Off the coast of the westernmost of the Ryukyu Islands there is a rock massif that is equally popular among divers and scientists of various directions. In the world, the mysterious object is known as the Yonaguni Monument. What's so special about it?
Sensational discovery
The underwater world of the Japanese island of Yonaguni is quite picturesque. Diving enthusiasts are attracted by coral reefs and the diversity of local fauna. Therefore, it is not surprising that the discovery of mysterious formations off the coast of the island belongs to the experienced diver Kihachiro Arataka.
In the spring of 1985, while exploring new places, Kihachiro accidentally discovered stone objects of unusual shape and size. Outwardly, they resembled step pyramids. He was so amazed by the discovery that he immediately reported it to the authorities and the press. And I was right. Since its opening, the Yonaguni complex has become a real sensation. Research into the formations continues to this day.
General information about the Yonaguni complex
Rock formations at Yonaguni occupy a vast area around south coast islands. They are located at a depth of 30 m. What stands out most is the stone mass with a complex structure, the base of which is a platform 183 m long, 150 m wide and 42 m high. The object has flat terraces going down in steps. Guided by the latter characteristic, some researchers compare this monument with the pyramids of the ancient Incas and Sumerians.
At the very top of the massif you can see a small “pool”, and next to it is a formation that scuba divers call a “turtle”. At the base of the object you can see a path paved with stones. The latter leads to a rounded 2-ton megalith.
Near the monument, a stone “fence” made of huge rock blocks was discovered, as well as small “pyramids” with a height of 10 m. The age of the terrace formations near the Ryukyu Islands ranges from 10-16 thousand years.
The origins of the Yonaguni Monument continue to be controversial. Some scientists believe that this object is of natural origin, others provide evidence in favor of its creation by man. In addition, there is an assumption that this is an ancient city.
Scientists' assumptions about the origin of mysterious stone formations
Robert Schoch's hypothesis. This is a geologist from Boston University who participated in the study of the complex in 1997. In his opinion, we are talking about a structure not made by human hands.
Schoch notes that the straight lines and sharp corners of the monument are due to the fact that the monolith consists of sandstone, which tends to crack along the planes. This sandstone feature is enhanced by the high seismic activity of the area. Later, German geologist Wolf Wichmann agreed with Schoch's conclusions.
At the same time, the American geologist noted that the formations are not without partial manual processing. This means that in ancient times it could have been a quarry, a quarry, or a natural dock for boats. Despite the fact that at first Schoch rejected the possibility that we were talking about an underwater city, he later made very unexpected assumptions.
In one of the publications, Professor Schoch noted that on the island of Yonaguni there are a number of ancient graves, the architecture of which in some places resembles the underwater monument being studied. Perhaps, when constructing burials, people imitated it, or maybe the monument itself was rebuilt by people. Thus, Schoch admits that the people who inhabited the island could partially change the natural structure of the massif.
Masaaki Kimura's hypothesis. The named scientist works at the University of the Ryukyu. Professor of Marine Geology Kimura, together with his students, made dozens of dives in the study area. As a result, he came to the conclusion that the Yonaguni monument is a man-made structure. In his opinion, the object was carved into the rock at a time when it was still above the water. In favor of his hypothesis, Kimura offers the following arguments:
- on the northern corners of the monument, symmetrical trenches are visible that could not have been formed as a result of natural processes;
- traces of markings;
- continuity of the massif structure from the underwater part to the ground;
- traces of the use of fire;
- stone tools found underwater and on land;
- one of the stones is decorated with a relief depicting an animal;
Kimura's hypothesis was generally supported by the Indian archaeologist Sundaresh. According to him, the terrace formations at Yonaguni are undoubtedly man-made. Sundaresh believes that before it sank to its present depth, the structure could have served as a pier for loading and unloading operations.
Rock masses similar to the Yonaguni monument have been discovered off Chatan Island in Okinawa, raising additional questions and new assumptions. Who knows, maybe we are talking about a secret that will erase existing ideas about ancient history Japan.
Man is the most complex and perfect creation of nature. Many processes occurring with us and the features of our structure still raise many questions among scientists. Next, we will not look for answers to various riddles, but will get acquainted with amazing facts about Us.
Scientists have determined that all chemicals in the human body can be valued at approximately $160.
If we could hear frequencies below 20 Hz, we would hear our muscles moving.
Theoretically, people could live on butter and potatoes alone.
When our body does not receive adequate nutrition, testosterone levels drop, while estrogen levels remain unchanged. This can lead to gynecomastia - breast enlargement in men.
Because fertility falls as wealth increases, the world's population will likely not increase as much as it did in the last century. According to some estimates, it will stop at about 10 billion.
In the vacuum of space, you won't explode or freeze to death, but will most likely die of suffocation.
Every person has a unique tongue pattern, just like their fingerprints.
Some historians believe that humans developed agriculture to produce alcohol.
The oligosaccharides in breast milk are not intended for the baby, but for intestinal bacteria.
Humans are the best long-distance runners on our planet. In the past, they hunted prey to the point of exhaustion.
Scientists have observed that people tend to create spontaneous order when they are left to their own devices (ranging from a large-scale society to a small roundabout system).
In Kentucky, there once lived a family with blue skin. The Fugate family acquired their blue skin color due to inbreeding and a rare genetic disorder called methemoglobinemia.
Only Europeans have lactase intolerance (milk tolerance in adulthood). Most other people are lactose intolerant to some degree.
Yawning is contagious not only in humans, but also in dogs.
You have many more than 5 senses (vision, hearing, smell, touch, taste). For example, balance and thermoception are just a few of the many senses that are not included in the core five.
Earwax has antimicrobial properties, preventing the accumulation of fungus and bacteria in the ears.
Scientists have not been able to find enough evidence linking GMOs (genetically modified foods) to health problems in humans.
The only potential case of human-to-human transmission of cancer occurred when a surgeon performing surgery on a cancer patient cut his own arm and transplanted cancer cells into himself.
Nature is rare, beautiful, phenomenal, a wonder of the world,
Everything about her is always harmonious, she always gives answers.
And to the question, find yours in real nature,
The answer will be with you in your soul as a life-giving fire.
Mother Nature is so deep, she is the ecstasy of life,
She is universal and mother always gives us her teaching.
She feeds us, protects us, thrives with enthusiasm,
Mother Nature will not die, she only wishes us life.
It’s beautiful, Lord, all around, flowers and their fragrance,
They're chirping outside the window...
Nature dressed in autumn...
Everything is quiet...only the chains of mountains,
They covered themselves with gold,
The air is filled with love...
How sad you are sometimes in autumn,
And your feelings and your mind,
They are one in the Universe,
Or they evoke thoughts...
And from that time you are free, free,
Convey the autumn feeling...
The heavenly twilight is so involuntary,
A beautiful autumn to captivate....
My Central Russian nature
Central Russian nature at a glance
Not with a riot of feelings, with the scorching heat of passion,
It has restraint and subtle contrasts,
Shades of real beauty.
The dignity of forests, fields running,
They have modesty and scope at the same time -
Such, and not others to replace themselves
Conceived by someone from above.
My pantheism is akin to the Creator.
I am dissolved in nature, in sweet and sour
Its fruits, its flowers, its sediments,
In which I am not alone.
Central Russian nature... I'm with her...
Creations of poets of the world and earth
We were so happy to read them
Did everyone think they were right?
Or they didn't care.
Who put their soul into their creations
And who wrote them just like that?
Why then were they needed?
Publish in newspapers.
What they wrote and about
Did you want it or were you just waiting?
To rise above the stars
But they didn’t want to give up.
Creation is power
And creativity is flight.
Love raised him
Breaking the ice of consciousness.
And we roll or walk
Your years are coming...
In the Consciousness of a Man
The game is shaking.
This way, to the left
Or ardor to the right.
And deep down it's ripe
Send your message.
Expand that space
Awareness of all,
What blossoms into a kingdom
In the depths of people.
Don't be afraid to measure the miles
What does the Soul give you?
They are always beautiful
Breathing consciously!
mother nature, don't joke with her,
there is no strength to endure pretense,
you quit the Internet, come to me,
Believe me, it's simple!
To answer the call, in the darkness of the night,
forget your fear and pain,
but the computer froze, even if you hit your forehead,
and the night is worse than pain...
There are many very unusual places and breathtaking creations of nature. But sometimes, when a person takes on the task of “improving” Mother Nature, this leads to very unexpected results and very strange, incredible wonders of nature arise. See for yourself!
8 PHOTOS
1. Darzava or “Gate of Hell” is a gas crater in Turkmenistan that has not stopped burning for 40 years. This “great” creation is the work of Soviet engineers who were looking for oil in the 70s of the last century. (Photo: Tormod Sandtorv/Flickr.com).
While drilling wells, part of the soil, under which there was a large gas deposit, collapsed. Fearing toxic fumes, Soviet engineers came up with nothing smarter than setting the gas on fire to get rid of it. So it has been burning for four decades, never ceasing to terrify and remind us how destructive people can be.
2. Fly Geyser or Fly Geyser. In fact it is permanent thermal source, which again appeared thanks to human intervention. In 1916, drilling work was carried out in that place, and in the 60s, underground water containing minerals from the wells broke through to the surface, creating this amazing creation. (Photo: Ken Lund/Flickr.com). 
3. The waters of Rio Tinto in Spanish Andalusia are the color of blood. This water has a pH of 2, which makes it almost impossible for most organisms existing on Earth to live in it. In fact, this river is poisonous. But why, you ask? The thing is that for centuries copper, silver, gold and other minerals were mined in this region, as a result of which the river was polluted. The red color of its waters is given by copper, which is contained in large quantities. (Photo: RioTinto2006/WikimediaCommons). 
4. The Blue Lagoon in Iceland is a large pool filled with salty geothermal water. The warm lagoon appeared thanks to human activity, namely, the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power plant, which needed somewhere to store excess pumped water. The Blue Lagoon is located near international airport Iceland and is one of the island's largest tourist attractions. Its highly mineralized water is believed to have beneficial effects on the skin (Photo: Michelle Lee/Flickr.com). 
5. Emerald Lake in Szczecin (in Poland) got its name because of its color. The emerald hue of the water is given by the high content of calcium carbonate, formed as a result of the breakdown of calcite. The lake is located right on the site of an ancient chalk and marl mine. During mining operations, on July 16, 1925, the miners reached a layer of sand from which water began to ooze. The mine was partially flooded, and the remains of mining equipment can still be found at the bottom of the lake. Fortunately, all the workers managed to escape during the flooding. (Photo: Tomasz Przywecki/Flickr.com). 
6. This huge yellow mountain is not the beginning of the construction of a pyramid, but a landfill formed as a result of oil sands mining. A byproduct of this process is sulfur, which miners don't quite know what to do with. The employees of the Syncrude company came up with a brilliant idea: to make an unusual, but very attractive pyramid out of sulfur. (Photo: Gord McKenna/Flickr.com). 
7. Desert in the center of Europe? The Błędowska Desert is a huge area of flying sand, with an area of 33 square kilometers(and in the worst times 150 square kilometers), which lies on the border of the Silesian Upland and the Fatherland Plateau in Poland. It was formed as a result of human activity, including deforestation and the development of mining and metallurgy. The groundwater level there has dropped so low that plants have stopped growing. (Photo: Dominique Cappronnier/Flickr.com). 
8. These unusual, colorful lakes right in the middle of the mountains in the US state of Utah are so-called evaporation reservoirs. They are used to gradually evaporate water in the process of producing potash (potassium carbonate), which is used today mainly in the production of fertilizers. (Photo: Doc Searls/Flickr.com). Many of these natural phenomena are impressive in their unusualness and mysterious origin, but behind this lies natural processes, such as a volcanic eruption or a meteorite fall.
Great Blue Hole
Outside Belize, a country in South America, there is an almost perfect round hole, the diameter of which is 0.4 km. The water depth in this hole is -145 m, which gives it a deep blue color. Tourists from all over the world dive into Belize's Great Blue Hole to admire the amazing fish species in its clear waters. This fascinating geological feature is believed to have been formed billions of years ago when water rose above the caves.
Eye of the Sahara
The Sahara Desert in Mauritania is home to one of the most amazing geological wonders, the Eye of the Sahara, also called the Richat Structure. In the middle of this barren desert land you can see a bull's eye-like formation that is 50 km in diameter. Spaceship crews even use the Eye of the Sahara as a landmark. It was initially believed that the Eye of the Sahara was caused by a meteorite falling to Earth. But scientists now believe that this geological creation was formed by the uplift and erosion of the earth.
Hell Gate
Darvaza is a city in Turkmenistan that is home to an impressive geological formation called the Gates of Hell. This hole in the ground has inexhaustible reserves of flammable gas. It is believed that about 35 years ago, geologists who were drilling into the ground to find gas dug too deep and the ground caved in. The geologists did not dare climb into the hole to retrieve their equipment. Fearing that poisonous gas might come out of the ground, they set fire to the gas in the hole and since then the fire has been burning here constantly.
Ice towers of Erebus
On the coldest continent of Antarctica lies Erebus, a volcanic mountain covered with hundreds of ice towers. The towers are located at a height of 20 meters and constantly emit steam. When the steam freezes in the cold, the inner walls of the towers grow and expand. These earthly geological creations are similar to the towers on the planet Mars, on the moons of Saturn, Jupiter and Neptune. This constantly active volcano is another natural wonder where ice and fire meet. Erebus last erupted in 1978.
Devil's boulders
The Australian Aborigines who live here call the Devil's Boulders Karlu Karlu. These huge round boulders of red granite are located against the backdrop of a beautiful landscape. The diameter of these boulders can range from 50 cm to 60 m in cross section. Some are arranged in a very bizarre way, balancing on top of each other. Devil's Boulders formed millions of years ago when molten magma found its way beneath sandstone and cooled to form granite.
Years and factors environment caused erosion, thanks to which today we can observe these amazing natural phenomena. For Australian Aborigines, Devil's Boulders have a special spiritual meaning.
Reed Flute Cave
The Reed Flute Cave in Guangxi Autonomous Region of China is a famous landmark, also called the Palace of Natural Arts. Natural limestone caves are filled with amazing and bizarre icicle-like formations and rock formations with the added effect of colored lighting.
This geological feature was named after the reeds found outside the cave, which are used to make musical flutes. Its length is about 240 m and it is a huge area with a beautiful landscape. The site is ancient as there are inscriptions on its walls from the Tang Dynasty dating back to 792 AD.
Salar de Uyuni
The Uyuni Salt Flat is located in the southwestern part of Bolivia. This geological wonder is the largest dry salt lake, located more than 3000 m above the Andes, with an area of more than 10,000 km 2.
This unique landscape was formed by numerous layers of salt and water. In the middle of the salt marsh, the thickness of the salt reaches 10 m. When it rains, the Salar de Uyuni sinks and looks like a huge mirror. It is believed that it was formed by the confluence of geothermal springs and salt lakes. Several species of pink flamingos gather here to breed.
Antelope Canyon
The most photographed canyon in the southwestern United States is Antelope Canyon. It is located on Navajo Nation land in Arizona. The Navajo people call it Tse bighanilini, which means “the place where water flows through the rocks.” Antelope Canyon is divided into two separate canyons, Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon.
As rainwater flows through the area, it smoothes the rocks, giving them a curving shape. Antelope Canyon was formed during severe floods that eroded rock formations that opened up passages that reveal deep corridors with interesting rock shapes. In 2006, authorities closed Antelope Canyon for 5 months due to flooding.
Chocolate Hills
More than 50 km? Bohol Province in the Philippines is home to a geological creation called the Chocolate Hills. There is actually no chocolate on these hills, but all the hills, estimated to be between 1,268 and 1,776, appear chocolate brown in the dry season. Chocolate Hills is the third National Geological Monument in the Philippines and is featured on the flag of the Bohol province. Chocolate hills have a perfectly uniform shape, and their height is about 30-50 m. According to one version, they were formed during self-destruction active volcano. According to legend, they were formed from the tears of a giant who lost his love.
Stone forest
The Tsingy-du-Bemaraha Nature Reserve in Madagascar is a World Heritage UNESCO and a place where you can see the Stone Forest. The stone forest consists of tall and extensive eroded limestone, covering an area of 666 km², resembling limestone towers. Locals They warn you that this is not a place where you can walk barefoot as the terrain is quite steep. They live in the Stone Forest unique species animals such as white lemur.
