Oaxacan wonder

Oaxacan wonder

© Piero Zanetti/500px/Getty Images

It's hard to tell from this perspective, but this otherwise unassuming dead tree sits right on the edge of a steep precipice. This lake isn't really a lake but one of several pools that emerge here from a mountain spring, trickling down the cliffside to create a permanent, calcified 'waterfall' of mineral deposits. This natural landmark of Oaxaca, Mexico, is called Hierve el Agua, meaning 'the water boils,' but the water here isn't hot—the name just refers to the bubbly action of the cold springs.

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