The Rio Tinto or Rusty River

 The Río Tinto is a river in southwestern Spain that originates in the Sierra Morena mountains of Andalusia. Since ancient times, a site along the river has been mined for copper, silver, gold, and other minerals.As a result of the mining, Río Tinto is notable for being very acidic (pH 2) and its deep reddish hue is due to iron dissolved in the water. Acid mine drainage from the mines leads to severe environmental problems due to the heavy metal concentrations in the river.

Mount Etna Erupts Again

Europe's largest volcano Mount Etna in Sicily has erupted again - the fifth time this year that it has been active.

Ash was spread around the local area, but it did not disrupt air traffic.

Etna, which is 11,000ft high and located 18 miles above the Sicilian town of Catania, often erupts but rarely causes damage.

And here is the video thanks to Telegraph.co.uk:

Amazing Sandstorm In Kuwait

At approximately 5.30 PM (GMT +3) a dust storm swept through Kuwait turning the setting evening sun to immediate darkness reaching minimal visibility in mere minutes. What first seemed to be smoke from a burning building, everyone soon started running for cover. Here's one of the first glimpse of, ironically, a rare spectacle, considering the location of the country!

Also, check this amazing video of Kuwait sandstorm:

Tornado Formation Caught On Security Camera

Not something you see everyday.

World's Biggest Holes

1.The Diavik Mine

The Diavik Mine is a mine in the Northwest Territory of Canada. This mine was opened in 2003 and it produces 8 million carats or about 1,600 kg (3500 lb) of diamonds every year. It has become an important part of the regional economy, employing 700 people. Diavik Diamond Mine goes to 240 meters below the surface.

2.The Bingham Canyon Mine

The Bingham Canyon Mine is an open-pit mining operation extracting a large porphyry copper deposit southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, in the Oquirrh Mountains. It is owned by Rio Tinto Group, an international mining and exploration company headquartered in the United Kingdom. The Bingham Canyon pit is now 2.5 miles wide and very deep.The mine has been in production since 1906, and has resulted in the creation of a pit over 1.2 km (0.75 miles) deep, 4 km (2.5 miles) wide, and covering 7.7 km² (1,900 acres).

3.Chuquicamata, Copper Mine, Chile

Chuquicamata is also one of the biggest open pit copper mine in the world, located in the north of Chile, 215 km northeast of Antofagasta and 1,240 km north of the capital, Santiago. Its depth of 850 meters (2,790 ft) makes it one of the deepest open-pit mine in the world. It’s an industry that has begun since 1882, although it started operating properly in 1911 when US capitals finished its construction. Today, the production reaches the 630 tons of fine copper every year.

4.Darvaza Gas Crater – The Door to Hell

Derweze is a Turkmenistan  village of about 350 inhabitants, located in the middle of the Karakum desert, about 260 km north from Ashgabat. The Derweze area is rich in natural gas. In 1971 a Soviet drilling rig accidentally punched into a massive underground natural gas cavern, causing the ground to collapse and the entire drilling rig to fall in. Darvaza Gas Crater or the “Door to Hell” named by a localist is a 328 feet wide hole. This hole has been on fire, continuously, for the last 38 years.

5.The Great Blue Hole

The Great Blue Hole is a large underwater sinkhole off the coast of Belize. It is a remarkable creation of nature. The Great Blue Hole is one of the world’s most recognizable natural wonder. It is believed the hole is the world’s largest sea-hole. It is about 125 meters deep and its diameter is about 300 meters wide. It has been created as a cause of sea level increase about 65,000 years ago. It was formed during several episodes of Quaternary glaciation when sea levels were much lower. The analysis of stalactites found in Great Blue Hole shows that formation has taken place 153,000, 66,000, 60,000, and 15,000 years ago. As the ocean began to rise again, the caves were flooded.

6.Guatemala City Sinkhole

In 2007 Guatemala got one of the biggest holes in the world. At first they believed that the  hole has been the consequence of rain during the tropical storm Agatha. Later they discovered that this hole was caused by humans. According to Sam Bonis, a geologist at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, who is currently living in Guatemala City, a burst sewer pipe or storm drain probably hollowed out the underground cavity. The Guatemala City sinkhole, estimated to be 18 meters (60 feet) wide and 100 meters (300 feet) deep, appears to have been triggered by the deluge from tropical storm Agatha. But the cavity was formed in the first place because the city and its underground infrastructure were built in a region where the first few hundred meters of ground are mostly made up of a material called pumice fill, deposited during past volcanic eruptions. This disaster killed two people and caused thousands of people harmed. Click HERE and find more about this event.

7.Kimberley Diamond Mine, South Africa

Kimberley is a city in South Africa and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. Kimberley is famous because of the Big Hole, which is also considered the worlds deepest man made hole. Originally the hole was 240 meters deep, but after it has been abandoned it was used to throw debris in. The underground Kimberly Mine was mined to a depth of 1097 meters. The mine is closed 1914. Approximately since 1871 until 1914, 22,5 million tons of earth were moved. Today, the Big Hole is about 215 meters deep, but 40 meters of ground water leave only 175 meters visible.

8.The Mirny Diamond Mine, Russia

Mir Mine which is also called Mirny Mine is an open pit diamond mine located in Mirny, Eastern Siberia, Russia. The mine is 525 meters (1,722 ft) deep and has a diameter of 1,200 m (3,900 ft), and is the second largest excavated hole in the world, after Bingham Canyon Mine. The mine was discovered on June 13, 1955 by Soviet geologists Yuri Khabardin and now, after more than 50 years since the discovery, this mine has been abandoned.

9.The Monticello Dam, Napa County, California, US

Located at the Monticello Dam at Lake Berryessa in Northern California, this gigantic drain acts as the lake’s spillway. This place also known as ”Glory Hole” reaches capacity, the spillway swallows water at a rate of 48,800 cubic feet per second, emptying about 700 feet away through an enormous concrete pipe. Monticello Dam Powerplant was built in 1983.  It is at the base of the Monticello Dam, and has 3 generators. It was built under a FERC license and is owned, operated and maintained by Solano Irrigation District.

10. Udachnaya pipe

Udachnaya pipe is a diamond deposit in the Daldyn-Alakit kimberlite field in Sakha Republic, Russia.It is an open-pit mine, and is located just outside the Arctic circle. Udachnaya was discovered on June 15, 1955, just two days after the discovery of the diamond pipe Mirny by Soviet geologist Vladimir Shchukin and his team. Udachnaya pipe is more than 600 meters (1,970 ft) deep, which makes it the 3rd deepest open-pit mine in the world. Since 2010,Udachnaya pipe has been controlled by Russian diamond company Alrosa.

Waterspouts or Water Tornadoes

A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex (usually appearing as a funnel-shaped cloud) that occurs over a body of water and is connected to a cumuliform cloud. In the common form, it is a non-supercell tornado over water. While it is often weaker than most of its land counterparts, stronger versions spawned by mesocyclones do occur. Waterspouts do not suck up water; the water seen in the main funnel cloud is actually water droplets formed by condensation. While many waterspouts form in the tropics, locations at higher latitude within temperate zones also report waterspouts, such as Europe and the Great Lakes. Although rare, waterspouts have been observed in connection with lake-effect snow precipitation bands.

Waterspouts have a five-part life cycle: formation of a dark spot on the water surface, spiral pattern on the water surface, formation of a spray ring, development of the visible condensation funnel, and ultimately decay.

Non-tornadic

Waterspouts that are not associated with a rotating updraft of a supercell thunderstorm are known as "non-tornadic" or "fair-weather waterspouts", and are by far the most common type. Fair-weather waterspouts occur in coastal waters and are associated with dark, flat-bottomed, developing convective cumulus towers. Waterspouts of this type rapidly develop and dissipate, having life cycles shorter than 20 minutes. They usually rate no higher than EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, generally exhibiting winds of less than 30 m/s (67 mi/h). They are most frequently seen in tropical and sub-tropical climates, with upwards of 400 per year observed in the Florida Keys. They typically move slowly, if at all, since the cloud they are attached to is horizontally static, being formed by vertical convective action instead of the subduction/adduction interaction between colliding fronts. Fair-weather waterspouts are very similar in both appearance and mechanics to landspouts, and largely behave as such if they move ashore.

Tornadic

"Tornadic waterspouts", also accurately referred to as "tornadoes over water", are formed from mesocyclonic action in a manner essentially identical to traditional land-based tornadoes in connection with severe thunderstorms, but simply occurring over water. A tornado which travels from land to a body of water would also be considered a tornadic waterspout. Since the vast majority of mesocyclonic thunderstorms occur in land-locked areas of the United States, true tornadic waterspouts are correspondingly rarer than their fair-weather counterparts. However, in some areas, such as the Adriatic, Aegean and Ionian seas, tornadic waterspouts can make up half of the total number.

Snowspout

A winter waterspout, also known as a snow devil, an icespout, an ice devil, a snonado, or a snowspout, is an extremely rare instance of a waterspout forming under the base of a snow squall. The term "winter waterspout" is used to differentiate between the common warm season waterspout and this rare winter season event. Very little is known about this phenomenon and only six known pictures of this event exist to date, four of which were taken in Ontario, Canada. There are a couple of critical criteria for the formation of a winter waterspout. Extremely cold temperatures need to be present over a body of warm water enough to produce fog resembling steam above the water's surface; this requires a 19°C (34°F) temperature difference between the water and the invading surface air mass. Like the more efficient lake-effect snow events, winds focusing down the axis of long lakes enhance wind convergence and likely enhance their development.

Waterspouts have long been recognized as serious marine hazards. Stronger waterspouts are usually quite dangerous, posing threats to ships, planes, helicopters, and swimmers. It is recommended to keep a considerable distance from these phenomena, and to always be on alert through weather reports. The United States National Weather Service will often issue special marine warnings when waterspouts are likely or have been sighted over coastal waters, or tornado warnings when waterspouts are expected to move onshore. When close to shorelines, waterspouts can devastate nearby coral reefs and marine organisms close to the surface.