Of Earth’s Most Breathtaking Natural Wonders

On the flat-topped mountain of Cerro Sarisariñama in southwest Venezuela, gravity has punched four perfectly circular holes nearly 1,000 feet deep into a landscape of remote rainforest.

On the frozen slopes of Mount Erebus, above the world’s most southerly active volcano, superheated gas rises from the Earth to form icy smokestacks in the Antarctic landscape.

Each summer, most of the water in this mineral-rich lake evaporates, leaving behind large concentrations of salt, titanium, and other minerals that form a polka-dot pattern.

These spherical stones can be up to 7 feet in diameter. They were formed by compacted sediment underground and then emerged when the surrounding layers of earth were washed away.

Dotted with clusters of mushroom-like white rocks, this desert owes its strange appearance to the wind

Another incredible cave system, this time it was created over centuries of wave erosion.

Discovered in 2000, this cave has some of the largest selenite crystals in the world.

One of South America’s largest lakes is also the highest commercially navigable lake in the world.

The highest waterfall in the world, water has been known to evaporate into mist before reaching the bottom.

The sight of this glacier’s blue peaks draws numerous visitors every year.

On the topic of big rocks, you can’t forget about the largest monolith (single rock) in the world.

Surrounded by cliffs on all sides, the top of this mountain has been isolated for thousands of years which has created an impressively unique ecosystem.

This 300 square kilometer caldera offers the best chances of seeing Africa’s wild animals. Lions, rhino, leopards, elephant, buffalo and nearly every other east African animal call this place home.

With a 604-meter drop from a flat plateau with no safety railings, this is not a place for vertigo sufferers.

At the world’s largest salt flat you’ll find plenty of interesting things, including a hotel made entirely of salt.

The lush green mountains ripple with slopes and ridges for more than 1,300 meters before dipping into the Pacific.

Spread over 350 square kilometers in Yunnan province, these stone needles look like an ancient petrified forest.

Among some of the highest cliffs in the world, Trango Tower rises a kilometer above the other granite spires in the vicinity.

This bay in Vietnam is filled with thousands of small islands and standing stacks that are overgrown with shrubbery.

Although this volcano inside a volcano has for the most part been closed off to the public, locals will still stop by every year to throw live chickens into the crater as part of the Kasada festival.