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From majestic glaciers to ancient trees, Mother Nature's most spectacular creations aren't immune to destruction. Join us as we explore remarkable natural landmarks that have vanished forever! Our countdown includes the Azure Window in Malta, the Sycamore Gap Tree in England, Antarctica's Larsen Ice Shelf, and many more lost wonders. Which of these vanished treasures do you wish you could have seen?
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00:00The area was so beautiful that you could see from one end to the other end.
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for remarkable natural landmarks
00:11that have been lost, whether due to natural causes or human intervention.
00:15Even as changes in the environment push these places to the edge of existence,
00:20they are worth holding on to.
00:23Number 30. Bangkok Lake, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
00:27After the Cambodian government leased this land to a private development company in 2007,
00:32what was once the largest urban lake in the nation's capital became just a puddle.
00:36The company drained the lake and filled the area with sand for condos and other buildings.
00:41This caused a land dispute with locals.
00:43Thousands of them were affected, not just by losing a beautiful lake,
00:46but by being evicted from their properties.
00:57Businesses around the lake suffered as well.
01:04Prior to this sad situation, Bangkok Lake was also a popular tourist destination,
01:09a great place to take in the sunset and unwind.
01:12The government should give a fair compensation to the people that are affected by this
01:17economic land concession, and it's not always the case.
01:23Number 29. Hoodoo, Goblin Valley State Park, Utah, USA.
01:28At Goblin Valley State Park in Utah, where mysterious rock formations called hoodoos haunt the landscape.
01:36You can call it a hoodoo, fairy chimney, or goblin, yes, goblin, whichever floats your boat.
01:41This natural wonder is a tall, thin column of rock formed by erosion.
01:45Goblin Valley State Park in Utah is known for having thousands of them.
01:49One of those turned out to be the subject of national news in 2013,
01:53when two ex-Boy Scout leaders, for some inexplicable reason,
01:57decided to knock the mushroom-looking top off a hoodoo.
02:00The toppling of an ancient rock formation in Utah's Goblin Valley State Park
02:04was an act of vandalism that went viral.
02:07They celebrated the destruction.
02:09They even filmed it and posted it online, where it went viral.
02:13The men were charged with criminal mischief.
02:15That boulder was estimated to be around 170 million years old.
02:19It was a truly historic and marvelous natural rock formation.
02:23Don't mess with goblins, people.
02:25The two men say they came across a rock formation that they claim was destined to fall and cause injury,
02:30maybe even death.
02:32That wasn't going to last very long there.
02:34That wasn't going to last very long at all.
02:3628. Åkjuqvill, Iceland
02:39This is what Åk's glacier looked like in 1986.
02:43This big slate of ice stretched over more than a square mile.
02:47This is what it looks like today.
02:49This glacier had been atop a volcano in Western Iceland for nearly 700 years.
02:53But in 2014, it became clear to glaciologist Otter Sigurdsson that the Åkjuqvill, which means
03:00the Åk glacier, was no longer moving and, quote, was not thick enough to survive, calling
03:05it, quote, dead ice.
03:07It was the first Icelandic glacier lost to climate change.
03:10This is the first Icelandic glacier that's formally declared an ex-glacier.
03:14Åk was once visible from surrounding areas, including a stretch of the highway.
03:18Glaciers have been a major aspect of the landscape and geographical identity of Iceland.
03:23Probably close to 100 glaciers have disappeared during the last century.
03:28So the loss of the well-known Åkjuqvill was felt deeply.
03:32In 2019, a plaque was installed to commemorate it and to send a warning about the future loss
03:37of other glaciers.
03:38The group set up a commemorative plaque from Rice University.
03:42The 700-year-old glacier was declared dead back in 2014.
03:45Number 27, Eye of the Needle, Montana, USA.
03:50Historical evidence suggests that Lewis and Clark likely saw this stunning sandstone arch
03:54along the Missouri River in Montana during their expedition in 1805.
03:59It came to be known as the Eye of the Needle.
04:01Part of what made this arch so alluring, besides its aesthetically pleasing appearance, was that
04:06it was located amidst a beautiful picturesque backdrop.
04:09In 1997, though, the formation was deformed.
04:12With the top gone, one of nature's marvels was reduced to two six-foot pillars.
04:17Initially, there was wide speculation that an act of vandalism was the arch's undoing.
04:21But later research suggested it collapsed due to erosion and weathering.
04:25Number 26, Duckbill Rock Formation.
04:28Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area, Oregon, United States of America.
04:32Sparking outrage in Oregon.
04:33A group of people was caught on camera knocking over an iconic natural rock formation.
04:39This cool tourist attraction along the Oregon coast made for a really nice photo,
04:43particularly with the scenic backdrop of the ocean and mountains.
04:47But by late August 2016, the Duckbill Rock Formation no longer looked like a duck spill.
04:52Vandals crossed into a roped-off area and knocked it over, causing it to shatter.
04:56Drone footage captured the incident.
04:58People were outraged on social media.
05:01The culprits claimed it was a safety hazard and that they were doing people a favor.
05:04They were all just being, you know, rowdy.
05:06They were just laughing about it, you know, like it was just a complete joke to them.
05:10Whether or not that holds water, they weren't supposed to be that close to the rock in the
05:14first place.
05:14Yes, it had been teetering on the edge, but that was part of what made it so neat.
05:18This huge rock.
05:20And then you see in my footage, you know, that they just toppled the rock over.
05:24Number 25, Waimungu Geyser, New Zealand.
05:27This powerful geyser came to be as a result of the 1886 Mount Tarawira eruption.
05:32Forged by the 1886 Mount Tarawira eruption, this earthy landscape boasts the world's largest
05:38hot spring.
05:39The name Waimungu means black waters.
05:41Due to the color of the water, rocks, and mud, it would shoot up into the air.
05:45The Waimungu Geyser used to be a popular attraction for people in the nearby city of Orotorua.
05:50It would erupt for several hours at a time at a frequency of every 36 hours or so.
05:55But by 1904, it went dormant.
05:57And by the end of the decade, it was clear it was done for good.
06:00Now there's hardly a physical trace of its previous existence.
06:04However, it is remembered in history as the tallest geyser ever recorded.
06:08Number 24, Jump Off Joe, Newport, Oregon, United States of America.
06:13People used to jump off the side of this rock formation to get to the other side of it because
06:17it extended from the sea to the mainland, presenting an obstacle to beach traffic.
06:21In the 1890s, Jump Off Joe, as it came to be known, separated from the mainland of Nye Beach
06:27in Newport, Oregon.
06:28The enormous sea stack, made up of Middle Miocene concretionary sandstone, was a popular
06:33tourist attraction during the early parts of the 20th century.
06:37But by 1916, its huge arch collapsed.
06:40And in the decades that followed, the remains of the storied landmark washed away.
06:44Number 23, Old Kaimu Black Sand Beach, Kaimu, Hawaii, USA.
06:49While this beach still technically exists, it's not like it used to be.
06:53The Kaimu Black Sand Beach in Hawaii was a stunning stretch of black sand and palm trees.
06:57Black sand in and of itself could be considered a natural wonder.
07:01But combined with the greenery and the blue ocean, it was a magical scene.
07:05However, sadly, the beach and the town of Kaimu were wiped out by lava flows from a volcanic
07:10eruption in 1990.
07:11The lava took more than their land.
07:14It took a lifestyle that many say can never be replaced.
07:18The area became desolate.
07:19But, years later, with a surface of cooled lava rock, spots of black sand, and new vegetation,
07:25the now rocky area became known as the New Kaimu Black Sand Beach, a much different scene
07:30from the picturesque beach that locals and visitors remember from the old days.
07:33The relentless flow from Kupayanaha has created a vast wasteland.
07:38Currently, less than 20 homes are left.
07:41Number 22.
07:42Wall Arch
07:43Arches National Park, Utah, United States of America
07:47The opening of this beautiful natural sandstone arch spans 71 feet in width and 33.5 feet in height.
07:54While Arches National Park in Utah is scattered with tons of arches,
07:58Wall Arch was one of the most photographed.
08:00And you can see why.
08:01However, in 2008, it succumbed to the same natural causes that created it in the first place,
08:07gravity and erosion.
08:08No one witnessed the incident.
08:10The debris from the collapse blocked the park trail,
08:13leading to a temporary closure until staff could tidy up the area to ensure visitor safety.
08:18Number 21.
08:19Prometheus Tree
08:20Nevada, United States of America
08:22It's not only the name that gives this tree a mythological feel.
08:26In 1964, a graduate student studying bristlecone pine trees and the climate of the Little Ice Age
08:31got permission from the Forest Service to cut it down.
08:34He knew the tree was old, but not nearly as old as it was discovered to be after its demise.
08:40It was estimated to have been about 5,000 years old, making it the oldest tree ever documented.
08:45It became known as Prometheus.
08:48Prometheus was only reachable by off-trail hiking in what is now Nevada's Great Basin National Park.
08:53For explorers who did see it while it was alive,
08:56they surely did not realize they were looking at such an amazing piece of natural history.
09:01We have not always appreciated bristlecones for their age, for their strength, their beauty.
09:06It was not even until the mid-1950s that we became aware of how ancient these trees actually are.
09:11Number 20.
09:12Hillary's Step on Mount Everest, Nepal
09:14Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth, on the border between China and Nepal.
09:18Mount Everest, the highest peak on Earth, holds many secrets within its icy depths,
09:23but perhaps none as mysterious as the disappearance of the iconic Hillary Step.
09:27On the Nepal side, one of the most challenging parts of the climb was the Hillary Step.
09:31It was a huge rock face, susceptible to extremely unpredictable weather.
09:36It's named after Edmund Hillary, who was one of the first people confirmed to scale Everest's peak.
09:41Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay faced the challenging Hillary Step during their historic first ascent in 1953.
09:48Its importance as a crux to the summit cannot be understated.
09:51After an earthquake in 2015, the step was destroyed.
09:54It took a couple of years to confirm, on account of it being covered in snow.
09:58On the bright side, climbers claim it's far easier to summit now.
10:02The mystery surrounding the Hillary Step's disappearance adds intrigue to Mount Everest's climbing history,
10:06sparking debates among climbers and enthusiasts about its impact on the mountain's allure.
10:11Number 19.
10:12Sequoia Tunnel Tree, California
10:13Giant sequoia trees are some of the biggest trees in the world.
10:17They're so big, that in the 19th and 20th centuries, there was a trend of carving out huge tunnels in them.
10:23Giant sequoias are rare.
10:25This one, famous for the hole, cut into the trunk, becoming a tourist attraction more than 100 years ago.
10:30These were so huge, in fact, that you could drive cars or horse-drawn carriages through them.
10:35One of the most famous ones was in Calaveras Big Tree State Park, which was a tree over 1,000 years old.
10:41Many memories were made.
10:43But all good things come to an end.
10:45This is currently where it's flattened out.
10:47This was the wall of the tree.
10:48Heavy rains and winds over the weekend managed to topple the 2,000-year-old icon.
10:54It attracted thousands of tourists, but eventually collapsed in 2017 due to a storm.
10:59Turns out, cutting huge holes in trees is not great for them.
11:02A few still survive, but new ones are unlikely to be made.
11:06What started out as a little seedling 2,000 years ago, now lying here on the forest floor,
11:11rangers say it's just another phase of its life.
11:14It could lay here for another 1,000 years.
11:16Number 18.
11:18Darwin's Arch
11:19Darwin's Island, Galapagos, Ecuador
11:21The Galapagos Islands lie in the eastern Pacific, governed by the Republic of Ecuador.
11:26They're home to Darwin Island, which was near Darwin's Arch.
11:29Both were named after biologist Charles Darwin, who researched evolution there.
11:33The formation is found in the northern part of the archipelago and is considered a premier diving location.
11:40It was named after English biologist Charles Darwin, whose study of the Galapagos Islands inspired his theory of evolution.
11:47People were not permitted to set foot on either, but that didn't stop tourists from visiting.
11:52It was a popular spot for photographers and even scuba divers.
11:55The arch was remarkably huge, carved out by years of erosion.
11:59Ecuador's Environment Ministry says the top of the arch fell into the ocean because of natural erosion.
12:05The two sides of the structure are still standing.
12:09Unfortunately, this erosion led to its collapse in 2021.
12:13Now, two huge pillars remain, which are currently nicknamed the Pillars of Evolution.
12:18Interestingly, some scuba divers managed to spot the collapse as it happened, which must have been a remarkable sight.
12:23A spokesperson for the Galapagos Conservatory says while the collapse was a bit of a shock, it is all part of the natural process.
12:32Number 17. London Bridge, Victoria, Australia
12:35Britain's modern London Bridge was opened in 1973, but a bridge has stood in its place for almost 2,000 years.
12:42However, in Australia, there used to be a much older London Bridge.
12:45Well, another jaw-dropping view on the Great Ocean Road.
12:51London Bridge, it was called.
12:53Unlike the one it's named after, it was entirely natural.
12:56It was similar to Darwin's Arch, with erosion creating two huge arches that naturally formed a double-span bridge.
13:02In 1990, it finally collapsed.
13:05Commonly called London Arch these days because in 1990, the first arch across the mainland fell down, leaving just the island arch.
13:14Two tourists ended up stuck there, but thankfully were uninjured, although they required a helicopter rescue.
13:19Many people humorously compared it to the nursery rhyme, London Bridge is Falling Down.
13:24And build it up with wood and clay, wood and clay, wood and clay, build it up with wood and clay, my fair lady.
13:31But wood and clay will wash away.
13:34Number 16. Guaida Falls, Brazil and Paraguay
13:37The border between Paraguay and Brazil used to be home to one of the greatest series of waterfalls on Earth.
13:43The height of the waterfall was 114 meters.
13:46The Seven Falls was one of the world's most powerful waterfalls on Earth, with a flow rate twice of Niagara Falls.
13:53It was a series of 18 waterfalls, which combined were 375 feet high.
13:59It was so loud you could hear it for 20 miles.
14:02The flow rate was mind-bogglingly big, one of the largest on Earth.
14:06Despite its wondrous beauty, it was destroyed in 1982.
14:09The Itaipu Dam was responsible, creating an artificial lake on top of Guaida Falls.
14:14Completed in 1984, it is a binational undertaking run by Brazil and Paraguay at the border between the two countries.
14:22The project ranges from Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay.
14:30The silver lining is that the dam creates tons of clean electricity for Brazil and Paraguay.
14:35They have more installed capacity, which is the passing of the years.
14:40But Itaipu tends to be the one that produces the most energy annually.
14:47Number 15. Lake Popó, Bolivia.
14:49Once upon a time, Bolivia's Lake Popó was one of the world's largest saline lakes, as well as one of the highest.
14:55Lake Popó used to stretch over 2,700 square kilometers and was the second largest lake in Bolivia.
15:05The Urus called it the navel of the world.
15:07On average, it was only 10 feet deep, meaning its size varied annually.
15:12It had an area of over 390 square miles, but despite its huge size, it dried up entirely.
15:18It was caused by a combination of human interference, with local people using it for irrigation, as well as climate change.
15:24With the melting of glaciers in the Andes being a huge factor.
15:28For decades, water has been diverted from mining and agricultural needs.
15:32And the lack of water has been exacerbated by higher than normal temperatures in the Andes Mountains.
15:37It finally vanished in 2015 and is unlikely to ever return.
15:41It caused a huge loss of local wildlife, alongside harming locals' way of life.
15:46Siento una tristeza, no?
15:47Que sea ha desaparecido mi lago, no?
15:50Antes vivía con el lago.
15:53Ahora ya no hay nada.
15:55Todo desaparecido.
15:56Number 14.
15:57Twelve Apostles, Victoria, Australia.
16:00Just down the road from London Bridge, Victoria, you can find the Twelve Apostles.
16:04They are huge limestone stacks that sit on the coast.
16:07Millions of years ago, the Twelve Apostles would simply have been part of the mainland of Australia.
16:11They were created by the constant erosion of the limestone cliffs.
16:16The water and the winds of the ocean have shaped them.
16:19Don't be misled by the name.
16:21There are only seven that stand.
16:22There used to be nine in total, which were formed over millions of years of erosion.
16:27A 160-foot stack collapsed in 2005, then another in 2009.
16:32Although their name suggests there were once twelve stacks,
16:35there were only nine stacks at the beginning of this century.
16:39Two have since collapsed.
16:40One collapsed in 2005 and the other in 2009, leaving seven stacks.
16:47The rest are likely to fall at some point soon, but no one can predict exactly when.
16:52So while you can still see most of it today, it's not as impressive as it was.
16:56On the bright side, more will form in the future, just not in our lifetimes.
17:01With the ongoing erosion from the waves and wind, these will one day disappear too.
17:06But parts of the cliff nearby are expected to become new rock stacks in the future.
17:11Number 13.
17:12Hetch Hetchy Valley.
17:13Yosemite National Park, California, USA.
17:16Native Americans used to call this valley home for centuries.
17:19It was an amazing sight, rivaling Yosemite Valley in its beauty.
17:23Did you know that I am a mighty river, that I once careened gracefully through a majestic valley?
17:29A valley that in its day rivaled the glory of its sister.
17:32It was created by glaciers thousands of years ago, and was inhabited for over 6,000 years.
17:37It's still there today, but it's unfortunately been completely flooded.
17:41It was caused by the construction of the O'Shaughnessy Dam, completed in 1923.
17:46Almost a century ago, the towering granite cliffs and soaring waterfalls inspired Muir to lead the battle to stop the dam.
17:54This turned the valley into a reservoir, which provides the San Francisco area with water.
17:59It's a shame, especially since in 1890, they declared it was to be protected.
18:04Thankfully, some individuals are hoping to restore it using modern water management technology.
18:09So it may return to life.
18:10Do you think the undamning of Hetch Hetchy is something you'll see in your lifetime?
18:15I do. I think we will prevail.
18:18One thing everyone can agree on is Hetch Hetchy is one special place.
18:22Number 12. God's Finger. Gran Canaria, Spain.
18:26More commonly known by its Spanish name, El Dedo de Dios, this was a phenomenal sea stack in the Canary Islands.
18:32Ese es el dedo de Dios, un roque partido símbolo de Gran Canaria.
18:37Es una roca basáltica durante millones de años se ha ido modelando hasta tener esa forma que parece un dedo.
18:44As the name implies, it was impressively tall and thin.
18:48It took around 200,000 to 300,000 years to form.
18:51It was almost 100 feet high, which appeared to defy physics.
18:55Well, physics eventually caused its downfall during a storm in 2005.
18:59There were debates as to whether it should be restored, but the final decision was to simply preserve what remained.
19:14A large stump is still there, and the surrounding nature remains stunning, but the finger itself is long gone.
19:20Number 11. Jeffrey Pine. Yosemite National Park, California, USA.
19:31The Sentinel Dome is a massive granite dome in Yosemite.
19:34The Sentinel Dome trails 2.2 miles round trip and has 450 feet of elevation change.
19:39For a long time, it was home to probably the most photographed tree in history, a Jeffrey Pine.
19:45Photographers first became enamored with it in 1867, but it tragically died in 1976 after a drought.
19:52It kept standing tall until it toppled in 2003.
19:55We believe it was approximately 400 years old, a mind-boggling age.
20:00Its corpse has been left untouched, so you can still go see it, but it won't stay forever.
20:05Of course, Yosemite is still an amazing place to visit, so a hike to the Pine would be tough to regret.
20:11If we made it to the top of the Sentinel Dome, the view is absolutely breathtaking.
20:17The 360-degree view from the top is one of the best in the park.
20:20Number 10. The Azure Window, Malta.
20:29A small gift for the new Khaleesi.
20:33Eventually, time comes for everything.
20:35Over the course of 500 years, ocean waves caused a rock to slowly erode away,
20:41eventually forming a perfect arch that exposed the water behind it.
20:44This became known as the Azure Window, which became one of Malta's crown jewels.
20:49However, the elements that had formed the structure would also lead to its downfall.
20:53As decades passed, chunks of the arch would break off.
20:56People climbing on it only contributed to the damage.
20:58A 2013 study said erosion to the landmark was inevitable, but at the time, it wasn't an immediate danger of collapsing.
21:06And last year, the government made walking across the natural bridge a crime.
21:10The final blow came in 2017, when a storm swept through and weakened the pillar enough to make it fall into the depths below.
21:17That night, centuries of natural work were undone, and the site has remained empty since.
21:23Malta's Prime Minister said it always faced destruction because of natural corrosion, but described its demise as heartbreaking.
21:30Number 9. Sycamore Gap Tree, England
21:32Ignorance knows no bounds.
21:35For over a century, Northumberland, England's beloved Sycamore Gap Tree served as a symbol of the region.
21:40It was so beloved that it was even awarded for its stature.
21:44No one could have anticipated that it would meet its end through a single senseless act.
21:48This much-loved tree by Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland had stood in this gap for 300 years, and then, without warning, it was felled on Wednesday night.
21:57In 2023, locals awoke to the sight of the tree cut down.
22:02High winds the previous night had masked the sound of it being felled, resulting in a nasty shock.
22:07When I saw it on the television last night, I just had a lump in my throat.
22:10I just, I feel, actually, I feel I'm filling up now.
22:13After several arrests, two men were criminally charged in 2024.
22:18While the destruction of the tree has been mourned, there is one silver lining.
22:22New seedlings from the sycamore's remnants have sprouted, meaning that generations from now, it could potentially reach the same heights as its predecessor.
22:30The appearance of that tree in that setting was just so perfect, and to have lost that has been devastating.
22:37So to start seeing that regrowth happen, so that hopefully we'll have something again in the future at some point, for future generations, is really great news.
22:49Number 8. Old Man of the Mountain, New Hampshire, USA.
22:52Some formations are so intricate that it's hard to believe they came about naturally.
23:06That's the case for the Old Man of the Mountain, a unique grouping of stone that had eroded over thousands of years into the shape of a human face.
23:14Once the subject of legends among indigenous tribes, it eventually became a local icon for New Hampshire in modern times.
23:20It was a symbol.
23:22It's done everything.
23:24Yeah.
23:26Signed.
23:28Your licenses, the plates, state coin, I mean everything.
23:32However, fluctuating temperatures caused cracks to form throughout the 20th century.
23:36Locals tried to fix it, but despite their best efforts, it finally collapsed in 2003.
23:42The Old Man of the Mountain may be gone, but a memorial and commemorative day ensure it won't be forgotten.
23:47This seemed to actually replicate it like it was in your memory?
23:51Yeah, yeah, pretty much.
23:53I mean, this device allows you to see what it would have looked like up there.
23:57Yeah, very cool.
23:58Number 7. The Larson Ice Shelf, Antarctica.
24:01Even wonders far from the prying eyes of humans are not safe from the effects of human activity.
24:06What was once a sprawling expanse known as the Larson Ice Shelf has slowly begun to break apart, with each collapse bringing its own set of consequences.
24:15Ice shelves are the gatekeepers for glaciers flowing from Antarctica towards the ocean.
24:19Without them, glacier ice enters the ocean faster and faster and accelerates the pace of global sea level rise.
24:25The first major collapse occurred in 1995, marking the end of Shelf A.
24:30Segment B followed in 2002, exposing a never-before-seen biosphere to the elements above.
24:36This alarmed scientists.
24:37The studies have shown that two of the three glaciers feeding Larson B have sped up massively since the shelf first split in 2002,
24:46with scientists now predicting that a major crack is likely to move all the way across the shelf,
24:52splintering the remnants into icebergs that will float away.
24:55As global temperatures continued to rise, Shelf C began to deteriorate, leading to a massive rift that caused a huge iceberg to break off in 2017.
25:04Now, with only one stable section remaining, the platform is at risk of disappearing entirely.
25:10There are glaciers behind the Larson Sea that will accelerate as that goes away, that barrier disappears.
25:18And it's that ice that comes from land and into the ocean that contributes to sea level rise.
25:25So that is a small part of the equation of why we're seeing seawater in Miami Street.
25:31Number 6. The Wawona Tunnel Tree, United States
25:34Even before its destruction, this tree was being exploited daily.
25:38I have often wondered if a sequoia could speak, what stories it would tell.
25:43Once reaching a staggering height of nearly 230 feet, the Wawona Tunnel Tree in Yosemite was a truly breathtaking site for locals and tourists alike.
25:52Rather than let it stand on its own, a tunnel was cut through it in 1881, with the goal of creating a unique attraction.
25:59It was a massive success, and people came from all over the country to experience it themselves.
26:04They've seen generations of Native Americans walk by underneath them, and just in the last blink of an eye, it's people from all over the world have started walking underneath them.
26:15In 1969, the 2,000-year-old tree succumbed to heavy snowfall and fell.
26:20The location remained popular, with visitors traveling from afar to view the fallen giant.
26:25It seems that whether dead or alive, the organism has an allure that can't be denied.
26:30When you walk through the forest and you see a big tree, you're like, oh, that's a big tree.
26:34But when you walk through the forest and there's giant sequoias, it is, there's nothing like it.
26:38Like, that tree is so much bigger than everything else, and you're just dwarfed by it.
26:44Number 5. Slim's River, Canada
26:46Nature's unpredictability is thought to be exacerbated by climate change, leading to some wonders disappearing in the blink of an eye.
26:53Glacial melt, plate tectonics.
26:55These things take their sweet time to develop, so when an entire river vanishes in just four days, it's safe to assume geoscientists are going to freak out.
27:04Originally born from the Casca-Walsh Glacier in the Yukon, Slim's River was once a thriving waterway.
27:10It sourced its water from the formidable ice block until 2016, when it suddenly began to recede.
27:15Today, its terminus, or end, is in retreat. So much that the glacial water which used to feed the Slim's River has taken another route to a different river, the Casca-Walsh.
27:28Leaving the Slim's River basin drier, and the lake it feeds Kluwani thirsty.
27:34This sudden change in flow rerouted all of the water to the Casca-Walsh River, sending the runoff into the Gulf of Alaska.
27:40Within days, the Slim's River had all but vanished, leaving only a dried-out bed.
27:45So what do they call this now? It's not a river.
27:49No, it's more, we haven't figured that one out yet, but it's more of just a creek, right?
27:55It's just being fed by some of the local creeks here.
27:57Yeah.
27:58So it's nothing like it used to be.
28:01Yeah.
28:02The lake it was connected to has seen a drop in water level as well, indicating that the consequences are far from over.
28:08Number 4. The Chacaltaya Glacier, Bolivia
28:11What was once a thriving local attraction is now nothing more than a distant memory.
28:16Located in Bolivia, the Chacaltaya Glacier existed for an estimated 18,000 years.
28:21The area served as the country's only ski resort, where it entertained citizens and tourists alike, even as it was degrading.
28:28Well, today it's a cemetery because here we don't see a skater, there's no snow, there's no glacier, more than pure stone.
28:36While scientists were aware that the glacier would naturally expire, they predicted it wouldn't occur until 2015.
28:43But a combination of reduced snowfall and a particularly warm period caused it to melt much faster than anticipated.
28:49If we're going to think about alternatives, then we have to do them right away.
28:54The effects are appearing much faster than we can respond to them.
28:57By 2009, all that remained were a few patches of ice.
29:01While that's awful enough, it's only the beginning, as several other ice caps in the Andes are also at risk of melting away.
29:08The glaciers that they have are similar to Chacaltaya, along the real Cordillera, which is part of the Cordillera de las Andes,
29:16are suffering the same process of derretment and death that probably in the past 30 years.
29:22Number 3. Pink and White Terraces, New Zealand.
29:26Once the biggest deposits of geyserite on the planet, the pink and white terraces gained global attention as far back as the 19th century.
29:33Our first visitors arrived that you could call tourists in 1838-39.
29:41And the one thing those people all wanted to see from that visit and on was the pink and white terraces.
29:47Only a few decades into their popularity, they were destroyed.
29:51In 1886, the eruption of Mount Tatawera led to the entire area being converted into a giant crater.
29:57What was once the bottom of the lake had dropped as much as 500 feet.
30:01Where the lake and terraces had been was now a vast, steaming, sulfurous crater.
30:07Eventually, a new lake and ecosystem formed and thrived, but the memory of the pink and white terraces lived on.
30:13Excavations throughout the 21st century have reignited hopes that they were merely buried rather than destroyed, and could one day be visible again.
30:21It took an underwater robot with sonar and imaging technology to see beneath the silt.
30:26The location and scale are true to the originals, and Daron describes it as the find of a lifetime.
30:32A find which could continue to surprise.
30:35Number 2.
30:36The Aral Sea, Central Asia
30:38Some natural wonders degrade over a long period of time and face disastrous effects that aren't noticed until it's too late.
30:44Once the third largest lake on Earth, the Aral Sea has been victim to constant changes in climate and repeated human intervention.
30:51At one time, waves crashed against these cliffs. Now, only the wind sweeps across this desert landscape.
31:00Some geographers had written about its depletion as far back as the 1400s, but those warnings were ignored.
31:06The building of canals for Soviet irrigation throughout the 1950s cemented its depletion.
31:10The region is still heavily dependent on this resource. As a result, the Aral Sea is drying up. In 60 years, it has lost 90% of its volume.
31:26This resulted in disastrous effects on both the Aral Sea's own ecosystem and nearby communities.
31:32While there have been attempts to reverse some of the damage, it's unclear how effective they can be, especially when whole sections have dried out.
31:39As the sea receded, it left behind a thick layer of salt.
31:44Hectares of land are now infertile, and the heavy winds sometimes blow away the salty sand.
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32:041. The Tree of Tenere, Niger
32:09A careless moment is sometimes all it takes to wipe out a national treasure.
32:13Despite the arid climate, a single acacia tree served as the remaining proof of a time when the Sahara received more precipitation.
32:20But around 3000 BC, changes in the climate caused the area to dry up, and gradually all the humans, animals, and plants disappeared, swallowed up by the scorching desert.
32:30By the late 18th century AD, only the Tree of Tenere remains, the only tree in an empty wasteland some 500 kilometers across.
32:37The Tree of Tenere stood proudly for hundreds of years and provided a unique indicator for travelers.
32:43It seemed impervious to any natural forces, but human activity was another story.
32:48It still stood after being struck by a car in 1959, but a subsequent crash in 1973 by an allegedly drunk driver sealed its fate.
32:57Despite having 400 kilometers on either side to go around it, nonetheless, into the tree he went, broke it clean off, and in that instant, the last tree of Tenere was no more.
33:11In one fateful moment, a symbol of the region's tenacity was wiped out.
33:15Now, all that remains in its place is a metal statue, an eerie reminder of the natural beauty that once thrived there.
33:22The tree's death caused outrage across Niger and the rest of the world and prompted the Niger government to recover the remains
33:29and place them on display in the Musée National Boubou Hama in Naime, where they remain to this day.
33:35Did you get to see any of these natural wonders?
33:38If not, which one do you wish you could have seen?
33:40Let us know in the comments.
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