Articles
Chott el Djerid: A Sea of Salt in the Heart of the Sahara
In the desert interior of southern Tunisia, between the oasis towns of Tozeur and Kebili, an extraordinary landscape spreads to the horizon: the Chott el Djerid. It is the largest salt lake in the entire Sahara Desert, …
The Stockholm Archipelago: Thousands of Baltic Islands
Just beyond Stockholm's city center, solid land dissolves into sea and rock: the Stockholm Archipelago is made up of thousands of islands, islets, and skerries spread across the Baltic Sea. Estimates …
Torres del Paine: Granite Towers of Chilean Patagonia
Torres del Paine National Park, in Chilean Patagonia, is one of South America's most famous protected places, known for its stunning granite towers, glacial lakes, and windswept steppe. The park is located in the …
Serengeti Ecosystem and the Great Migration
The Serengeti National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981, is home to one of the world's most remarkable biological occurrences: the Great Migration. Over a million wildebeest, accompanied …
Delta Works: The Eighth Wonder Against the Sea
The Delta Works, a massive system of dams, dikes, sluices, locks, levees, and storm surge barriers in the southwest, showcases Dutch water engineering at its best. Built in response to the catastrophic North …
Mtirala National Park: The Crying Mountain's Rainforests and Superlative Rainfall
Mtirala National Park, located in Georgia's Adjara region in the southwestern Lesser Caucasus mountains, is one of the world's most unique ecosystems and was recognized as a UNESCO …
The Western Desert: Egypt's Vast Saharan Expanse
The Western Desert, also known as the Libyan Desert, is Egypt's largest geographical region, accounting for about two-thirds of the country's total land area—roughly 680,650 square kilometers of mostly …
The Caucasus Mountains: Europe and Asia's Dramatic Dividing Range
The Caucasus Mountains, which run over 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, are the traditional border between Europe and Asia. Georgia is located on the …
Mayon Volcano: The Perfect Cone and Its Violent Beauty
Rising from the rice fields of Albay province in southern Luzon, Mayon Volcano is one of the most iconic natural landmarks on Earth. Its near-perfect symmetrical cone soars 2,463 meters (8,081 feet) above sea level …
The Red Sea Coast: Coral Refuges and Marine Biodiversity
The Red Sea, which stretches over 2,000 kilometers between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, serves as the planet's last major coral sanctuary. This body of water is home to over 1,000 distinct species of fish …
The Wadden Sea: Tidal Wilderness at the Country’s Edge
Along the northern shore, the Wadden Sea creates a totally distinct Dutch seascape: a vast, shallow tidal realm of mudflats, sandbars, and salt marshes. Shared by the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark, it is …
The Nile River: Lifeblood of Egyptian Civilization
The Nile River, which stretches 6,650 kilometers (4,132 miles) from its source in East Africa to the Mediterranean Sea, is the absolute foundation of Egyptian civilization. The river's two major …
Puerto Princesa Underground River: Navigating the Dark Heart of Palawan
Palawan, often voted the world's most beautiful island, conceals one of nature's greatest secrets: the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River. This 8.2-kilometer (5.1-mile) navigable waterway winds through a …
The Black Sea Coast: Batumi's Subtropical Gateway and Coastal Charm
Georgia's Black Sea coast, covering about 310 kilometers (193 miles), concentrates natural beauty and strategic significance in the port city of Batumi. Located at the southeastern end of the sea, …
Polders: The Country Built from the Sea
Much of the Netherlands would not exist without polders—large expanses of land recovered from lakes, marshes, and the sea by enclosing them with dikes and pumping out the water. Engineers estimate that …
The Chocolate Hills: Bohol's Geological Confectionery
The Chocolate Hills are a vast field of at least 1,260—and potentially up to 1,776—perfectly symmetrical, cone-shaped hills spread across 50 square kilometers of Bohol province. During the dry season …
Mount Olympus: Mythical Home of the Gods and Greece's Highest Peak
Mount Olympus rises magnificently along Greece's northern border between Thessaly and Macedonia. Reaching 2,917 meters (9,570 feet) at its highest peak, Mytikas, it is Greece's tallest …
The Asir Mountains: Arabia's Verdant Highland Refuge
The Asir Mountains, which rise sharply along Saudi Arabia's southwestern border with Yemen, offer a landscape so unlike popular depictions of Arabia that tourists frequently struggle to reconcile these …
The Midnight Sun: When Darkness Never Falls
The Midnight Sun is one of nature's most captivating occurrences, occurring only above the Arctic Circle during the summer months when the sun never sets below the horizon, even at midnight. This celestial …
Lake Turkana: The Cradle of Humankind
Lake Turkana, shimmering in Kenya's isolated northern frontier, is famously known as the "Jade Sea" for its striking turquoise hue. However, to the scientific community, it is the "Cradle of …