Places on Earth that Look like Mars

Landscapes of Mars? Some photoshop trick? No, these weird places are real...and a lot closer than they look. On earth, in fact! Take a look at these places on earth that look like Mars and see where they are really located on wall maps.

Rio Tinto, Spain 

The tinted waters of Rio Tinto in Spain give an eerie martian glow. Acidic with a pH of 2 and a deep redish hue, Rio Tinto looks both alien and beautiful. The extreme conditions in the river are analogous to other locations in the solar system thought to contain liquid water, such as subterranean Mars. The Rio Tinto is located in southwestern Spain, originates in the Sierra Morena mountains of Andalusia and flows to the Gulf of Cádiz at Huelva.

Lake Natron, Tanzania

The red coloration in lake Natron occurs as salt-loving microorganisms are colored red and use photosynthesize with red pigmented accessories. See it on a Wall Map of Tanzania!

Yellowstone National Park, USA

The weird colors of Yellowstone National Park are caused by the extremophiles living in very hot water. The landscape of Yellowstone National Park is varied and unusual due to the high concentration of geothermal features including geysers, volcanic activity and earthquakes.

And, finally, see a physical wall map of Mars, with all the physical features we have mapped despite the 50-100 million kilometers of distance between Earth and Mars.