Environment
"It’s filled with dangerous species. If provoked one will use its claw to rip open the soft bellies of humans to devastating effect."
"There's no life there, period. At least not in the last 20-30,000 years or so...”
A frozen desert at the edge of Antarctica, the McMurdo Dry Valleys offer a rare glimpse into one of the harshest – and most Mars-like – environments on Earth.
“The crushing pressure can be anywhere between 100 to 400 atmospheres, which would kill a human instantaneously.”
Between 1,000 and 4,000 metres deep, there isn’t any sunlight at all so creatures find new strategies to survive
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Satellite images reveal more than 1,000 unmapped coral reefs in Australia
The discovery of thousands of previously unchartered coral reefs could reinforce conservation efforts in northern Australian waters, say researchers.
The Colorado River vanished for 5 million years. Scientists may have just figured out where it went
University of California researchers may have solved the mystery of the US river's disappearance from the geological record.
It can be seen from space, is the size of Morocco and home to animals found nowhere else on Earth
Fungi may survive extreme conditions of Mars and space, say scientists
New study suggests microbes could survive the long trip to Mars
It's the size of Gambia and one and a half times deeper than the Grand Canyon – Discover Earth’s most mysterious underwater giant
"Sand pours off and disappears below like an underwater waterfall. This eerie phenomenon looks like a monstrous plume of smoke being dragged down into the darkness"
Plummeting down for more than 200 metres, Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas is one of the world’s deepest blue holes
Nearly as big as Wales, hotter than 50°C – Inside the inhospitable and rugged Death Valley, where not everyone gets out alive - yet inconceivably wildlife thrives
Welcome to one of the harshest, hottest most inhospitable places on Earth
This 2-billion-year-old giant is 14km long and rises almost 3km into the sky. And it's home to a hairy carnivore
Some of the planet's rarest – and strangest – animals and plants live on the top of South America's otherworldly Mount Roraima.
It ruptured the eardrums of sailors, was heard thousands of miles away and the pressure wave circled the Earth
What’s the loudest noise recorded in history? Well, it depends on how you measure it
These crabs are racing up the US coastline – and scientists think they know why
The mangrove fiddler crab is being found hundreds of kilometres north of its traditional range. Here's what's going on
‘Pet food accounts for similar levels of global greenhouse gas emissions to the entirety of the Philippines.’ Which animal has the highest carbon footprint?
While it’s a term we mostly use in relation to humans, can we work out the carbon footprint of animals?
Thylacine paintings discovered in Australian cave less than 1,000 years old, say scientists. Here's why that's a big deal
The carnivorous marsupial is widely thought to have gone extinct on mainland Australia about 3,000 years ago. Artworks found recently in Northern Territory suggests otherwise.
Why San Francisco Bay has suddenly become a death trap for gray whales
Climate change is pushing starving gray whales into California's San Francisco Bay, where they are often hit and killed by boats, according to a new study.
It's home to the largest concentration of crocodiles on the planet – 10 million of these ferocious reptiles to be precise. Swimming here is inadvisable...
In the flooded forests and winding rivers of South America’s vast wetlands the black caiman reigns as one of the most formidable predators alive today.
It's the size of Los Angeles and simply crawling with deadly alligators, black bears and highly venomous snakes
Emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal declared Endangered
Climate change is pushing these Antarctic species to the brink
Satellite images reveal hidden cause of melting glaciers in Greenland
A new study has found that meltwater lakes at the edge of the Greenland ice sheet are accelerating the flow of major glaciers, potentially contributing to global sea level rise.
“It was just bones all over the floor.” Fossil hunters make astounding discovery in Texan water cave
A flooded cave in central Texas has yielded the remains of Ice Age animals that have never been found in the region before…
It's bigger than London, teeming with a staggering 30,000 dangerous alligators and is one of the deadliest lakes on the planet
it's not advisable to swim in this lake...
It's as big as Belgium, 25 million years old, 10 times deeper than the English Channel - and home to an animal that exists nowhere else on the planet
“It’s so dry that NASA has used parts of it to test Mars rovers.” 6 extreme places on Earth where you can still find life
Unusual lifeforms can still be found in the most unexpected (and extreme) environments, from the driest deserts to boiling deep-sea vents
