18 Creepiest Landscapes On Earth

Fri, Sep 25, 2009

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Assignment:_Creepy_Landscape
Photo: johnbatte.com

Landscapes are usually associated with rolling hills and lush meadows, the tranquil quiet broken only by occasional birdsong. Not these landscapes. Full of fiends and strange faces, some of them might make you think a wizard muttered incantations to invoke nature’s sinister spirits. Others appear as gateways to other worlds best left unexplored, while still others seem like sets straight out of a horror flick director’s sick dream. Muhahahahahahaha! Oh, and if you like being scared, go to Iceland.

Icelandic Stone Trolls
caught_in_daylight_Icelandic_trolls
Photo: Soffia Gisladottir

This snap is riddled with trolls, which according to Icelandic legend turn to stone in daylight. There’s an obvious one, bottom right, but look closely and you’ll see others. The ridge itself is like a sleeping giant.

Geological Rhino
The_Sunrise_Observer_Hvítserkur_like_a_Rhino
Photo: orvaratli

Another Icelandic landscape, this one showing Hvítserkur, an old volcanic injection of magma whose surrounding rock the ocean wore away. Looks like some monstrous, literally stone age rhino to us.

Cliff Skull
naturally_occurring_erosion_looks_like_skulls_and_faces_in_cliff_Lake_Cumberland_Kentucky
Photo: LTTay7

Taken at Lake Cumberland in Kentucky, this skull-like face is apparently one of many in the cliff face caused by naturally occurring decay and erosion. One’s enough, thank you very much.

Looking Out to Sea
Looking_Out_to_Sea_face_in_the_cliffs_at_Kilve_beach_Somerset
Photo: cridds

Looking like an old man watching the sea, perhaps for signs of impending doom, this photo was taken in Kilve Beach in Somerset, England, famous for its fossils – of giants?

Face in Profile
Taft_Point_Yosemite_National_Park_profile_of_a_face
Photo: Joe Shlabotnik

This next profile of a rock face in a rock face is in Yosemite’s famous Taft Point. A stone giant grimly surveying his kingdom from 3500 feet up while facing off with the big nose of El Capitan, opposite.

Water Monster
Water_Monster_Frankfort_Michigan_lighthouse_pier
Photo: David Paul

OK, not so much a landscape as a seascape, but check out the water spirit, moving out of the water and standing tall as the surf hits the lighthouse pier at Frankfort, Michigan.

Gateway to Hell
Gateway_to_hell_Námaskarð_geothermal_area_Iceland
Photo: Hkvam

The jets of hot steam and sulphurous gases known as fumaroles plus its sterile, acidic ground give Iceland’s Námaskarð pass the look of an opening into the devil’s own domain.

Straight out of Hell
www
Photo: elfis gallery

What is it about Iceland that makes its landscape so creepy? Well those solfatares emitting hot steam – in this photo near Myvatn – definitely have something to answer for.

Geothermal Nightmare
Hverir_við_Námafjall_á_Nýársdag
Photo: Völundur Jónsson

Yes, Iceland seems determined to haunt us with its infernal terrain, here at Hverir. It’s no wonder the country’s folklore is replete with monsters, goblins and other phantoms of the netherworld.

Leaving Hell’s Gates
Welcome_to_hell_Iceland_near_a_geothermal_power_station
Photo: c@rljones

One final shot of Iceland’s infernos before we leave its shores in search of other weird and wonderful landscapes. Taken near a geothermal power station, the bubbling mud only added to the sense of menace.

Strange Eggs Appear
Egg_Factory_at_Bisti_Badlands_of_New_Mexico
Photo: Ozyman

These strange, egg-like mounds look as if they form part of some alien landscape. In fact, though, this colourful expanse of unusually eroded rocks is the Bisti Badlands, located in New Mexico.

Another World
Another_world_Bolivia_in_the_desert_surrounding_Laguna_Colorada
Photo: Jessie Reeder

No, we’re not in Iceland again, but staring at another otherworldly landscape. This one is in the desert surrounding Bolivia’s Laguna Colorada, a shallow salt lake with red-coloured water and white islands.

Ice Gate
ICE_GATE_Netherlands
Photo: Wiechert Visser

This beautifully frost-bitten avenue of trees, snapped in the Netherlands, looks like some gateway into the kingdom of the Ice Queen. Enough to send shivers down your spine. Brrr.

Creepy Gloves
Creepy_gloves_Dutch
Photo: Bianca van der Werf www.biancavanderwerf.com

Who would have thought a view with gloves hanging from barbed wire in the foreground could be so sinister? Come to think of it… and crumbs are those marigolds creepy. Shot in the Netherlands, arthouse style.

Long Road Home
The_Long_Road_Home_Northern_Mindao
Photo: J.T. Noriega

This shot brings back memories of road movies gone awry; we’re thinking The Hitcher or Duel. Actually, though, the photo was taken not in the California desert but the wilderness of the Philippines.

Scary Place
Scary_place?_Europe_fairy_tale_house_with_fog
Photo: Dirk Delbaere

This next picture has all the hallmarks of a scene from a classic horror, a Hammer perhaps: unknown location; isolated house framed by creepy trees; fog lacing the ground. You can make the rest up yourself.

Dark Night
Assignment:_Creepy_Landscape
Photo: johnbatte.com

This creepy pic could be a screenshot from a high quality chiller. Lit by moonlight, bathed in swirling mist, the tree might easily be concealing some horror in its shadows. This could be anywhere. Atmospheric.

Desolate Landscape
Desolate_Landscape
Photo: Caro Wallis www.carowallis.com

Desolate indeed. Creepy too. The fog shrouding this rural scene makes it seem as though that lonely lane could be leading anywhere. Who knows what lies beyond the ghostly horizon? Perhaps nothing. Perhaps oblivion.

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This post was written by:

Karl Fabricius - who has written 270 posts on Environmental Graffiti.

Karl was raised in Wales and now lives in Bristol, though his family tree branches to both sides of the Atlantic. Besides holding an English MA, he’s made a documentary on grassroots boxing, played – and still plays – drums in punk rock bands, and travelled some cool parts of the globe. He’s currently an editor and writer scribbling about things worth scribbling about – specifically the environment and all things bizarre.

Contact the author

10 Comments For This Post

Leave a Reply

  1. Ali S. Says:

    Yowzah! Those are creepy and might I add some great pictures.

  2. deanf Says:

    Some of these are just photoshop compositions or clever photos.. not exactly a “creepiest landscape on earth”

  3. Cheap Says:

    there not that creepiest

  4. Andrea Says:

    Very interesting photos thanks

  5. swordfish1174 Says:

    its amazing to see some of these pictures and if you look close enough there are actually additional image views in which you can see not just the obvious but you can also see hidden features very cool.

  6. axe Says:

    who kind of person would describe these as creepy? they are amazing. oh, and anyone who puts pics of such low res on a website should be shot.

  7. Glasses Says:

    Disappointing.

  8. mor Says:

    it’s not so creepy, but it’s so amazing.

  9. happyhappy Says:

    Very cool images! There’s a lot of negative posts on this forum. You people need more imagination! Think about being at these places alone with the wind hollowing, darkness settling, not a (living) soul in sight… Come on, stop being so critical!

  10. IP Says:

    good photos, but the gloves and the house are not really landscapes……they are man made.

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