A look at some of the truly breathtaking natural wonders of the world that no man can take credit for.
Sundarbans Forest
Largest tidal halophytic (salt-tolerant) mangrove forest in the world
Encompassing 10,000 sq. km., it is home to the Royal Bengal Tiger.
Name means ‘beautiful jungle’ or ‘beautiful forests’.
Located mostly in Bangladesh with the remaining in West Bengal.
The Dead Sea
Also referred to as ‘Sea of Salt’, the Dead Sea lies between Israel and the West Bank and Jordan.
At 1,378 feet below sea level, the shores are the lowest place on the earth’s surface.
It is 1,247 feet deep making it the deepest hyper saline lake in the world.
It is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean.
Sahara Desert
Largest hot desert in the world, covering 11 countries and accounts for 9,000,000 sq. km.
Boasts of sand dunes as high as 600 feet.
Home to several unusual and unique landforms, stone plateaus, salt flats, gravel plains, and arid valleys themselves considered “wonders”.
Ayers Rock
Large sandstone formation in central Australia.
Measures 9.6 kms around its base, it is referred to the ‘biggest pebble in the world’.
Also called ‘Uluru’, its notable feature is the changing of colours as sunlight strikes the rock at different times throughout the day. The stone looks bright crimson at sunrise and purple at sunset.
Grand Canyon
Carved by the Colorado River over millions of years in Arizona (USA).
It is 446 kms long, 6-29 kms wide and 1.6 kms deep.
It is also referred to as 'The Gateway to Heaven' by the local Hopi Indians.
Home to more than 300 species of birds including the Bald Eagle and California Condor (10 ft wingspan).
Aurora
Named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, this brilliant light show in the northern hemisphere is called the aurora borealis and in the southern as the aurora australis.
Auroras occur when charged particles outside the Earth’s atmosphere collide with atoms in the upper atmosphere. The result: a glowing display of curtains, arcs, and bands in the sky.
Angel Falls
Highest waterfall in the world with a height at 3,212 feet, 15 times higher than the Niagara Falls.
Located in Venezuela, it is also known as ‘Kerepakupai meru’ which means ‘waterfall of the deepest place’.
The falls has a clear drop of 2,647 feet which is so far that the water vaporises and becomes mist well before reaching the ground.
Giant’s Causeway
Consists of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns located on the northeast coast of Ireland.
Most of the columns are hexagonal and the tallest are about 36 feet high.
The causeway runs for 5 kms and was formed as a result of volcanic eruptions millions of years ago.
Legend has it that it was built by the giant Finn McCool so that he could walk from Northern Ireland to Scotland to do battle.
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