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Mother Nature's masterpieces aren't always permanent... Join us as we explore breathtaking natural wonders that have vanished forever! From ancient trees to stunning geological formations, these lost treasures remind us how fragile our planet's beauty truly is. Which vanished wonder would you have most wanted to witness?
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00:00It is the story of New Zealand's most devastating volcanic eruption in human times
00:04and the destruction of one of nature's most beautiful creations, the pink and white terraces.
00:09Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at some of nature's most beautiful sights
00:14that have tragically been lost to time.
00:16It's difficult to imagine that this vast, dried-out terrain was once covered with water.
00:24Number 20. Hillary's Step on Mount Everest, Nepal
00:27Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth, on the border between China and Nepal.
00:32Mount Everest, the highest peak on Earth, holds many secrets within its icy depths,
00:36but perhaps none as mysterious as the disappearance of the iconic Hillary Step.
00:40On the Nepal side, one of the most challenging parts of the climb was the Hillary Step.
00:44It was a huge rock face, susceptible to extremely unpredictable weather.
00:48It's named after Edmund Hillary, who was one of the first people confirmed to scale Everest's peak.
00:53Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay faced the challenging Hillary Step during their historic
00:58first ascent in 1953.
01:01Its importance as a crux to the summit cannot be understated.
01:04After an earthquake in 2015, the step was destroyed.
01:08It took a couple of years to confirm, on account of it being covered in snow.
01:11On the bright side, climbers claim it's far easier to summit now.
01:15The mystery surrounding the Hillary Step's disappearance adds intrigue to Mount Everest's
01:19climbing history, sparking debates among climbers and enthusiasts about its impact on the mountain's
01:23allure.
01:24Number 19. Sequoia Tunnel Tree, California
01:27Giant sequoia trees are some of the biggest trees in the world.
01:30They're so big, that in the 19th and 20th centuries, there was a trend of carving out huge tunnels
01:35in them.
01:36Giant sequoias are rare.
01:38This one famous for the hole cut into the trunk, becoming a tourist attraction more than 100 years ago.
01:43These were so huge, in fact, that you could drive cars or horse-drawn carriages through them.
01:48One of the most famous ones was in Calaveras Big Tree State Park, which was a tree over
01:521,000 years old.
01:54Many memories were made, but all good things come to an end.
01:58This currently, where it's flattened out, this was the wall of the tree.
02:02Heavy rains and winds over the weekend managed to topple the 2,000-year-old icon.
02:07It attracted thousands of tourists, but eventually collapsed in 2017 due to a storm.
02:12Turns out, cutting huge holes in trees is not great for them.
02:16A few still survive, but new ones are unlikely to be made.
02:19What started out as a little seedling 2,000 years ago, now lying here on the forest floor,
02:25rangers say it's just another phase of its life.
02:28It could lay here for another 1,000 years.
02:30Number 18.
02:31Darwin's Arch
02:32Darwin's Island, Galapagos, Ecuador
02:34The Galapagos Islands lie in the eastern Pacific, governed by the Republic of Ecuador.
02:38They're home to Darwin Island, which was near Darwin's Arch.
02:42Both were named after biologist Charles Darwin, who researched evolution there.
02:46The formation is found in the northern part of the archipelago,
02:49and is considered a premier diving location.
02:54It was named after English biologist Charles Darwin,
02:56whose study of the Galapagos Islands inspired his theory of evolution.
03:01People were not permitted to set foot on either, but that didn't stop tourists from visiting.
03:05It was a popular spot for photographers and even scuba divers.
03:08The arch was remarkably huge, carved out by years of erosion.
03:12Ecuador's Environment Ministry says the top of the arch fell into the ocean
03:16because of natural erosion.
03:19The two sides of the structure are still standing.
03:22Unfortunately, this erosion led to its collapse in 2021.
03:26Now, two huge pillars remain, which are currently nicknamed the Pillars of Evolution.
03:31Interestingly, some scuba divers managed to spot the collapse as it happened,
03:34which must have been a remarkable sight.
03:37A spokesperson for the Galapagos Conservatory says,
03:39while the collapse was a bit of a shock, it is all part of the natural process.
03:45Number 17. London Bridge, Victoria, Australia.
03:48Britain's modern London Bridge was opened in 1973,
03:51but a bridge has stood in its place for almost 2,000 years.
03:55However, in Australia, there used to be a much older London Bridge.
03:59Well, another jaw-dropping view on the Great Ocean Road.
04:03London Bridge, it was called.
04:06Unlike the one it's named after, it was entirely natural.
04:10It was similar to Darwin's Arch, with erosion creating two huge arches
04:13that naturally formed a double-span bridge.
04:16In 1990, it finally collapsed.
04:18Commonly called London Arch these days,
04:20because in 1990, the first arch across the mainland fell down,
04:25leaving just the island arch.
04:27Two tourists ended up stuck there, but thankfully were uninjured,
04:30although they required a helicopter rescue.
04:33Many people humorously compared it to the nursery rhyme,
04:35London Bridge is Falling Down.
04:37And build it up with wood and clay, wood and clay, wood and clay.
04:41Build it up with wood and clay, my fair lady.
04:45But wood and clay will wash away.
04:47Number 16. Guaida Falls, Brazil and Paraguay.
04:50The border between Paraguay and Brazil
04:52used to be home to one of the greatest series of waterfalls on Earth.
04:56The height of the waterfall was 114 meters.
04:59The Seven Falls was one of the world's most powerful waterfalls on Earth,
05:04where floor rate twice of Niagara Falls.
05:06It was a series of 18 waterfalls, which combined were 375 feet high.
05:12It was so loud you could hear it for 20 miles.
05:14The flow rate was mind-bogglingly big, one of the largest on Earth.
05:19Despite its wondrous beauty, it was destroyed in 1982.
05:23The Itaipu Dam was responsible,
05:25creating an artificial lake on top of Guaida Falls.
05:27Completed in 1984, it is a binational undertaking
05:31run by Brazil and Paraguay at the border between the two countries.
05:34The project ranges from Foz do Iguazu in Brazil and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay.
05:42The silver lining is that the dam creates tons of clean electricity for Brazil and Paraguay.
05:48They have more installed capacity, which is the passing of the years.
05:53But Itaipu tends to be the one that produces the most energy annually.
06:00Number 15. Lake Popó, Bolivia.
06:03Once upon a time, Bolivia's Lake Popó was one of the world's largest saline lakes,
06:07as well as one of the highest.
06:08Lake Popó used to stretch over 2,700 square kilometers
06:13and was the second largest lake in Bolivia.
06:18The Urus called it the navel of the world.
06:20On average, it was only 10 feet deep, meaning its size varied annually.
06:25It had an area of over 390 square miles,
06:28but despite its huge size, it dried up entirely.
06:31It was caused by a combination of human interference,
06:34with local people using it for irrigation, as well as climate change.
06:37With the melting of glaciers in the Andes being a huge factor.
06:41For decades, water has been diverted from mining and agricultural needs.
06:45And the lack of water has been exacerbated
06:47by higher-than-normal temperatures in the Andes Mountains.
06:50It finally vanished in 2015 and is unlikely to ever return.
06:54It caused a huge loss of local wildlife,
06:57alongside harming locals' way of life.
06:59I feel the sadness that it has disappeared from the lake.
07:03I lived with the lake.
07:05Now, there was nothing.
07:08Everything disappeared.
07:09Number 14.
07:11Twelve Apostles, Victoria, Australia.
07:13Just down the road from London Bridge, Victoria,
07:15you can find the Twelve Apostles.
07:17They are huge limestone stacks that sit on the coast.
07:20Millions of years ago,
07:21the Twelve Apostles would simply have been part of the mainland of Australia.
07:25They were created by the constant erosion of the limestone cliffs.
07:29The water and the winds of the ocean have shaped them.
07:32Don't be misled by the name.
07:34There are only seven that stand.
07:36There used to be nine in total,
07:37which were formed over millions of years of erosion.
07:40A 160-foot stack collapsed in 2005,
07:43then another in 2009.
07:45Although their name suggests there were once 12 stacks,
07:49there were only nine stacks at the beginning of this century.
07:52Two have since collapsed.
07:54One collapsed in 2005,
07:56and the other in 2009,
07:58leaving seven stacks.
08:00The rest are likely to fall at some point soon,
08:03but no one can predict exactly when.
08:05So while you can still see most of it today,
08:07it's not as impressive as it was.
08:09On the bright side,
08:10more will form in the future,
08:12just not in our lifetimes.
08:14With the ongoing erosion from the waves and wind,
08:17these will one day disappear too.
08:19But parts of the cliff nearby
08:21are expected to become new rock stacks in the future.
08:24Number 13.
08:25Hetch Hetchy Valley,
08:27Yosemite National Park, California, USA.
08:29Native Americans used to call this valley home for centuries.
08:32It was an amazing sight,
08:34rivaling Yosemite Valley in its beauty.
08:36Did you know that I am a mighty river,
08:38that I once careened gracefully through a majestic valley,
08:42a valley that in its day rivaled the glory of its sister?
08:45It was created by glaciers thousands of years ago,
08:48and was inhabited for over 6,000 years.
08:51It's still there today,
08:52but it's unfortunately been completely flooded.
08:54It was caused by the construction of the O'Shaughnessy Dam,
08:57completed in 1923.
08:59Almost a century ago,
09:01the towering granite cliffs and soaring waterfalls
09:04inspired Muir to lead the battle to stop the dam.
09:07This turned the valley into a reservoir,
09:09which provides the San Francisco area with water.
09:12It's a shame,
09:13especially since in 1890,
09:15they declared it was to be protected.
09:17Thankfully,
09:17some individuals are hoping to restore it
09:19using modern water management technology,
09:21so it may return to life.
09:24Do you think the undamming of Hetch Hetchy
09:26is something you'll see in your lifetime?
09:28I do.
09:29I think we will prevail.
09:31One thing everyone can agree on
09:32is Hetch Hetchy is one special place.
09:36Number 12.
09:37God's Finger, Gran Canaria, Spain.
09:39More commonly known by its Spanish name,
09:41El Dedo de Dios,
09:43this was a phenomenal sea stack in the Canary Islands.
09:46Ese es el dedo de Dios,
09:48un roque partido símbolo de Gran Canaria.
09:50Es una roca basáltica
09:52durante millones de años
09:53se ha ido modelando
09:55hasta tener esa forma
09:56que parece un dedo.
09:57As the name implies,
09:59it was impressively tall and thin.
10:01It took around 2,000 to 300,000 years to form.
10:04It was almost 100 feet high,
10:06which appeared to defy physics.
10:08Well, physics eventually caused its downfall
10:10during a storm in 2005.
10:12There were debates as to whether it should be restored,
10:24but the final decision was to simply preserve what remained.
10:27A large stump is still there,
10:29and the surrounding nature remains stunning,
10:31but the finger itself is long gone.
10:33El mismo viento que lo moldeó
10:36lo ha destrozado para siempre.
10:39Number 11.
10:40Jeffrey Pine,
10:41Yosemite National Park,
10:42California, USA.
10:44The Sentinel Dome
10:45is a massive granite dome in Yosemite.
10:47The Sentinel Dome
10:48trails 2.2 miles round trip
10:49and has 450 feet of elevation change.
10:52For a long time,
10:53it was home to probably
10:55the most photographed tree in history,
10:57a Jeffrey Pine.
10:58Photographers first became enamored with it in 1867,
11:01but it tragically died in 1976 after a drought.
11:05It kept standing tall until it toppled in 2003.
11:08We believe it was approximately 400 years old,
11:11a mind-boggling age.
11:13Its corpse has been left untouched,
11:15so you can still go see it,
11:17but it won't stay forever.
11:18Of course,
11:19Yosemite is still an amazing place to visit,
11:21so a hike to the Pine would be tough to regret.
11:24We made it to the top of the Sentinel Dome.
11:27The view is absolutely breathtaking.
11:28The 360-degree view from the top
11:31is one of the best in the park.
11:33Number 10.
11:34The Azure Window, Malta
11:36A small gift for the new Khaleesi.
11:45Eventually, time comes for everything.
11:48Over the course of 500 years,
11:50ocean waves caused a rock to slowly erode away,
11:53eventually forming a perfect arch
11:55that exposed the water behind it.
11:57This became known as the Azure Window,
11:59which became one of Malta's crown jewels.
12:02However,
12:02the elements that had formed the structure
12:04would also lead to its downfall.
12:06As decades passed,
12:07chunks of the arch would break off.
12:09People climbing on it
12:10only contributed to the damage.
12:11A 2013 study said erosion to the landmark
12:14was inevitable,
12:16but at the time,
12:17it wasn't an immediate danger of collapsing.
12:19And last year,
12:20the government made walking
12:21across the natural bridge a crime.
12:23The final blow came in 2017,
12:25when a storm swept through
12:26and weakened the pillar enough
12:28to make it fall into the depths below.
12:30That night,
12:31centuries of natural work were undone,
12:33and the site has remained empty since.
12:36Malta's prime minister said
12:37it always faced destruction
12:38because of natural corrosion,
12:40but described its demise as heartbreaking.
12:42Number 9.
12:43Sycamore Gap Tree, England
12:45Ignorance Knows No Bounds
12:47For over a century,
12:49Northumberland, England's beloved Sycamore Gap Tree
12:51served as a symbol of the region.
12:53It was so beloved
12:54that it was even awarded for its stature.
12:56No one could have anticipated
12:58that it would meet its end
12:59through a single senseless act.
13:01This much-loved tree
13:02by Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland
13:04had stood in this gap for 300 years,
13:07and then, without warning,
13:08it was felled on Wednesday night.
13:10In 2023,
13:11locals awoke to the sight of the tree cut down.
13:14High winds the previous night
13:16had masked the sound of it being felled,
13:18resulting in a nasty shock.
13:19When I saw it on the television last night,
13:21I just had a lump in my throat.
13:22I just, I feel,
13:24actually, I feel I'm filling up now.
13:26After several arrests,
13:27two men were criminally charged in 2024.
13:30While the destruction of the tree has been mourned,
13:33there is one silver lining.
13:35New seedlings from the sycamore's remnants have sprouted,
13:38meaning that generations from now,
13:40it could potentially reach the same heights
13:42as its predecessor.
13:43The appearance of that tree
13:44in that setting was just so perfect,
13:47and to have lost that's been devastating.
13:49So to start seeing that regrowth happen,
13:53so that hopefully we'll have something again
13:57in the future at some point
13:59for future generations is really great news.
14:02Number eight,
14:03old man of the mountain,
14:04United States.
14:05You have seen the history of the world
14:07over many centuries.
14:09Today you have fallen,
14:10and its people are sad.
14:12May they be strong as you have taught them.
14:15Some formations are so intricate
14:17that it's hard to believe they came about naturally.
14:19That's the case for the old man of the mountain,
14:22a unique grouping of stone
14:23that had eroded over thousands of years
14:25into the shape of a human face.
14:27Once the subject of legends among indigenous tribes,
14:29it eventually became a local icon
14:32for New Hampshire in modern times.
14:33It was a symbol.
14:35It's on everything.
14:37Yeah.
14:38Signs.
14:41You know, licenses.
14:42Plates.
14:43State coin.
14:44I mean, everything.
14:45However,
14:45fluctuating temperatures
14:47caused cracks to form
14:48throughout the 20th century.
14:49Locals tried to fix it,
14:51but despite their best efforts,
14:52it finally collapsed in 2003.
14:54The old man of the mountain may be gone,
14:57but a memorial and commemorative day
14:58ensure it won't be forgotten.
15:00This seemed to actually replicate it
15:03like it was in your memory?
15:05Yeah.
15:05Yeah, pretty much.
15:06I mean,
15:06this device allows you to see
15:08what it would have looked like up there.
15:10Yeah.
15:10Very cool.
15:11Number 7.
15:12The Larson Ice Shelf
15:13Antarctica.
15:14Even wonders far from the prying eyes of humans
15:16are not safe from the effects of human activity.
15:19What was once a sprawling expanse
15:21known as the Larson Ice Shelf
15:22has slowly begun to break apart,
15:24with each collapse
15:25bringing its own set of consequences.
15:27Ice shelves are the gatekeepers
15:29for glaciers flowing from Antarctica
15:31towards the ocean.
15:32Without them,
15:33glacier ice enters the ocean
15:34faster and faster
15:35and accelerates the pace
15:36of global sea level rise.
15:38The first major collapse
15:39occurred in 1995,
15:41marking the end of Shelf A.
15:43Segment B followed in 2002,
15:45exposing a never-before-seen biosphere
15:47to the elements above.
15:48This alarmed scientists.
15:50The studies have shown
15:51that two of the three glaciers
15:53feeding Larson B
15:54have sped up massively
15:56since the shelf first split in 2002,
15:58with scientists now predicting
16:00that a major crack
16:01is likely to move
16:03all the way across the shelf,
16:05splintering the remnants
16:05into icebergs
16:06that will float away.
16:08As global temperatures
16:09continued to rise,
16:11Shelf C began to deteriorate,
16:12leading to a massive rift
16:14that caused a huge iceberg
16:15to break off in 2017.
16:17Now, with only one stable section remaining,
16:20the platform is at risk
16:21of disappearing entirely.
16:23There are glaciers
16:24behind the Larson Sea
16:26that will accelerate
16:28as that goes away,
16:30that barrier disappears.
16:32And it's that ice
16:33that comes from land
16:34and into the ocean
16:35that contributes
16:36to sea level rise.
16:38So that is a small part
16:39of the equation
16:40of why we're seeing seawater
16:42in Miami Street.
16:43Number six,
16:44the Wawona Tunnel Tree,
16:46United States.
16:47Even before its destruction,
16:48this tree was being exploited daily.
16:51I have often wondered
16:52if a sequoia could speak
16:54what stories it would tell.
16:55Once reaching a staggering height
16:57of nearly 230 feet,
16:59the Wawona Tunnel Tree
17:00in Yosemite
17:01was a truly breathtaking site
17:03for locals
17:03and tourists alike.
17:05Rather than let it stand
17:06on its own,
17:07a tunnel was cut through it
17:08in 1881
17:09with the goal
17:10of creating
17:10a unique attraction.
17:12It was a massive success,
17:13and people came
17:14from all over the country
17:15to experience it themselves.
17:16They've seen generations
17:18of Native Americans
17:19walk by underneath them,
17:22and just in the last blink
17:23of an eye,
17:24it's people
17:25from all over the world
17:26have started walking
17:27underneath them.
17:28In 1969,
17:29the 2,000-year-old tree
17:31succumbed to heavy snowfall
17:32and fell.
17:33The location remained popular,
17:35with visitors traveling
17:36from afar
17:36to view the fallen giant.
17:38It seems that,
17:39whether dead or alive,
17:40the organism has an allure
17:41that can't be denied.
17:43When you walk
17:43through the forest
17:44and you see a big tree,
17:45you're like,
17:46oh, that's a big tree.
17:46But when you walk
17:47through the forest
17:47and there's giant sequoias,
17:49it is,
17:50there's nothing like it.
17:51Like, that tree
17:51is so much bigger
17:53than everything else,
17:54and you're just
17:55dwarfed by it.
17:56Number five,
17:57Slim's River, Canada.
17:59Nature's unpredictability
18:00is thought to be
18:01exacerbated by climate change,
18:03leading to some wonders
18:04disappearing
18:05in the blink of an eye.
18:06Glacial melt,
18:07plate tectonics,
18:08these things take
18:09their sweet time
18:10to develop,
18:10so when an entire river
18:12vanishes
18:12in just four days,
18:15it's safe to assume
18:15geoscientists
18:16are going to freak out.
18:17Originally born
18:18from the Casca-Walsh
18:19Glacier in the Yukon,
18:20Slim's River
18:21was once a thriving waterway.
18:23It sourced its water
18:24from the formidable
18:24ice block until 2016,
18:26when it suddenly
18:27began to recede.
18:28Today,
18:29its terminus,
18:30or end,
18:30is in retreat,
18:32so much that
18:33the glacial water
18:33which used to feed
18:35the Slim's River
18:36has taken another route
18:37to a different river,
18:39the Casca-Walsh.
18:39Leaving the Slim's River
18:43basin drier
18:44and the lake
18:45it feeds
18:45Kluwani thirsty.
18:47This sudden change
18:48in flow
18:48rerouted all of the water
18:50to the Casca-Walsh River,
18:51sending the runoff
18:52into the Gulf of Alaska.
18:53Within days,
18:54the Slim's River
18:55had all but vanished,
18:57leaving only
18:57a dried-out bed.
18:58So what do they
18:59call this now?
19:00It's not a river.
19:02No, it's more,
19:03we haven't figured
19:04that one out yet,
19:05but it's more
19:06of just a creek, right?
19:07It's just being fed
19:08by some of the local creeks here.
19:10Yeah.
19:11So it's
19:12Slim's Desert.
19:13Nothing like it used to be.
19:14Yeah.
19:15The lake it was connected to
19:16has seen a drop
19:16in water level as well,
19:18indicating that
19:19the consequences
19:19are far from over.
19:21Number 4.
19:22The Chacaltaya Glacier,
19:23Bolivia.
19:24What was once
19:24a thriving local attraction
19:26is now nothing more
19:27than a distant memory.
19:29Located in Bolivia,
19:30the Chacaltaya Glacier
19:31existed for an estimated
19:3218,000 years.
19:34The area served
19:35as the country's
19:36only ski resort,
19:37where it entertained
19:38citizens and tourists alike,
19:40even as it was degrading.
19:48While scientists
19:49were aware
19:50that the glacier
19:51would naturally expire,
19:52they predicted
19:53it wouldn't occur
19:54until 2015.
19:56But a combination
19:56of reduced snowfall
19:58and a particularly
19:58warm period
19:59caused it to melt
20:00much faster
20:01than anticipated.
20:01If we're going
20:03to think about
20:04alternatives,
20:05then we have
20:05to do them right away.
20:07The effects
20:08are appearing
20:08much faster
20:09than we can respond
20:10to them.
20:10By 2009,
20:12all that remained
20:12were a few patches
20:13of ice.
20:14While that's awful enough,
20:16it's only the beginning,
20:17as several other ice caps
20:18in the Andes
20:19are also at risk
20:20of melting away.
20:36Number three,
20:36Pink and White Terraces,
20:38New Zealand.
20:39Once the biggest
20:40deposits of geyserite
20:41on the planet,
20:42the pink and white
20:42terraces gained
20:43global attention
20:44as far back
20:45as the 19th century.
20:46Our first visitors
20:47arrived that you
20:48could call tourists
20:49in 1838-39.
20:53And the one thing
20:54those people
20:55all wanted to see
20:56from that visit
20:57and on
20:58was the pink
20:59and white terraces.
21:00Only a few decades
21:01into their popularity,
21:03they were destroyed.
21:04In 1886,
21:05the eruption
21:06of Mount Tatawera
21:07led to the entire area
21:08being converted
21:09into a giant crater.
21:10What was once
21:11the bottom of the lake
21:12had dropped
21:12as much as 500 feet.
21:14Where the lake
21:15and terraces
21:16had been
21:16was now a vast
21:17steaming sulfurous crater.
21:19Eventually,
21:20a new lake
21:21and ecosystem
21:22formed and thrived,
21:23but the memory
21:24of the pink
21:24and white terraces
21:25lived on.
21:26Excavations
21:27throughout the 21st century
21:28have reignited hopes
21:29that they were
21:30merely buried
21:30rather than destroyed
21:32and could one day
21:33be visible again.
21:34It took an underwater robot
21:35with sonar
21:36and imaging technology
21:37to see beneath the silt.
21:39The location and scale
21:40are true to the originals
21:42and Daron describes it
21:43as the find of a lifetime,
21:45a find
21:46which could continue
21:47to surprise.
21:48Number 2.
21:49The Aral Sea
21:49Central Asia
21:50Some natural wonders
21:52degrade over a long period
21:53of time
21:54and face disastrous effects
21:55that aren't noticed
21:56until it's too late.
21:57Once the third largest lake
21:58on Earth,
21:59the Aral Sea
22:00has been victim
22:01to constant changes
22:02in climate
22:02and repeated human intervention.
22:05At one time,
22:05waves crashed
22:06against these cliffs.
22:08Now,
22:09only the wind
22:10sweeps across
22:11this desert landscape.
22:13Some geographers
22:14had written about
22:14its depletion
22:15as far back
22:16as the 1400s,
22:17but those warnings
22:18were ignored.
22:19The building of canals
22:20for Soviet irrigation
22:21throughout the 1950s
22:22cemented its depletion.
22:23The region
22:28is still heavily
22:29dependent
22:30on this resource.
22:32As a result,
22:33the Aral Sea
22:33is drying up.
22:35In 60 years,
22:36it has lost
22:3790%
22:38of its volume.
22:39This resulted
22:40in disastrous effects
22:41on both the Aral Sea's
22:42own ecosystem
22:43and nearby communities.
22:44While there have been
22:45attempts to reverse
22:46some of the damage,
22:47it's unclear
22:48how effective
22:49they can be,
22:50especially when
22:50whole sections
22:51have dried out.
22:52As the sea receded,
22:54it left behind
22:54a thick layer
22:55of salt.
22:57Hectares of land
22:58are now infertile,
22:59and the heavy winds
23:00sometimes blow away
23:02the salty sand.
23:03Before we continue,
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23:19Number 1.
23:20The Tree of Tenere,
23:21a careless moment
23:23is sometimes
23:24all it takes
23:24to wipe out
23:25a national treasure.
23:26Despite the arid climate,
23:28a single acacia tree
23:29served as the remaining proof
23:30of a time
23:31when the Sahara
23:31received more precipitation.
23:33But around 3000 BC,
23:35changes in the climate
23:36caused the area
23:36to dry up,
23:37and gradually
23:38all the humans,
23:38animals,
23:39and plants
23:39disappeared,
23:40swallowed up
23:41by the scorching desert.
23:43By the late 18th century AD,
23:45only the Tree of Tenere
23:45remains,
23:46the only tree
23:47in an empty wasteland
23:48and some 500 kilometers across.
23:50The Tree of Tenere
23:51stood proudly
23:52for hundreds of years
23:53and provided
23:54a unique indicator
23:55for travelers.
23:56It seemed impervious
23:57to any natural forces,
23:59but human activity
24:00was another story.
24:01It still stood
24:02after being struck
24:03by a car in 1959,
24:05but a subsequent crash
24:06in 1973
24:07by an allegedly
24:08drunk driver
24:09sealed its fate.
24:09Despite having
24:11400 kilometers
24:12on either side
24:13to go around it,
24:14nonetheless,
24:15into the tree he went,
24:17broke it clean off,
24:18and in that instant,
24:20the last tree
24:21of Tenere
24:22was no more.
24:24In one fateful moment,
24:25a symbol of the region's
24:26tenacity
24:27was wiped out.
24:28Now,
24:29all that remains
24:29in its place
24:30is a metal statue,
24:31an eerie reminder
24:32of the natural beauty
24:33that once thrived there.
24:35The tree's death
24:36caused outrage
24:37across Niger
24:37and the rest of the world
24:39and prompted
24:39the Niger government
24:40to recover the remains
24:42and place them
24:43on display
24:43in the Musée Nationale
24:45Boubou Hama
24:46in Naime,
24:47where they remain
24:47to this day.
24:48What natural wonder
24:49do you wish
24:50you had seen the most?
24:51Let us know in the comments.
24:52It's going to be
24:53a huge reminder
24:53to everyone
24:54to come out
24:55to your parks,
24:55go out to nature,
24:56go see
24:57what you need to see.
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