Surreal Wonders Trivia Quiz

Dali the surrealist cartographer has been assigned to map these strange but real places in our world. Can you help him sort through his imaginings? Play my latest quiz here. Interesting facts are below:

1. While the dunes of Lencois Marenhenses make it appear like a desert, it actually receives 47 inches of rainfall per year. The valleys between the dunes fill up from rain during the wet season, creating a labyrinth of lagoons all across the sandy landscape. The lagoons empty when the dry season returns.

2. Formed by the erosion of Navajo sandstone, Antelope Canyon has smooth walls with slots of light entering from the top. Care must be taken when exploring during thunderstorms, as flash flooding poses a serious problem with little chance of escape. The risk is so great that the canyon can only be visited exclusively through guided tours.

3. Plitvice Lakes in Croatia is a karst landscape featuring tufa lakes with connecting waterfalls between them. The color of the water changes depending on mineral content, angle of sunlight, and organisms in the water. Caves can also be explored among the lakes.

4. Over a thousand grass-domed hills span an area of Bohol Island in the Philippines, compact and roughly 30-50 meters high. The hills turn brown in the dry season, making them look like chocolate. They formed from the erosion of marine limestone that sits on a layer of hardened clay.

5. Each of these options are absurdly strange and beautiful in their own right, but Zanda is the one that looks nothing like a forest. Lying under the Himalayas of Tibet, it looks more like a cross between Utah's Canyonlands and the Badlands of South Dakota. The clay "forest" is actually a geomorphic landscape formed by intense water and wind erosion during the orogeny of the Himalayas. Taking place over millions of years, the erosion has left behind many natural towers, ridges, and columns in the area.

6. Situated in the Andes at 4,761 meters above sea level, the Horocal Mountains have bands of multicolored soil with jagged edges. These folded strata were uplifted during the Andean orogeny, exposing layers with distinct mineral compositions. A similar looking place is Rainbow Mountain (Vinicuna) in Peru.

7. Pamukkale actually has terraces of sky blue natural hot springs, but they are cool enough to walk and swim in. The name in Turkish translates to "cotton castle", from all the snow-white limestone built of travertine surrounding the pools. In ancient Greece, the city of Hieropolis was built on top of the formation.

8. It seems that many of the most surreal wonders on Earth are made of limestone, and Shilin is no exception. These columns of rocks rise out of a forest, giving them the appearance of stony trees. Popular sites in Shilin include the Eternal Mushroom, Qifeng Cave, and Moon Lake.

9. Cano Cristales translates to "Crystal Channel" in English. This magical place is located in a remote area of Colombia. Its various colors are caused by aquatic plants that change colors as they mature.

10. The Sossusvlei Sand Dunes in Namibia are among the largest in the world. They look even more otherworldly surrounded by clay and salt pans with dead trees (Deadvlei). The wood does not decompose because the area is too dry.

Dali's completed world map is one strange work of art. Thank you for playing my quiz.

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