List of natural phenomena

Last updated: 2025-08-17 18:00:34

List of natural phenomena

An aurora is a natural phenomenon.

A natural phenomenon is an observable event which is not man-made. Examples include: sunrise, weather, fog, thunder, tornadoes; biological processes, decomposition, germination; physical processes, wave propagation, erosion; tidal flow, and natural disasters such as electromagnetic pulses, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and earthquakes.^[1]^[2]

History

Over many intervals of time, natural phenomena have been observed by a series of countless events as a feature created by nature.

Physical phenomena

The act of:

Gallery

Crystal in VCGS furnace
Liquid hydrogen bubble chamber photograph of an anti-proton colliding with a proton
Children notice an effect of static electricity

Chemical phenomena

Oxidation
- Fire
- Rusting

Biological phenomena

Metabolism
- Catabolism
- Anabolism
- Decomposition – by which organic substances are broken down into a much simpler form of matter
- Fermentation – converts sugar to acids, gases and/or alcohol.
Growth
Birth
Death
Population decrease

Gallery

Decomposition:a decaying peach over a period of six days. Each frame is approximately 12 hours apart, as the fruit shrivels and becomes covered with mold.

Astronomical phenomena

Supernova

Geological phenomena

Mineralogic phenomena
Lithologic phenomena
- Rock types
  - Igneous rock
    - Igneous formation processes
  - Sedimentary rock
    - Sedimentary formation processes (sedimentation)
    - Quicksand
  - Metamorphic rock
Endogenic phenomena
- Plate tectonics
- Phenomena associated with igneous activity
  - Geysers and hot springs
  - Bradyseism
  - Volcanic eruption
- Earth's magnetic field
Exogenic phenomena
- Slope phenomena
  - Slump
  - Landslide
- Weathering phenomena
  - Erosion
- Glacial and peri-glacial phenomena
- Atmospheric phenomena
- Impact phenomena
  - Impact crater
Coupled endogenic-exogenic phenomena
- Orogeny
- Drainage development
  - Stream capture

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Geology: parabola-shaped lava flow illustrates Galileo's law of falling bodies, as well as blackbody radiation. The temperature can be discerned from the color of the blackbody.

Meteorological phenomena

Violent meteorological phenomena are called storms. Regular, cyclical phenomena include seasons and atmospheric circulation. climate change is often semi-regular.

Lightning strikes during the eruption of the Galunggung volcano in 1982
A tornado on May 3, 1999 in central Oklahoma

Atmospheric optical phenomena

A circumzenithal arc over Grand Forks, North Dakota

The Belt of Venus over Paranal Observatory atop Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile^[3]

Crepuscular rays at sunrise in Malibu, California

Atmospheric optical phenomena include:

A double rainbow at Minsi Lake, Pennsylvania

A sun pillar in Finistère, Brittany

Atmospheric optical phenomenon

Oceanographic

Oceanographic phenomena include tsunamis, ocean currents and breaking waves.

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Tsunami by Hokusai 19th century
Source: "Physiography for High Schools" by Albert L. Arey, Frank L. Bryant, William W. Clendenin, and William T. Morrey. 1911, USA.
Shoreline wave-breaking (surf); Human riding surfboard.

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Natural phenomena.

↑ Missy Allen; Michel Peissel (1993). Dangerous Natural Phenomena. Chelsea House. ISBN 079101794X.
↑ William R. Corliss (1977). Handbook of unusual natural phenomena. Sourcebook Project. ISBN 0915554011.
↑ "Belt of Venus over Cerro Paranal". Picture of the Week. ESO. Retrieved 14 August 2013.

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