Aside from the ocean, deserts are some of the most mysterious landscapes on earth. The otherworldly terrain is often used as a natural set for movies, and eager travelers are willing to brave the harsh environment to witness it for themselves. Though many of the desert's secrets have been explained by the hard work of scientists, the natural oddities are impressive nonetheless. These unique desert phenomena underscore our planet's immense beauty and power, and this is how to see them.
8 Fairy Circles
Located in southern Africa, the coastal desert country of Namibia is home to an impressive diversity of scenery. Its small population and lack of development allow travelers to feel less like tourists and more like explorers. Embarking on a desert adventure means discovering a polka-dotted landscape that can only be seen in a few parts of the world. Fairy circles, or circular patches of barren land wreathed in grassy vegetation, decorate the Namib Desert.
There are over a million fairy circles ranging in size. While scientists have theorized for decades on the cause of the oddity, they still have not come to an agreement. Some believe termites are responsible. Others think it is the vegetation's way of preserving itself in the desert, or perhaps a combination of both. Fairy circles were unique to the Namib Desert until 2014 when similar patches were uncovered in the Australian outback. Two years later, even more were discovered in the Pilbara region near a small mining town.
7 Mirages
Mirages are not solely a desert phenomenon, but they are where a person is most likely to witness the optical illusion. When the sun warms the sand, heat emanates from the ground. The air is cooler above the heated ground, and light rays pass differently through each temperature layer. The result is a reflection that often looks like water but can also mirror the objects on the landscape and cause a double vision effect. A wanderer's best bet to see a mirage is to go to the desert on a hot, sunny day.
6 Oases
Though mirages are a trick of the eye, finding water in the desert is possible. Oases are fertile areas fed by underground water sources. They are often wreathed with lush vegetation not seen in other parts of the desert. The concentrations of fertile land are vital waypoints for humans and animals living in harsh environments, providing fresh water for drinking and agricultural purposes.
There are oases in deserts all over the world. The Seba Oasis in the Sahara Desert in Libya, Huacachina in Peru, Chebika in Tunisia, and Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon are among the most beautiful.
5 Singing Dunes
The sights of the desert are often otherworldly, but in some places, the magic extends to the other senses. A natural soundtrack plays from the rolling dunes in Kazakhstan's Altyn Emel National Park, the Kelso Dunes in the Mojave Desert, and China's Kumtag Desert, to name a few. The low-pitched sound is loud enough to feel and seems to be coming from everywhere at once.
Many environmental elements work together to produce the singing sounds. High winds push the more loosely packed layer of surface sand across the more densely packed sand beneath it. The size of the sand grains, the slope and depth of the dunes, and the amount of sand being moved all impact the sounds, which can last for several minutes and boom as loud as a nearby helicopter.
4 Dry Lakes
It's hard to imagine there was a time when deserts were anything but dry, but millions of years ago, some of the most barren landscapes teemed with lush vegetation and abundant wildlife. Remnants of their fertile past can be seen in the cracked terrain where giant lakes once stood, called playas.
Travelers head to Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia to snap one-of-a-kind photos of the vast dried-up prehistoric lake. When it's dry, the leftover salt burns bright in the sun. After a rain, the expanse transforms into a breathtaking natural mirror that perfectly reflects the sky. Another popular destination is Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park, home to another desert phenomenon we'll talk about later.
3 Haboobs
Though the sight of a giant wall of sand is nothing short of amazing, this is a desert phenomenon best viewed from a distance. Despite their silly-sounding name, haboobs can uproot trees and power lines, completely wipe out visibility, and contain particles that can be harmful to breathe in.
Cool storm winds pick up massive quantities of dirt and sand and carry them across the landscape. The dense wall can be miles wide, thousands of feet tall, and last for a few minutes or as long as an hour. Haboobs are typically formed after monsoonal storm activity, though strong winds alone are sometimes enough to conjure them up.
2 Ephemeral Pools
Also known as "desert potholes," ephemeral pools are seasonal collections of water that form in natural basins. The basins fill up during the wet season and provide migratory birds with temporary habitats. Animals in the desert frequent the potholes for a drink, and plants soak up the water they don't get during the dry season.
Microscopic invertebrates sometimes emerge in the fleeting ecosystems, adding another layer of life to the desert. Though many people enjoy soaking in ephemeral pools, doing so can disrupt the already fragile ecosystem and should therefore be left undisturbed.
1 Moving Rocks
Despite having some of the hottest recorded temperatures of all time, Death Valley National Park is a landscape everyone should see at least once in their lifetime. Tons of visitors head to the park's dried lake bed, Racetrack Playa, to witness an oddity that eluded explanation for many years. Rocks and boulders in all shapes and sizes move across the playa, leaving behind clear trails of where they came from.
The phenomenon birthed plenty of conspiracy theories, with some of the most outlandish claiming alien intervention. The reality is arguably more impressive, though. Weather conditions need to be absolutely aligned to cause the movement of the rocks. After a rain, cool night air freezes into slabs that slowly melt and push the stones across the surface.