There are lots of natural wonders in Missouri like caves, lakes, mountains, rivers, and waterfalls.  There are also natural disasters like tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, and sinkholes.  Natural phenomenon are a little less common - things that cannot be easily explained, or even explained at all.  Fire tornadoes, spooklights, ice quakes and geological oddities...all things that you may not have heard of before.  There have been those who have given explanations for these things, and perhaps science with deep study has a better grasp on them, but for those of us regular folks, they are just odd and confusing.

1. Fire Tornado, Chillicothe

Fire tornados are extremely rare and can form when intense heat combines with high winds. The grass fire causes a "thermal" (the "tornado"). When hot air rises rapidly, air rushes in from outside to replace it, and it swirls just like the water in a toilet, going up instead of down.

2. Spooklights

Just west of Hornet, you will find the "Devil’s Promenade," a well-known bizarre visual phenomenon also known as a "spooklight." There is also one near Senath. These strange lights are often mistaken for ghosts and UFOs, and are mostly seen at night. Globes of light in different colors, shapes and sizes have been explained away as headlights, swamp gas, electrical charges and more. In truth, it’s a complete mystery with so many reported sightings that it’s hard to deny their existence.

3. Cryoseism “Ice Quakes”

There have been several reports of "ice quakes" in Missouri. Actually known as "cryoseism," initial indications often appear similar to those of an earthquake. Tremors, vibrations, ground cracking and related noises occur, but unlike an earthquake, an ice quake has high intensity in a very localized area. It is believed that they are caused by a sudden cracking action in frozen soil or rock that is saturated with water or ice. The water drains into the ground, eventually freezing and expanding under colder temperatures. This puts stress on its surroundings and builds up until it is relieved explosively in the form of a cryoseism.

4. Crowley’s Ridge – at Morris State Park

Crowley’s Ridge is an unusual formation simply explained as erosion, but it’s much more special. The ridge rises 200 feet above the Mississippi River’s floodplain for 150 miles, from the Bootheel area of southeast Missouri into northern Arkansas. The land is preserved by the Department of Natural Resources as a natural area because of the unusual soil types and rare plant species found there. There are more than 300 different types of plant species, 19 of which are found in Missouri only on Crowley’s Ridge. At Morris State Park there is a two-mile hiking trail with a walkway and interpretative panels, leading to an overlook. Visitors can learn about the unique geological oddity that is Crowley’s Ridge.

Have you experienced any of these phenomenon?  Visited Morris State Park?  What was your experience?  What do you think of these oddities?  Share in the comments below.