Optical Illusions of the World (PHOTOS)

In nature things aren't always quite as they seem.

Here at Black Tomato, we've experienced an elemental sleight of hand. These are our Top Six places around the world for travel that tricks the eye. Think of it as Mother Nature's answer to that Magic Eye book...

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Not What It Seems

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Starting with fire in the skies up north...

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Starting with fire in the skies up north...

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Total comments: 28 | Post a Comment

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Illusion

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Been There. Want To Go Now!

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Comments

[ontariogirl]

10:34 AM on 10/26/2010

Uyuni is truly a beautiful thing to see.

[WilliamTheV]

03:56 AM on 10/25/2010

CORRECTION: on the ice spike one (Number 4, I believe) Sublimation occurs when a solid converts to gas without going through the LIQUID phase. The article states that "The air is so dry that sublimation occurs as the snow melts without passing through the gas phase", replace gas with liquid, and you'll be good.

It goes: solid to liquid to gas
for sublimation, it goes solid directly to gas.

Thank you for considering the following.

[Black Tomato]

05:55 AM on 10/25/2010

Thanks so much for your note - will be changing this now, but certainly hope you enjoyed the great imagery here.

[WilliamTheV]

10:05 AM on 10/25/2010

imagery was indeedn awesome, I think I got a few new wallpapers for my desktop lined up now :-)

[Cinnamonape]

01:23 AM on 10/25/2010

Explorers used to report that Lake Malawi was on fire...and some thought that there might be a volcano in the lake.

http://uniquedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/the-giant-swarm.jpg

But actually the "smoke" are vast nuptial swarms of flies.

[talkingheads]

12:52 AM on 10/25/2010

That anti gravity thing looks like a cross between a painting and a photo... Ice pikes looks like painting!

[Tunghoy]

12:19 PM on 10/24/2010

All very cool photos, but I wouldn't call most of them optical illusions. The reflected sky on the salt flats is probably the only one that's an illusion. Still very nice, though.

[Francine Broussard]

12:14 PM on 10/24/2010

Ice ALWAYS melts without going through the gas phase. Check your definition of sublimation.

[dheiser]

02:36 PM on 10/24/2010

Not quite true.

Ice "melts" from a solid to a liquid.

Ice "sublimates" directly from a solid to a gas; skipping the liquid state. This can happen when the humidity and barometric pressure are very low.

[WilliamTheV]

03:57 AM on 10/25/2010

he was still right, ice does melt without becoming a gas...

his phrasing could hae been better, tho.

[babybecks]

11:49 AM on 10/24/2010

Absolutely stunning. Planet Earth really is such a beautiful place.

[Black Tomato]

05:54 AM on 10/25/2010

Really glad you had a look. This is a small sample, but like you said, there is a lot of fantastic imagery in the world to see!

[Giblatsai]

11:47 AM on 10/24/2010

Photo #4 of the ice spikes captions that the sublimation of 'glacier ice is ice melting without passing through the gas phase'...but this is actually a muffed attempt at the definition of sublimation, which is that water passes directly from ice to gas, without going through a liquid state....just for clarification...

[Black Tomato]

05:53 AM on 10/25/2010

You are correct, thanks so much. Will be changing this now. Hope you enjoyed the slides nonetheless.

[aprohricht]

10:40 PM on 10/23/2010

Very interesting and different photo spread!

[bisbeeornotbisbee]

08:21 PM on 10/23/2010

Beautiful pictures!

[Black Tomato]

05:52 AM on 10/25/2010

So glad you enjoyed them. We'll be posting weekly so there's plenty more to come if you're looking for some great travel inspiration.

[Red45]

06:59 PM on 10/23/2010

Unless you call reflections on water "illusions", none of these were optical illusions. They're just some of Earth's most beautiful things to see. Loved it.

[Black Tomato]

05:52 AM on 10/25/2010

Glad you enjoyed the slides, thanks so much for taking a look. Our take on optical illusions was more an 'idea' than a literal interpretation, but hope you liked them anyway.

[Red45]

11:20 AM on 10/25/2010

It was wonderful. Keep up the good work.

[Hapakanaka]

05:54 PM on 10/23/2010

I couldn't find the old woman....

[dheiser]

11:38 AM on 10/23/2010

In slide 4 showing penitentes. I think the text should read, "sublimation occurs as the snow evaporates without passing through the liquid water phase".

[N133]

08:15 PM on 10/23/2010

Haha I was coming to post that...those are so cool!

[Black Tomato]

05:51 AM on 10/25/2010

Thank you for the note - will correct it now. Great to have input from those who know!

[Slade the Slide]

11:36 AM on 10/23/2010

I love the beauty of nature. There is so much of the world I have yet to see that just excites me. I hope to travel to many of these places someday. I've only gotten a taste of the Earth's natural beauty in my travels thus far.

[Black Tomato]

05:50 AM on 10/25/2010

There are definitely a LOT of places in the world with stunning imagery. These are just a very few that we picked this week. We'll be posting weekly and we've got a lot more amazing travel to share if you're looking for more inspiration.

[sedum13]

11:28 AM on 10/23/2010

Although photos tell you nothing, Magnitic Hill in New Brunswick should qualify.

[stopgeorge]

01:26 PM on 10/24/2010

And that is also an "optical illusion" -- which all of these are not.