Nobody Planned This (8 Photos)

November 4, 2026

By Vidar

Accidental Landmarks Around the World

Some of these began as mistakes, like a leaking well or a river that broke loose. Others are simply leftovers from drilling, mining and dumping. None were built for visitors, yet people now travel to see them, and two beaches have rules against taking pieces home.

🌋 Fly Geyser — Washoe County, Nevada, USA 🇺🇸

In 1964 a company drilled a well on a ranch in the Nevada desert looking for geothermal power, found the water too cold for the job and capped it. Water kept escaping anyway, and the minerals it left behind built a colorful mound. The reds and greens are not paint. They come from algae living in the hot water.

💡 Visit Fact: The geyser is on private land owned by the Burning Man Project since 2016, so you can only see it up close on guided nature walks on select Saturdays, roughly April to mid-November.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsFly GeyserGeothermal test well · 1964 · Fly Ranch, Nevada1964 test wellBurning Man land since 20161A geothermal energy company drilled a test well here in 1964, and the colorful geyser grew from it.KSL.com2Burning Man Project bought the roughly 3,800-acre Fly Ranch for $6.5 million in 2016.Burning Man Journal200520 MayPhotographed (the post’s photo) · Commons date200916 OctPhotographed spraying · camera date201610 JunBurning Man Project buys Fly Ranch · official201723 OctPhotographed from a distance · camera date20186 AprOpens to public walks for first time in two decades · news20221 MayPhotographed on a nature walk · camera date202519 AprNature walk to the geyser scheduled · event listing202611 Apr2026 walk season listed (to 14 Nov) · tourism listingMore photos2009 Fly Geyser spraying in low sunPhoto: Ken Lund / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)Read the full file →

📷 Photo and cover crop: “Fly Geyser in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada” by Jeremy C. Munns / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

🫙 Glass Beach — Fort Bragg, California, USA 🇺🇸

For decades people in Fort Bragg threw their trash over the cliffs into the ocean, at dump sites used between 1906 and 1967. The waves ground the bottles into smooth pebbles, and the old dump became a beach. Look closely and you can spot a blue piece among the white and brown.

💡 Rule Fact: The beach is part of MacKerricher State Park, and the park map is blunt: no sea glass may be taken. The glass is thinning, but in 2012 the city decided not to pay to restock it.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsGlass BeachFort Bragg dump sites · 1906–1967 · Fort Bragg, CaliforniaDump sites 1906–1967MacKerricher State ParkNo glass collecting1Between 1906 and 1967, Fort Bragg residents used the coastal bluffs as dumping grounds.Visit California2Glass Beach is part of MacKerricher State Park, and no sea glass may be taken.California State Parks1967City dump closed · land trust2002Bought by California State Parks (October) · land trust20067 SepDense glass photographed in the surf · camera date201221 JunTravel story published · National Geographic201616 JanPhotographed (the post’s photo) · camera date202114 OctSea glass among pebbles photographed · camera date202612 MarReported depleted but still glassy · newsMore photos2006 Dense sea glass in the surfPhoto: Jef Poskanzer / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)2021 Sparser sea glass among dark pebblesPhoto: Grendelkhan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: “Sea Glass on Glass Beach near Fort Bragg, CA” by Ryanx7 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

🍾 Glass Bay — Ussuri Bay, Vladivostok, Russia 🇷🇺

A city dump opened beside this bay near Vladivostok in 1967, and bottles from it washed down and broke on the rocks. Decades of waves did the rest. Almost every “pebble” in this photo is old glass.

💡 Storm Fact: Typhoon Maysak hit the bay in September 2020, and local news site PrimaMedia reported that the beach no longer lived up to its name, with small pebbles mixed with sand where the glass had been. Taking glass home is prohibited. This photo was taken before the storm.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsGlass BayUssuri Bay, Vladivostok, RussiaSea-tumbled glassTyphoon Maysak 2020Glass removal banned1Typhoon Maysak’s storm on 3 September 2020 washed the sea-polished glass off part of the shore.PrimaMedia2A 2024 study describes a real, observed decline in the beach’s glass and proposes artificially tumbling glass to compensate.FEFU Engineering School Bulletin1967City dump built on the shore · Visit Primorye201821 JunGlass-covered shore photographed · camera date (Commons page says 1 May 2019)20205 SepStorm on 3 Sep washed glass from part of the beach · reported by PrimaMedia202412 JulTumbled glass brought to the beach in the ‘Shards of the Sea’ action · EastRussia202425 JulGlass shore photographed · camera date2024Study describes observed decline in glass concentration · FEFU Engineering School Bulletin2025Photo album published 11 Jul 2025 (visit in May 2025) · T-Zh20267 AugResident collects glass to restore the beach · OSNMore photos2024 Glass and pebbles along the shorelinePhoto: Lumaca / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)Read the full file →

📷 Photo and cover crop: “Glass Bay in Vladivostok has a unique feature, it is strewn with pieces of broken glass” by Angelikagub / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

🧂 The Salton Sea — Bombay Beach, California, USA 🇺🇸

This desert lake was never meant to exist. In 1905 floods broke through a temporary diversion of the Colorado River built for irrigation, and the water poured into a dry desert basin for about two years before the breach was repaired in 1907. These salt-crusted wooden posts stand in the shallows at Bombay Beach, one of the lakeside towns from its resort years.

💡 Lake Fact: At its resort peak the lake drew more than 1.5 million visitors a year. It is shrinking now, and the state recreation area is open with some services cut.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe Salton Sea at Bombay BeachColorado River breach · 1905 · Bombay Beach, CaliforniaFormed 1905Terminal lake1The present Salton Sea formed in 1905 when Colorado River floodwater broke through a temporary irrigation diversion.Salton Sea Authority2Floodwaters kept filling the sea until the Southern Pacific Railroad closed the river breach in February 1907.Salton Sea Authority1905Temporary Colorado River diversion breached by floods · official history1907FebSouthern Pacific Railroad closes the breach · official history1955Salton Sea State Park dedicated · official history200811 AprAbandoned trailer on the salt-white Bombay Beach shore · camera date20097 NovWater still reaches the old pier at sunset · camera date201524 MaySalt-encrusted piers photographed · camera date202231 DecAbandoned boat photographed in Bombay Beach · camera date202420 MayPier remains by the receding shoreline · news20264 NovRecreation area open with restrictions; Bombay Beach Campground closed · official page, last checked 4 Nov 2026More photos2008 Wrecked trailer on the salt-crusted Bombay Beach shorePhoto: Alexander Novati / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)2009 Bombay Beach shoreline at sunset with the old pier in the waterPhoto: Matthew Dillon (RuggyBearLA) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)Read the full file →

📷 Photo and cover crop: “Pillars of Salt” by Chris Hunkeler / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

🛢️ Crystal Geyser — near Green River, Utah, USA 🇺🇸

An oil seep near Green River led to a well being drilled here in 1935. The well hit water and carbon dioxide under high pressure, not oil, and was abandoned. What it left behind is a cold-water geyser driven by that gas, and iron in its water has stained these terraces orange.

💡 Geyser Fact: Its eruptions have become lower and less reliable. The Utah Geological Survey says visitors dropping rocks down the borehole likely plugged it, less than 50 feet down.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCrystal GeyserRuby No. 1 oil well · Green River, UtahCold-water CO2 geyserAbandoned oil wellWell depth 2,627 ft1An oil exploration well hit pressurized carbon dioxide instead of oil and left a cold-water geyser that quickly became an attraction.Utah Geological Survey2Visitors dropping rocks down the borehole likely plugged it, making eruptions lower and less reliable.Utah Geological Survey1935Ruby No. 1 oil well drilled · Utah Geological Survey1952USGS describes the Glen Ruby well as Crystal Geyser · USGS Circular 129200511 OctEruption photographed · date in file description201823 JulOrange terraces photographed · camera date20202 JulGeyser photographed · camera date202317 MayErupting again after years · ABC4 news202312 JunDrawing visitors after a wet winter · KSL news202612 AprGeologist-led field trip to the geyser scheduled · city pageMore photos2005 Crystal Geyser erupting near its peakPhoto: Gouveia2 / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: “Calcium carbonate deposit at Crystal Geyser, Grand County, Utah” by Kenneth Carpenter / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

⛰️ Monte Kali — Heringen, Germany 🇩🇪

That white peak above Heringen is not snow. It is common salt, the leftover from potash mining, piled up since 1976 until it stood over 820 feet (250 meters) above the land around it. The heap was planned, but only as a dump. Nobody planned a landmark, yet it got the nickname “Kalimanjaro.”

💡 Growth Fact: The local potash mining museum says about 1,000 metric tons are added per operating hour, excluding breaks. Guided climbs run from March to October.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsMonte KaliK+S potash plant · 1976 · Heringen, GermanyPotash salt heapStarted 1976Guided climbs Mar–Oct1The official visitor site says about 1,000 metric tons of salt are added per hour, excluding breaks in delivery.Monte Kali official site2Dumping on the heap began in 1976 with the introduction of the ESTA process.Monte Kali official site1976Dumping began with the ESTA process · official site200526 MayHeap photographed from the south · camera date20083 MaySalt being stacked on the summit · camera date200929 JunAerial view of the heap · camera date202024 JunPhotographed above Heringen · camera date2020About 15 ha expansion approved in September · official site202314 JanTravel feature on ‘Germany’s oddest mountain’ · news202611 Oct2026 climbing season ended · official siteMore photos2005 Monte Kali, a long flat-topped salt ridge above the forestPhoto: 2micha / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)2008 The stacker pouring salt on the summitPhoto: Kuebi = Armin Kübelbeck / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)2009 Aerial view with the potash plant and Heringen beside itPhoto: Wolkenkratzer / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: “Kalisalzberg Monte Kali bei Heringen” by Fiver, der Hellseher / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

💧 Blue Lagoon — Svartsengi, Iceland 🇮🇸

This milky blue water started as runoff. Shortly after the Svartsengi power plant opened in 1976, its used geothermal water formed pools in the lava field, and its high silica content gives it that color. In 1981 a psoriasis patient went in for a bath, and the lagoon slowly turned into one of Iceland’s best-known spas.

💡 Volcano Fact: Lava from the nearby eruptions reached the lagoon on November 22, 2024 and destroyed its parking lot. The spa says it is open every day of the year, but Iceland’s weather office still warns of magma building up under Svartsengi.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsBlue LagoonSvartsengi power plant · 1976 · Grindavík, IcelandFormed from 1976Geothermal brineSpa built 19991At Svartsengi, separated brine from the geothermal plant began forming a discharge pond that became the foundation of the Blue Lagoon.HS Orka2Lava flowed over the Blue Lagoon’s parking lot during the November 2024 eruption; a new lot inside protective barriers opened in December.The Reykjavík Grapevine1976Geothermal use begins; brine starts forming the lagoon · official1981People bathe in the warm geothermal water · company history1992Blue Lagoon Ltd. founded · company history1999Lagoon moved to current site and spa built · company history202330 AprLagoon with Þorbjörn photographed · camera date202421 NovLava flows over the parking lot; spa evacuated · news202415 DecNew parking lot opens inside the barriers · news202517 JulReopened after the July 2025 eruption · news20265 FebSteaming lagoon and spa building photographed · camera date202627 OctMet Office: uplift and magma build-up continue under Svartsengi · officialMore photos2026 Steam over the lagoon and the spa building on a winter morningPhoto: G. Edward Johnson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: “Blue Lagoon resort with Þorbjörn Mountain in the background, Iceland” by Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

⚠️ The Harpur Hill Lagoon — Buxton, England 🇬🇧

This looks like somewhere to swim, but please don’t. Groundwater flooded part of a disused quarry at Harpur Hill, and waste from old lime burning pushed the water to a pH of 11.3, about as strong as household ammonia. The warning signs listed car wrecks, dead animals, excrement and trash in the water.

💡 Color Fact: People kept swimming anyway, so in 2013 the local council dyed the lagoon black. The dye wore off over time, and the blue came back.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsHarpur Hill LagoonHoffman Quarry · Harpur Hill, BuxtonFlooded quarryAlkaline waterPrivate land1High Peak Borough Council says the quarry water is toxic and the site is privately owned land the public should not enter.High Peak Borough Council2The fire service says the water has a pH comparable to bleach, with old cars and animal carcasses beneath the surface.Derbyshire Times201213 MayBlue lagoon photographed · camera date201311 JunCouncil reported dyeing the water black · news202029 MayDyed black again at 5am by council and fire service · newsRead the full file →