Planet Earth has been blessed with many natural wonders. As we explore the earth and take in a glimpse at Mother Nature in action, you will agree that it has the ability to inspire us. While you may have heard of the seven natural wonders of the world including the Grand Canyon, Mount Everest and Victoria Falls to name a few, nature offers us many more spectacular sites and occurrences. Here are five beautiful wonders of nature. If you haven’t experienced them, there’s still time to.

1. Spotted Lake

Spotted Lake, located northwest of Osoyoos in British Columbia Okanagan Valley, has been dubbed one of the most magical places in Canada. During winter and spring, Spotted Lake looks like any ordinary lake; however, this changes in the summer. Hundreds of salty pools appear as the majority of the water begins to evaporate in the summer months. A polka-dotted landscape of green, blue and yellow is created. But what causes these colorful spots? A significant amount of minerals such as calcium, sodium sulfates and magnesium sulfates accumulate in the water, creating the colorful pools. The concentration of minerals in each pool that come from the nearby hills, determines the different colors.

2. Murmurations

A murmuration of starlings is an amazing site, eerie but beautiful. Murmurations are a large flock of starlings that swoop, swirl and change shapes as they move across the sky. It resembles a graceful dance which forms a beautiful silhouette in the fading light before dusk. Starlings, also known as partial migrants, are ordinary song birds with glossy green and purple iridescent plumage which look black at a distance. Murmurations can consist of over 100,000 birds which fly together looking for somewhere to roost during dusk. By flying together in large flocks, they are protected from predators, they have warmer roosts in the colder months, and they socialize and exchange information on where food can be obtained.

3. Striped Icebergs

Icebergs and glaciers are well known features of Antarctica. What is fascinating about striped icebergs is that they resemble marbled gemstones covered in brown, yellow black and blue stripes. Icebergs are formed from glaciers which are built from snow from Antarctica. These icebergs which float on water, therefore contain pure freshwater. The seawater below interacts with the freshwater ice. The seawater, which is rich in minerals and sediment, freezes into the ice creating stunning dark bands around it.

4. Fire Rainbows

We can all agree that rainbows, the multicolored arc in the sky, are beautiful but many say that the fire rainbows are even more spectacular. Circumhorizontal arcs of fire rainbows which light up the sky are caused by light traveling through thin, high-altitude cirrus clouds. Light is refracted as it travels from the moon or the sun over the ice crystals in the clouds. A band of spectrum colors with red forming the outermost ring, defines a full and rare fire rainbow.

5. Tricolored Crater Lakes

At the foot of Mount Kelimutu in Indonesia are the crater lakes of three colors- The Lake of Old people is blue, The Lake of Young Men and Maidens is green and The Bewitched Lake is red. The lakes have the ability to change color and it is believed that it reflects the mood of the ancestor’s spirits which make the lakes their resting place in the afterlife. The lakes’ colors can change and appear black, brown, white and turquoise. Some believe that it is caused by the interaction of minerals and volcanic ash, although the jury is still out on this mystery.