These spectacular landscapes may look like something from another planet – but they are in fact colorful salt ponds which stretch for miles. Despite being better known for tech companies and expensive property – San Francisco, California is also home to this vibrant quilt of color spanning the South Bay Area. From eerie green pools to gothic shades of red the surreal landscapes are caused by the organisms or micro-algae living within them. Photo: Aerial view of the salt ponds in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Cris Benton/Caters News)

A worshipper wearing a kerchief with the image of the Our Lady of Fatima attends a mass at the Our Lady of Fatima shrine, in Fatima, central Portugal, Wednesday, May 13, 2015. Every year on May 12 and 13 tens of thousands of Catholic believers go on pilgrimage to the Fatima sanctuary to pray and attend masses where the apparitions of the Virgin Mary were witnessed by three shepherd children Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco in 1917. (Photo by Francisco Seco/AP Photo)

A man looks at members of the flash mob group calling themselves the «Brides of March» (“Grab a wedding dress and join the brides as we parade through the heart of San Francisco, strolling through Union Square, shopping at fancy stores and drinking at local bars!”) as they stand outside a bar March 18, 2006 in San Francisco. The flash mob group made their way through the streets stopping at bars, cafes, and several stores. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A drone flies above World Surf League World Title winner Hawaian surfer John John Florence during the final heat of the Portuguese stage of the World Surf League championship at Supertubos beach near Peniche, central Portugal, on October 25, 2016. (Photo by Francisco Leong/AFP Photo)

In advance of Fleet Week performances, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and Team Oracle aerobatics pilot Sean D. Tucker fly over the San Francisco Bay during a photo flight on Thursday, October 5, 2017. (Photo by Noah Berger/AP Photo)

Gold Rush, the cheerleaders for the San Francisco 49ers American football team, bring some sparkle of their own during a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on December 12, 2024. (Photo by Cary Edmondson/Imagn Images/Reuters)

Children walk behind their Morrocoye, a terrestrial tortoise native to South America, before a tortoise race held to celebrate the upcoming feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, in the town of San Francisco de Asis, Venezuela, on October 3, 2025. (Photo by /Juan Carlos Hernandez/Reuters)

A trio poses for a photo in front of the art installation Surrender (Flag) by John Gerrard of Ireland displayed in a courtyard of the Palacio de San Francisco, as part of the first art biennial in Bogota, Colombia, Tuesday, September 23, 2025. (Photo by Fernando Vergara/AP Photo)