Wonders of The Natural World: Unusual Landscapes
Volcanic activity has created some of the most colorful and extraordinary landscapes, including hot springs, colored lakes and a soft volcanic rock that is easily eroded and shaped by the forces of water or wind.
Wonders of the Natural World: Unusual Landscapes
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Since the late 19th century unusual natural features, areas of wilderness and wildlife have been protected by the establishment of national parks and nature reserves.
Volcanic activity has created some of the most colorful and extraordinary landscapes, including hot springs, colored lakes and a soft volcanic rock that is easily eroded and shaped by the forces of water or wind.
Many landscapes contain a kaleidoscope of colors – seen in rocks, lakes and soil – caused by the minerals present or the sediment they contain, or by the effects of heat or burial beneath the Earth’s surface.
Champagne Pool: The geothermal pool, in the Walotapu reserve on New Zealand’s North Island, effervesces when sand is thrown into it.
Protecting the Natural World
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Yellowstone was the world’s first national park, established in 1872. Since then, more than 3000 national parks have been created around the world.
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National Park |
Special Features |
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Yellowstone (USA) |
The oldest in the world. The world’s greatest geyser area. |
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Royal (Australia) |
The second-oldest in the world, established in 1879 |
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Kruger (South Africa) |
The oldest in Africa. Home to the rare white rhinoceros. |
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Corbett (India) |
The oldest in India, established in 1935 in the Himalayan foothills. Home to the Indian tiger. |
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Wood Buffalo (Canada) |
The largest national park in the world, and a refuge for the American buffalo. |
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Kakadu (Australia) |
One of the world’s largest national parks, Kakadu contains some of the earliest remains of human settlement. |
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Nahanni River (Canada) |
A pristine wilderness area that was declared the first World Heritage Site in 1978. |
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Grand Prismatic Spring: This multicolored pool is one of thousands of hot springs and geysers in Yellowstone Park.
The Guilin Hills
These hills in southern China tower over paddy fields and fish farms. The tallest, called Piled Festone Hill, is 120m (400ft) high. The area is an extreme example of a type of limestone landscape known as karst, which is shaped by the dissolving power of groundwater. Water has removed large volume of rock, leaving clusters of steep-sided, narrow hills riddled with caves and passageways. Other karst landscapes include the Kras Plateau in Slovenia, the Cockpit Country in Jamaica and the Mammoth Cave region of Kentucky (USA).
Karst Country: The River Li which around the feet of China’s extraordinary Guilin Hills.
Conical Hills
Cappadocia in central Turkey is known for its extraordinary rock shapes. This area is dominated by the extinct volcano Erciyas Dagi. Millions of years ago the volcano erupted, throwing out ash over a wide area.
The ash hardened to form tuff or tufa, a soft, white rock that is easily eroded and washed away. Rain run-off has carved ravines and then eaten into their sides to form a maze of strange cones and pillars.
Turkish Delight: Rock Towers and cones fill the landscapes, some with caves cut into them.
Pigmented Rock
Rock color varies according to the minerals it contains. Iron is the most common ‘dye’: combined with varying amounts of oxygen, it produces a range of colors from deep brownish red to pale yellow ochre. Copper gives green or blue rock, chromium and cadmium, orange rock; and manganese produces pink rock.
The ‘Paint Pots’: Erosion has revealed this aptly named area of colorful clays in Queensland, Australia.
Petrified Trees
Stone Logs: The wood has been replaced by quartz.
Strewn across the desert landscape of Arizona are multicolored, rock-like logs. They are the petrified remains of conifers that grew in the area over 200 million years ago when it was a flood plain. The rapid burial of fallen trees preserved them, and mineral deposits gradually replaced the wood.
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24 Responses to “Wonders of The Natural World: Unusual Landscapes”
On November 2, 2009 at 10:13 am
Fabulous slide show with informative descriptions. Enjoy your work a lot.
On November 2, 2009 at 10:25 am
wonderful landscapes
On November 2, 2009 at 10:27 am
Very interesting!
On November 2, 2009 at 10:49 am
Amazing pictures! Elegant colors and natural formations from volcanic activity. Very interesting article for sure. Excellent piece!
On November 2, 2009 at 10:59 am
A fantastic article. There certainly are some magnificent and colourful places in the world. Beautiful.
Christine
On November 2, 2009 at 11:06 am
Its fabulous, fantastic article
On November 2, 2009 at 11:15 am
Absolutely stunning!!
On November 2, 2009 at 11:35 am
Great visuals, and a refreshing read!
On November 2, 2009 at 11:37 am
Very beautiful places and one of them Cappadocia in my country, I visited and recomment to everyone!
On November 2, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Some very stunning pictures.
On November 2, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Great piece with wondeful pics. Certainly some sights to see on our wonderful planet. Would love to see those petrified logs too.
On November 2, 2009 at 7:03 pm
beautiful pictures and awesome information on some great places to visit!!
On November 2, 2009 at 7:09 pm
The world is so beautiful – thanks for the article and wonderful pictures, mrghaz.
On November 2, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Great article with great pictures, I enjoy your work very much!
On November 2, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Amazing scenery. You very well made your point with the beauty of the pictures you selected. Nice work!!
On November 2, 2009 at 9:55 pm
These sites are like visual treat. Wonderful.
On November 2, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Another good piece, thanks!
On November 2, 2009 at 10:37 pm
thats amazing….
On November 3, 2009 at 3:49 am
..absolutely wonderful!.thats really amaze me..nicely done..well done Mr Ghaz!
On November 3, 2009 at 4:02 am
Beautiful and amazing landscapes..I liked this article. I really enjoyed it. Thanks
On November 3, 2009 at 5:15 am
Fantastic photos and a very neatly done article. Thumbs Up friend.
On November 3, 2009 at 9:20 am
I’ve been to Yellowstone — it is just as beautiful as your pictures depict. Never occurred to me that the stunning colors seen in the rocks in the national parks are from metals.
Thanks for posting this.
On November 3, 2009 at 10:31 am
Another nice one Mr. G. Very informative and great photos.
On November 5, 2009 at 1:15 am
Awesome wonders of the world. Nice collection of pictures fit to grace my screen. Thanks.
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