Nature Riddles

I have a bed but never sleep, a mouth but never eat. I run all day but never tire. What am I?

I strike without warning, illuminate everything for a moment, then disappear without a trace. I am feared yet beautiful. What am I?

You feel me but cannot see me. I can be gentle or violent. I have no home yet I travel everywhere. I carry seeds, scatter leaves, and shape mountains over time. What am I?

I am useless when closed and useful only when open. I protect you from above but I do not cover your feet. What am I?

I fall but I am never injured. I run but I have no legs. I come from above and end up below. I am needed by all living things. What am I?

I am older than any king yet I bow to no one. I cannot move yet I have shaped the world. The higher you climb me the colder it gets. What am I?

I am born from water and killed by warmth. I am hard to the touch but soft in defeat. I float on the very thing I came from. What am I?

I am lighter than a feather yet I carry millions of tonnes. I have no shape yet I take every shape. I float even though I am enormously heavy. What am I?

I have eight legs and I build with what comes from inside me. My home catches my meals. I am feared by many but harm few. What am I?

Dressed in gold and black, I give the world sweetness. I live and die for my queen. Cross me and I wound myself in the process. What am I?

I am born in one form and die in a completely different one. I begin on the ground and end in the air. I am reborn without dying. What am I?

I have no legs yet I can move faster than a walk. I shed my skin and am reborn. I am ancient and feared across every culture. What am I?

I live in water and die in air. I breathe without lungs. I am silent yet my world is full of sound. What am I?

Two wings, two legs, but I live between sky and earth. I build my home in branches. I sing though I have no instrument. What am I?

I am a mountain that breathes fire. I have destroyed cities and created islands. I am terrifying yet I make the most fertile land on earth. What am I?

I have no warning and no mercy. I move the ground beneath your feet. I am caused by forces so deep you cannot see them. What am I?

I am a sea with no water and waves that never move. I cover a third of the earth's land surface. I am the hottest place by day and the coldest by night. What am I?

I am a river that moves in slow motion. I carve mountains as I creep. I hold most of the world's fresh water yet I am solid. What am I?

I appear after rain and disappear as you approach. I am made of light and water. I have seven colours but I have no end. What am I?

I am a cathedral built without hands. I am dark but I am full of sculpture. The deeper you go into me the more ancient the world becomes. What am I?

I am where the river surrenders to the sea. I am neither fresh nor salt. I am home to more life than almost anywhere on earth. What am I?

I am a season, not a storm. I feed a billion people with water yet I can also destroy. Half a continent holds its breath waiting for me. What am I?

I am a river that suddenly runs out of floor. I am loud yet the water that makes me has no idea I am coming. I wear away rock that has stood for millions of years. What am I?

I am the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth — larger than any dinosaur. I breathe air but I live in the sea. I sing songs that travel hundreds of miles. What am I?

I have eight arms, three hearts, and blue blood. I can change colour in an instant. I am considered the most intelligent invertebrate on Earth. What am I?

I wear every colour but my own. I move each eye independently. My tongue is longer than my body. What am I?

I never forget a face. I grieve my dead. I communicate through vibrations in the ground. I am the largest land animal on Earth. What am I?

I am a bird that chose the sea over the sky. I wear a tuxedo every day. I live where it is coldest yet I huddle together for warmth. What am I?

I am born in a river, grow up in the ocean, and return to the exact same river where I was born to lay my eggs and die. What am I?

I fly by sound rather than sight. I sleep upside down. I am the only mammal that truly flies. I pollinate many of the plants that feed you. What am I?

I am tiny but I can carry fifty times my own body weight. I have lived on Earth for over 100 million years. There are more of me on Earth than of any other insect. What am I?

I am an animal that builds cities. I look like a plant and move like a rock. My city is home to a quarter of all ocean species. What am I?

I am patient enough to carve a canyon over millions of years. I always find the lowest path. I start small and grow by gathering others. What am I?