What is THE most alien landscape on Earth, in your opinion? My vote is for the Danakil Depression, it looks like Venus.

Not exactly. The area has been mined there since 3,000 B.C., most recently by the Rio Tinto company. The colour is the result of bacteria transforming sulphate ions from the waste into sulphuric acid. The bacteria is currently being studied by astrobiologists. Very interesting!

Company’s named after the river, yeah. I think they started out mining there.

Goddamnit another poison swamp

Just turn the other direction and it's all hotels

Imaging landing here for the first time as an alien species

Which is funny because I've been to deserts all over the world but the first two places I thought of were Pamukkale and the Stamp Sands near Gay, MI. (the stamp sands are the tailings from mining operations in the area) Unfortunately, I can't find any pictures that do it justice, but the only time I visited there, it was like walking on another planet. The ground was a wasteland of formless black sand and the wind was whipping up the dust to partially obscure the sun, then we crested the dune and looked down to see a steaming Lake Superior that was a vivid green color. I wish I had been recording my impressions on video.

There used to be one that was kinda like this in New Zealand but even bigger and with pink water and it was considered a world natural wonder and then a volcanic eruption destroyed it in the late 1800’s

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_and_White_Terraces

Yep

The Martian was, too.

It is absolutely stunning. I live in Utah where we have some of the most beautiful red rock deserts in the world. I thought it would be more of the same TBH. I was blown away by the sheer scale of Wadi Rum. Combine the beauty of the landscape with the experience of staying at a Bedouin camp overnight where they prepared a large meal and then we hung out under the stars around a fire while they played music and sang. It’s one of my favorite travel memories.

Yes. Rogue One too. Also, Dune, The Martian, John Wick 4, Aladdin, Lawrence of Arabia, Mission to Mars, Prometheus… Tons of movies.

Frans Lanting

Also the oldest, at 1 billion years

How come?

Yeah everyone turns the saturation of their photos way up and then posts it as if it looks exactly like this. There’s something like this in my country too (Mravaltskaro Georgia) and it is damn cool but I always have to calm down the expectations of tourist clients— it’s not going to look like the photos unless you turn the saturation way up as well. Also they’re oddly underwhelming to visit— the bands are a couple of meters wide so when you’re there it just looks like reddish pebbles.

I was thinking of the Chinese ones too before I posted, but decided to go with the Peruvian mountain. Another Chinese landmark that came to mind was 'the Hill of the Moon.' That one wouldn't look out of place in an Avatar movie.

Looks like the Painted Hills in Oregon too.

Outside Reno as well

Looks like something in No Man's Sky.

Ironically Long Dong Silver was my grandfather's nickname at the nursing home.

I see we have the same dumbass sense of humor

It’s a great picture!

I see it, but only because I looked for it after reading your comment.

are you talking about dicks?

because I'm really thinking you're talking about any of the many faces in this or even expecting you to point out some ridiculous among us silhouette.

ROCK! ROCK! ROCK!

When I went, there was like a half inch of water on top for as far as you could see in every direction. Feels very eery

Lençóis Maranhenses, in the state of Maranhão - Brazil

This is like fucking Myst

I love those trees. They look like something from dr Seuss

It’s not just the trees. The beaches are similar to the ones in namibia but with tall dunes of white sand and crystal water

That is straight up No Man's Sky.

also an inspiration for the final battle in Avatar (the blue arrow one)

Once you get into China, it's pretty easy to get around by plane or train almost anywhere, including Zhangjiajie. While living in southern China we took a sleeper train there and it was incredible.

The city of Zhangjiajie also has one of the longest (might be THE longest) cable car/aerial lift rides that takes you from downtown to the top of Tianmen Mountain  . This plateau is gorgeous, there's a bunch of glass walkways, huge cliffsides, and of course the Heaven's Gate (pictured in link). The steps and even the bus ride to this spot are very cool and awe inspiring.

Then, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park with the karst stone columns is located about 30 minutes to an hour outside of the city. We spent two days there and I wish it could have been more. So much great hiking, sights, and wildlife (don't feed the monkeys lol). Early mornings here in the fog and mist are otherworldly.

If you are at all interested, I highly recommend the trip because there is so much to see. It's a lot of work to get there but so very worth it. I thought nothing would personally top Yosemite and the Grand Canyon for the feeling of awe-inspiring grandeur but Zhangjiajie proved me wrong.

I'd be happy to answer questions if anyone has them.

Yeah same here it’s on my bucket list. Anyone know if foreign tourists can go there? Because some places in China are not open to foreigners

Just some long bus rides from the city and then almost an hour in a gondola like thing to take you up to the top. Fenghuang, or “Phoenix Town” isn’t too far away from the park and is great to see at night with all the lights on the water.

I was going to say eastern Oregon. I grew up in eastern WA, which is pretty desolate itself, but when I drove south on the way to Nevada, I thought I was on the moon.

I get it what you are saying, but that's exactly my point, it looks so alien because it's so barren

It's often opposite of many images here, where there's at least something strange and unusual

The antarctic? Nah man just white ice as far as the eye can see

There are SO many places where you can find hexagonal jointing

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Algae

Algaes with carotenoid pigments that can live in super salty waters. Those algaes got eaten by shrimps and then those shrimps are eaten by flamingoes. That's why flamingoes are pink. Seriously, baby flamingoes are white-gray and they turn pink over time due to carotenoid pigment rich diet.

It's among the hottest and most inhospitable places in the world, though it sounds like a fascinating place to visit due to the strange and unique landscape

Some spots there are dangerous due to sulphur dioxide emissions, but in general it smells way less than an avarage active volcano

Yeah, it is in a special area designated to Hollywood, where filming is cheaper, or something like that. Tom Scott made a video about it.