11 Rock Formations So Strange You’ll Think They Were Built by Aliens
Nature doesn’t follow blueprints, and sometimes the result is strange enough to stop you in your tracks. Around the world, erosion, lava, and sediment have shaped landscapes that feel less like geology and more like set pieces from a movie. No one built these rock formations, but you wouldn’t be the first to wonder if they were.
Shilin Stone Forest, China
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The Yunnan Province hosts a “forest” where trees never grow. Instead, 270-million-year-old limestone pillars shoot from the ground like stalagmites in reverse. The Greater and Lesser Stone Forests cover more than 150 square miles and feature spires that are so sharp and tall. The formations appear carved, but nature handled every chisel stroke.
Castle Hill, New Zealand
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Massive limestone boulders litter a pastoral hillside near Christchurch like ancient ruins. This sacred place, known to Māori as Kura Tāwhiti, attracted climbers long before the Dalai Lama called it a “spiritual center of the universe” in 2002. You won’t find signs or fences here, just sheep, wind, and eerie silence among rocks that look designed.
Valley of the Moon, Argentina
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This alien-looking desert was once a lush floodplain crawling with dinosaurs. Ischigualasto, its local name, translates to “dead land,” but the area pulses with prehistoric life in fossil form. Wind sculpted the terrain into oddities like “The Submarine” and “The Sphynx.”
Goblin Valley State Park, Utah
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Galaxy Quest was filmed here, using the oddly mushroomed “goblins” as a natural alien world. The real story, however, is that Entrada sandstone is shaped by wind, water, and time. What’s left are hundreds of wobble-headed hoodoos dotting a Martian-red valley. You can roam right between them, just maybe don’t knock one over.
The Pinnacles, Australia
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Scattered across the sand in Nambung National Park, thousands of limestone columns stick out of the ground at odd angles. Some researchers trace their shape to ancient tree roots, others to erosion. There’s no consensus, but the result is hard to ignore. The formations stretch across the dunes in no clear pattern, while emus pass through without slowing down.
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks, New Mexico
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Six million years ago, a series of violent volcanic eruptions blanketed this area in ash and pumice. Fast-forward a few millennia, and you’ve got Tent Rocks, which are cone-shaped towers with flared tops. They look sculpted, but erosion and gravity did all the work. The Slot Canyon Trail snakes right through the formations.
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
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They’re called hoodoos, but the Paiute called them something spookier—Legend People. These towering spires fill Bryce Canyon like a stone amphitheater. Hike the Fairyland Loop to escape the crowds and see formations that seem to breathe at sunrise. They aren’t alive, but you’d be forgiven for checking twice.
Teotihuacán, Mexico
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The pyramids at Teotihuacán were part of a large, planned city. The builders are still unknown, but their layout suggests a strong understanding of astronomy. The Pyramid of the Sun is one of the biggest in the Americas, aligned with solar events. Some speculate about outside help, but the evidence points to careful design, simple tools, and a culture that studied the sky closely.
Sahara el-Beida (White Desert), Egypt
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Wind sculpted the chalk rock here into eerie white forms that resemble tents, mushrooms, and broken chess pieces. The formations, set deep in Egypt’s Western Desert, rise like frozen waves. At night, they glow under the moonlight, while Bedouin guides lead campers through the quiet landscape.
Cappadocia, Turkey
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The “fairy chimneys” of Cappadocia were hollowed out into homes, churches, and entire underground cities. These strange spires formed from volcanic ash, were capped with harder rock, and shaped by erosion. Göreme National Park holds the densest clusters, where carved windows peer out from towers that look more magical than real.
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China
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These gravity-defying towers inspired the floating mountains in Avatar. Located in Hunan Province, the sandstone columns rise from a subtropical forest and often vanish into mist. Local legends say the peaks are sacred; tourists take the world’s tallest outdoor elevator to reach them.
Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona
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After a cataclysmic volcanic eruption 27 million years ago, rhyolite rock settled, cracked, and stood tall. The result is thousands of towering rock stacks that look like someone played Jenga with boulders. Some balance on impossibly narrow bases.
Moai Statues, Easter Island
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Around 900 statues are scattered across the island, most with oversized heads that turned out to be full bodies buried over time. The Rapa Nui carved them from volcanic stone over a thousand years ago. How they moved them is still debated, but tests show it could’ve been done with ropes, coordination, and a lot of patience.
Nasca Lines, Peru
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These massive geoglyphs show animals, shapes, and lines only visible from above. They were made by removing the dark surface rocks to expose lighter soil below. No one knows their exact purpose, but studies suggest they were tied to rituals, water sources, or the movement of the sun.
Drumheller Valley, Canada
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Flat-topped hoodoos sit in the middle of Alberta’s badlands. The tops are harder rock, left behind while the softer stone beneath wears away. They don’t last forever, but they erode slowly. About an inch every hundred years. Some locals say they were once guardians.