I know what it's called. It's called a mirage.
What do we know about mirages?
We know the ground or sky can seem to disappear and become like a mirror.
Inferior mirages
View attachment 26478
Here is the most typical mirage. The area that looks like water is not water, or a small lake, is not real, it is a mirage. The upright tent is real and is reflected off the mirage of water underneath it. The tent is located exactly where you see it. The color of the mountains are also reflected off the mirage which is why it's the same color.
View attachment 26479
In this pic the mirage again is the area that looks like water. The vehicle is real and is exactly where you see it. The vehicle is reflected underneath in a mirrored effect. The sky is also being mirrored or reflected and is why the color of the mirage matches the sky and looks like water.
View attachment 26480
Because the mirage in this pic reflects the sky right up to the horizon line the horizon line has disappeared where road meets the sky.
View attachment 26481
Here is a mirage off water that is reflecting the sky which is why it's the same color of the sky and does not look like the darked colored water in front of it. The island is real and located right where you see it. The island is also reflected off the mirage that looks like the sky underneath it just as in the land examples.
View attachment 26482
Here is an example of an inferior mirage over water in which an area of the water is reflecting the sky and causes the ship to look like it's in the sky. The ship is real and is exactly where you see it. The horizon line has disappeared because of the reflection of the sky of the mirage, just as in the land example.
In all these examples of an inferior mirage, the tent, the vehicle, the island, and the boat are real and exactly where you see them. Land and water can become like a mirror that reflects the sky and not resemble the ground or water it is on. The things above the mirage are not lifted up or elevated into the air. The ground or water beneath the tent, vehicle, island, and ship has been merely altered to look like water over land or look like the sky over water.
--Dave