woman Is Basking in the Wide Open Sky in Kazakhstan’s Big Almaty Lake
2. The Light at Sunset and Sunrise Is Shattered by the Environment
The colors of sunset and sunrise are caused when the light from the sun hits the atmosphere at an angle. The light encounters more particles and molecules in a phenomenon called scattering.
3. Though Calm on the Surface, the World’s Oceans Account for More Than 70 Percent of the Earth’s Surface
It might look still on the surface, but the world’s oceans are the last real frontier on the planet. Underneath the waves is a huge world filled with creatures that are so diverse we can’t even fathom their existence.
4. Iceland Is Filled with Titanic Waterfalls That Will Make You Feel Positively Minuscule in Comparison to Their Rushing, Falling Water
5. Mountains Exist on Every Continent and Under the Surface of the Ocean
Even Hawaii is actually a massive mountain, more than half of which is below the surface of the ocean.
6. The Pacific Ocean Is Gorgeous from the Shore, But This Massive Body of Water Actually Covers 46 Percent of the Earth’s Surface All By Its Lonesome
7. Just Because the Land Is Flat Doesn’t Mean It’s Boring
Plains are actually formed from a wide variety of natural causes ranging from erosion to deposits of minerals to eruptions from volcanoes.
8. Climbing a Mountain Is An Even More Strenuous Undertaking Than You’d Think
Hearing someone say they climbed a fourteen-er may not sound like a huge accomplishment. You can do that in a day. Then you realize that fourteen thousand feet means less oxygen, more strain, and breathtaking views at the pinnacle.
9. The Ferns in the Picture are Part of a Fascinating Plant History
Some of the oldest plant life on the planet, ferns formed millions of years ago. When you walk through a sea of ferns, you’re passing by plants that were around when the dinosaurs walked the earth.
10. Nothing Makes You Feel Small Like Driving Through a Desert at Night
All those beautiful roads were actually justified, in part, because the federal government needed some efficient way to travel between states in the event of a nuclear attack.
11. The Rest of the World Is WAY Bigger Than You Are
Having the courage to strike out into the larger world is actually crazy and brave if you think about how comically outmatched we are in terms of the sheer size of the globe.
12. The Tree You’re Looking At Isn’t Even in the Running For World’s Tallest
The honor of world’s tallest tree would go to California’s redwoods which clock in at about 300 feet tall. The tallest among them, a redwood named Hyperion, stands at 397 feet tall.
13. If You Want to Feel Like a Minor Cog in the Big Machine of the Planet, Seriously, Head to Iceland, Where Huge Landscapes Abound
14. This One Looks Like An Inspirational Poster in the Making
15. Namibia’s Namib-Naukluft National Park Is An Otherworldly Habitat That’s Filled with Unique Forms of Life, Like the Dead Camelthorn Trees Pictured Below
16. Even the Stateliest Man-Made Structures Are Insignificant Next to Nature’s Heavy Hitters
17. You Don’t Have to Climb Everest to Experience a Journey Through the Expansive Himalayas; There Are Several Trails Like the One Pictured Below
18. Greece Is Dotted with Several Islands Like Ammouliani Island That Look Out On Sprawling Vistas of Turquoise Water
19. Nature’s Incredible Landscapes Are Perfect For Reflection … Sometimes Literally
20. This Image Is Supposed to Look Peaceful, but It’s Making Me Nervous Just Knowing It Exists in the World
21. Verdant Valleys Are Myriad Around the World If You Only Take the Time to Seek Them Out
