20 geological wonders of the world
21.07.2023 - 07:47
/ roughguides.com
With age comes stories, and the stories our old Earth tells can be seen in its rock formations. Here are 20 of the most astonishing geological wonders of the world.
From Tanzania to Eritrea, the earth is being wrenched apart along the Great Rift Valley and will one day form a new ocean. Volcanic activity abounds along this rift, particularly in the Danakil Depression. This dramatic region is home to more than thirty young volcanoes, sulphurous yellow hot springs and otherworldly salt plains. Check with the Foreign Office before travelling, as this is a geologically and politically volatile area.
Dallol, Danakil Depression, Ethiopia © Lukas Bischoff Photograph/Shutterstock
Not only is Cal Orko home to the world’s largest group of dinosaur footprints – over 5000 of them – but nature has also kindly presented them for your viewing pleasure on an 80m-high vertical rock face. You could be forgiven for thinking that dinosaurs could walk up walls, but in fact the land surrounding this ancient watering hole was itself shifted skywards by subsequent tectonic movements.
© Byelikova Oksana/Shutterstock
Arriving at Parc National de l’Ankarana feels not unlike taking your first steps onto another planet. Gangly-limbed lemurs bounce effortlessly from ridge to ridge of this intricate rocky maze, comprised of spiky limestone pinnacles that have been eroded by water. Down below, scorpions take refuge in hidden crevices and crocodiles cruise the underground rivers that flow between secret pockets of forest.
© Pierre-Yves Babelon/Shutterstock
More than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and thought to be the second-deepest canyon in the world, Peru’s Colca Canyon is totally breathtaking. Created by a massive geological fault between two huge volcanoes, there is still evidence of pre-Inca terracing on its slopes. The Mirador Cruz del Condor is the most popular spot to take in the views and watch soaring condors.
© Lukasz Kurbiel/Shutterstock
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A secret world all of its own, the Cabayugan snakes along for 8.2km underneath the karst landscape of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. The waterway has eroded a series of vast chambers on its journey, which are full of stalactites and stalagmites – not to mention more than 400,000 bats – before it eventually flows out into the open South China Sea.
Puerto Princesa — boat heading into the cave © jesper olsson/Shutterstock
While you probably won’t see them appearing on X Factor any time soon, the Gobi Desert’s singing sand dunes are still a captivating curiosity. As visitors camel trek along the spine of the dunes and the wind whips up the towering sands they emit an unmistakable humming sound; the phenomenon is thought to be the result of avalanching