Water rich in blue-green algae (cyanobacteria), mineral salts and fine silica mud at the geothermal spa that owes its existence to the Svartsengi geothermal power plant, Blue Lagoon, near Reykjavik, Iceland, Polar Regions

Water rich in blue-green algae (cyanobacteria), mineral salts and fine silica mud at the geothermal spa that owes its existence to the Svartsengi geothermal power plant, Blue Lagoon, near Reykjavik, Iceland, Polar Regions

Water rich in blue-green algae (cyanobacteria), mineral salts and fine silica mud at the geothermal spa that owes its existence to the Svartsengi geothermal power plant, Blue Lagoon, near Reykjavik, Iceland, Polar Regions

Aerial of the Trou du Natron volcanic crater and its natron lakes, Tibesti Mountains, Chad

Hierve el Agua (the water boils), water rich in minerals bubbles up from the mountains and pours over the edge, Oaxaca, Mexico, North America

Detail from the dramatic landscape of the Painted Hills, where rapid erosion has shaped colourful mineral-rich clays, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon, United States of America, North America

Hierve el Agua (the water boils), hot springs, water rich in minerals bubbles up from the mountains and pours over edge, Oaxaca, Mexico, North America

Hierve el Agua (the water boils), hot springs, water rich in minerals bubbles up from the mountains and pours over edge, Oaxaca, Mexico, North America

Hierve el Agua (the water boils), hot springs, water rich in minerals bubbles up from the mountains and pours over edge, Oaxaca, Mexico, North America

Hierve el Agua (the water boils), water rich in minerals bubbles up from the mountains and pours over edge, Oaxaca, Mexico, North America

Hierve el Agua (the water boils), hot springs, water rich in minerals bubbles up from the mountains and pours over edge, Oaxaca, Mexico, North America

Hierve el Agua (the water boils), water rich in minerals bubbles up from the mountains and pours over edge, Oaxaca, Mexico, North America

Hierve el Agua (the water boils), hot springs, water rich in minerals bubbles up from the mountains and pours over edge, Oaxaca, Mexico, North America

Miners at Pailaviri mine, Cerro Rico, Potosi, Bolivia

Scene in Pailaviri section, at right and down Pailaviri mine, Cerro Rico, Potosi, Bolivia

Miners at Pailaviri mine, Cerro Rico, Potosi, Bolivia

Scene in Pailaviri section, Cerro Rico, Potosi, Bolivia

Scene in Pailaviri section, Cerro Rico, Potosi, Bolivia

Goldnuggets, noble metal

Goldnuggets, noble metal

Tomb Submerged In A Travertine Pool In Hierapolis At Sunset, Pamukkale, Turkey

Tomb Submerged In A Travertine Pool In Hierapolis, Pamukkale, Turkey

Hot Springs And Travertines, Terraces Of Carbonate Minerals Left By The Flowing Water, Pamukkale, Turkey

Hot Springs And Travertines, Terraces Of Carbonate Minerals Left By The Flowing Water, Pamukkale, Turkey

Hot Springs And Travertines, Terraces Of Carbonate Minerals Left By The Flowing Water, Pamukkale, Turkey

Tomb Submerged In A Travertine Pool In Hierapolis, Pamukkale, Turkey

Hot Springs And Travertines, Terraces Of Carbonate Minerals Left By The Flowing Water, Pamukkale, Turkey

Grand Prismatic Spring, a bright turquoise pool and site of geothermal activity, with mineral rich deposits at the edge, Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao), drinking at mineral-rich waterhole, Yasuni National Park, Ecuador