To end the year, we wanted to share a photo post of some of the most amazing places on earth. Whether you ever travel to see all of them in person or not, it entices the imagination just knowing they are out there…
1. The Great Blue Hole, in Belize
The Great Blue Hole is actually an underwater sinkhole, off the coast of Belize. The atoll is the Lighthouse Reef.
2. Mount Roraima
The surface of Mount Roraima when surrounded by clouds looks like it’s the only place remaining on earth. It is a tabletop mountain on the border of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana, only accessible from a steep slope from Venezuela, since the other sides are sheer cliffs. Spectacular waterfalls cascade from it’s heights. Being isolated, there are some unique plant and animal species to be found on Mount Roraima.
3. Socotra
Socotra Island is another isolated location that boasts it’s own collection of weird plant life and unique animals. It is one of a group of islands of the coast of Africa, but if you didn’t know better, you might think you were on Mars instead from looking at the extremely weird landscape.
4. Giant’s Causeway
Giant’s Causeway in Ireland is a top destination for travelers to the Emerald Isle. The Causeway is made up of columns of basalt that interlock into an intricate pattern, and in some places rise high to form chimneys.
5. Lençóis Maranhenses
The Lençóis Maranhenses National Park is an oasis of sand dunes in Brazil. In spite of regular rainfall (it is not a desert) there are no plants. Surprising small lagoons fill the spaces between the dunes during the rainy season, reaching their peak between July and September. The lagoons are filled with fish (whose eggs are presumably brought in by birds from nearby bodies of water) an the inhabitants of the park fish the lagoons.
Truly a visual contradiction – lagoons in the desert.
6. Wave Rock
Wave Rock near Hyden in Western Australia is a natural rock formation that resembles a huge ocean wave just about to break. As you can tell from the pictures here, it is a good site for some fun photography tricks.
7. Spotted Lake
Spotted Lake is found near Osoyoos in British Columbia, Canada. Great concentrations of various minerals as well as lesser amounts of silver and titanium combine to give the pools their intense coloration. When the water evaporates during the summer, the minerals remain and form the spots. The area was purchased by the First Nations in 2001 and set aside as a sacred and therapeutic site.