Digging Crystals of Oklahoma's at Great Salt Plains

When you first approach the crystal digging area on the west end of the Great Salt Plains, it looks like beautiful white water. Well, The Great Salt Plains in Alfalfa County, in northwestern Oklahoma, is the only place in the world where hourglass-shaped selenite crystals are found. Thousands of thousands years ago this area was covered by a large inland sea. As the time passes the sear was ultimately cut off and the water disappeared away, leaving behind thick layers of salt that were consequently covered by dirt and erosion from nearby mountain ranges. Hence as groundwater upsurges to the surface through the salt-saturated sand, it takes salt along with it and sums them on the surface as a thin crust. It is the concentrated saline solution uniting with gypsum that stimulates the growth of selenite, a crystalline form of gypsum. Therefore, these crystals are found buried only a few feet below the surface, under an area that’s 11,000 square miles in size. Moreover, the crystals may form very quickly, as when substantial rains or floods bring great quantities of freshwater to the plains, some of the selenite crystals may go back into solution until conditions are right for recrystallization.

Moreover, Gypsum crystals are affected by the surroundings they grow in. Ultimately the finer soil result in the clearer the crystals. The color of crystals found on the Great Salt Plains are chocolate brown due to the presence of iron oxide in the soil, and since these crystals form in wet soil, sand and clay particles are included within the crystal. These particles often form an "hourglass" shape inside the crystal. This hourglass shape is exclusive to selenite crystals that produce on the Salt Plains of northwest Oklahoma. Furthermore, aside from hourglass-shaped crystals, single crystal blades, penetration twins, and clusters are also found here. Therefore, some crystals that have been found here measured up to 7 inches long, and multifaceted combinations weighed as much as 38 pounds. Since these crystals are so exceptional, they were selected as the State Crystal of Oklahoma in 2005 and Great Salt Plains itself is a protected State Park. But, every year starting from April and October, the west edge of the Great Salt Lake is opened up digging, enticing rock enthusiasts from all over America and beyond. Therefore collectors are well permitted to take up to ten pounds of crystals, but for personal use only. Make sure selling of crystals is illegal.

Mysterious “Wheel Of Giants” Is As Old As Stonehenge

A mysterious stone circle in the Middle East is estimated to be nearly 5,000 years old a similar age to Stonehenge and may have been used for gruesome sky burials. However “Stonehenge” is believed to date back around 4,614 years.  Thei prehistoric stone monument of Rujm el-Hiri means (stone heap of the wild cat) or Hebrew name Gilgal Refaim means (wheel of giants) went unnoticed for many centuries in the disputed region of the Golan Heights.

However, the mystery remains about why the monument was built. It's known in Arabic as Rujm el-Hiri, or "stone heap of the wild cat," and Gilgal Refaim in Hebrew, which means "Wheel of Giants" and refers to a race of giants mentioned in the Bible. It is easily said to be one of most mysterious structures in Middle East’s, but it's easy to miss from the roadside. Archaeologists believes, it’s dated is way back to 5,000 years old but they still don't know the purpose and why this was built? Moreover several interesting theories include an ancient calendar, or a “sky burial” site in which dead bodies were placed on top of stone mounds to be picked apart by vultures. The first image was released in 1967 when Israel captured the territory of Syria during a six day war. Hence, a number of excavations have revealed one of the oldest and largest structures in this region. The explorers believe, construction has built as early as 3,500 BC and other notable parts have added to structure about 2,000 years ago.

Well, it's an enigmatic site, on megalithic tombs with the Israel Antiquities Authority, and scientist come and is amazed by the site and think up their own theories. However, standing on the ground inside the structure looks like a labyrinth of crumbling stone walls overgrown with weeds. Therefore, only from the air does the inspiring shape of a gigantic bull's-eye clearly emerge easily remained a mystery for millennia and thought the monument could have astronomical significance and may have been used as an observatory.

Malham Cove Waterfall Restore after 200 Years

The beautiful natural limestone amphitheater Malham Cove in the village of Malham, North Yorkshire, England, was lovely carved by a waterfall carrying meltwater from glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age more than 12,000 years ago. This was a massive waterfall almost 80 meters tall and more than 300 meters wide. Nowadays, this famous majestic beauty spot is as dry as a bone as water flows through cracks and tunnels within the limestone cliff to begin at the foot of the limestone cliff well before it reaches the cliff edge. Therefore, it was an ancient waterfall recently brought back to new life for a brief period by Storm Desmond that has been raging across Great Britain since December 3 2015. However, nobody remembers for definite when the waterfall was last flowed.

Therefore, some legends say it was probably two hundred years ago, when it was overwhelmed by the nonstop rainfall, water flowed over the top of the white limestone rocks of Malham Cove, fleetingly making it England's highest unbroken waterfall. Malham waterfall drop is around two-and-a-half times bigger than England's current record holder, “Hardraw Force”, also in the Yorkshire Dales, which measuring around 30 meters. Moreover Martin Davies, the general manager of the National Trust Malham Tarn Estate, said the waterfall may have already finished flowing but could possibly start again when additional heavy rainfall is predictable on future. Therefore local peoples are praying to restore the era of waterfalls to boost the tourism. 

1,400-year-old Tree Still Sheds Golden Leaves

Once a year, this majestic 1,400-year-old tree showcases a transition into fall in a remarkable way and its countless leaves change into a radiant shade of gold. The tree is located within the walls of the Gu Guanyin Buddhist Temple, in the Zhongnan Mountain region of China; this wonderful autumnal display entices travelers from all over the world. Therefore, as the leaves fall and make a vibrant ocean of gold, tourists leap at the opportunity to capture photographs of the colorful carpet. The ginkgo tree sometimes referred to as a “living fossil” because, despite all the drastic climate changes, it has remained unchanged for more than 200 million years. Though, in late autumn, when the Gingko literally Silver Berry in Chinese tree sheds its leaves, throngs of tourists will gather in the ancient Buddhist temple to have a high regard for the wonderful views of the old Gingko tree in its finest glory before winter.

Hence, it is thought to be planted for “Emperor Li Shimin”, the founding father of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), this well-known tree draws people attention from all over China. The gingko tree is also famous as a maidenhair tree, actually an ancient species that is native to China. Moreover the magical yellow color that it adopts in the fall, this specific species of tree is also brilliantly useful, serving as a source of food and equipped with numerous medical benefits that are known in traditional Eastern medicine. This predominantly impressive millennia-old Gingko tree is definitely popular, but as a species this tree is also widely respected for its wealth of benefits and ancient ties to the region.

Wild Scotland

For my second aerial film, entitled ‘Wild Scotland’, I wanted to showcase some of the wilderness this magnificent country has to offer. From the Highlands and Islands on the west coast to John O’Groats and North Berwick on the east I’ve captured just a fraction of the stunning wilderness which Scotland has to offer.

I’ve spent the last few months travelling up and down the country capturing locations, carefully planning my schedule to take advantage of the best light, be that dawn or dusk. Along the way I’ve been lucky to pick up some unexpected shots such as deer near Ardnamurchan and a large group of seals in a bay near John O’ Groats at the very top of the British mainland. I was lucky to experience a prolonged spell of good weather so filming this was a much faster process than for my first aerial film; Beautiful Scotland.

Making this film involved a series of mini adventures. Hiking up Bidein a'Ghlas Thuill at 3am in the pitch dark, to film the spectacular serrated ridge of An Teallach, and hearing stags roaring in the valleys below is a memory that will stay with me for a very long time. Also filming Bass Rock near North Berwick, which is home is to the world’s largest single rock Gannet colony with some 40,000 pairs of birds, at first light was a real treat.

The film was mostly shot on the DJI Inspire 1 and for the more remote locations I used the DJI Phantom 3 which can be packed in a backpack really easily. 

Big shout out to Drew Gibson who has done another magnificent job colour grading this and also to Pete Smith (thesoundspace.co.uk/) who created the sound mix. Cheers also to Rob Waugh (facebook.com/curiousrobinfilms) for feeding back throughout the edit and helping suggest locations.

Locations in order –

An Teallach
Ardnamurchan lighthouse
Bidein A’ Ghlas Thuill
Mangersta Sea Stacks, Isle of Harris
Suilven
Luskentyre Beach, Isle of Harris
Callanish Standing stones, Isle of Lewis
Duncansby Bay (Seal shot)
Tantallon Caslte
Bass Rock
Ardnamurchan
Duncansby sea stacks
Glen Etive
Castle Stalker
Arisaig
Forth Rail Bridge
Neist Point, Isle of Skye

Music again by the fantastic Tony Anderson – Eyes Wide Open

Wild Scotland from John Duncan on Vimeo.