Mother Nature is a powerful and awesome force. Here are some examples of her most spectacular creations:

Mauna Loa – The River of Lava:

Mauna Loa is the most active and largest volcano in the world. It s name is Hawaiian for “long mountain.” It is located on the big island of Hawaii and it stands 13,682 feet about sea level. The crater at the top of this volcano is 4 square miles and almost 600 feet deep. This crater’s name is Mokuaweoweo. The last time Mauna Loa erupted was in 1984 and it is still considered to be an active volcano which could erupt again at any time.

The Hawaiian Islands were formed from volcanoes and Mauna Loa is still busy adding land to the big island of Hawaii. From the base of this volcano below the surface of the ocean, this volcano is actually taller than Mt. Everest. It is a whopping 29,529 feet in height!

Grand Canyon’s Layers of History:

The Grand Canyon in Arizona, U.S.A. is visited by millions every year from all parts of the world. It is a National Park. The visitors gape at the sheer enormity of the canyon and how it was formed.

The Grand Canyon’s rocks at its base surrounded an ancient ocean over 2 million years ago. Around 60 million years ago, as the dinosaurs became extinct; two rivers poured through the rock bed and formed a gorge as they wore the rock away. These rivers eventually merged to become the Colorado River. This powerful river then continued to loosen the rock and sand to make an even deeper gorge. The many layers of colorful rock are very visible to the naked eye and cause visitors to gaze in wonderment.

The Grand Canyon is so deep that it even has its own weather. The higher areas of elevation are covered in snow in the winter. However, the Grand Canyon’s floor is a desert where the Colorado River still continues to run through it. The Grand Canyon is almost 2 miles across and 5,250 feet deep!

The Great Barrier Reef is in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The reef covers 1,259 miles and forms a barrier between the coast and the open sea. Corals are not plants, but animals. When coral dies other corals form on top of it and the reef grows.

Great Barrier Reef:

There are 400 different types of coral in the Great Barrier and it provides food, oxygen and shelter for over 1,400 kinds of fish. Also squid, octopus and a variety of shellfish like giant clams call the Great Barrier home. The Great Barrier Reef is a delicate eco-system where each life form depends on the others to ensure its survival.

Mount Everest:

Mount Everest is the highest mountain peak in the world and its range has more than 100 mountains. Mount Everest is 23,951 feet tall. It is located between Nepal and Tibet and is very important to the local people of this region, as they call it “Saint Mother.” Mount Everest actually grows about 2 inches every year as the tectonic plates continue to collide beneath the earth. Mt. Everest was formed millions of years ago as two pieces of the earth’s crust crashed into each other and formed the Himalayas. Many climbers have died trying to reach its peak. Edmund Hillary in 1953 was the first to reach the top. Since that historic feat many mountain climbers have reached its summit as well.

Sarawak Chambers’ Api Chamber

The Sarawak Chamber is located on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is a huge group of caves at the base of the Gunung Api. It was accidentally discovered in 1980, by a group of explorers and it took them over 12 hours to walk through the caves! It is the largest underground cavern in the world. It is 2,297 feet long and 984 feet wide. The ceiling is around 300 feet high in many places. 124 miles of caves are behind the mountain with a river running through it. Like the Grand Canyon, water from the long monsoon seasons had a major part in carving the many chambers.

Angel Falls:

Angel Falls is located in Venezuela, South America and has a height of 3,212 feet. This waterfall has a drop that is 20 times longer than Niagara Falls. The area around the falls is covered in dense rainforest and jungle. The only way to see this mighty waterfall is by plane or boat.

The Sahara Desert:

The Sahara Desert covers almost 25 percent of the continent of Africa and is the largest desert in the world. It is over 3,100 miles in length and nearly dry all the time. The Sahara Desert also receives more sunshine than any other place on earth. Parts of this desert are composed strictly of sand dunes and some are taller than the Empire State building. That’s a lot of sand! The temperature in the Sahara Desert can reach 122 degrees Fahrenheit and then drop in the opposite direction to freezing cold. This wide range of temperatures is the reason why animals in the desert live in burrows beneath the ground.

I hope you enjoyed your tour of some of the most magnificent natural wonders of the world. Mother Nature never fails to impress us.