Landmarks › Natural Landmarks
11 natural landmarks around the planet, where geology, climate or biology produced something irreplaceable. Coordinates pinpoint Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Australia's Red Centre, the lowest point on Earth's land surface at the Dead Sea (around -430 m), the petrified clay pan of Deadvlei framed by Namibia's tallest dunes, three iconic capes (Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America, Cape of Good Hope at the southwestern corner of Africa, and Cabo da Roca the westernmost point of mainland Europe), the limestone Rock of Gibraltar, Iceland's reliable Strokkur geyser (eruptions every 6 to 10 minutes), the world's largest tree by volume the General Sherman giant sequoia, the colossal Árbol del Tule in Oaxaca, and the world's oldest historically authenticated tree, Sri Lanka's Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi (planted 288 BCE).
Cabo da Roca, on Portugal's Atlantic coast, is the westernmost point of mainland Europe at longitude 9.50°W. The Lighthouse atop its 140-meter cliffs has guided ships since 1772.
Cape Horn (Cabo de Hornos) at the southern tip of South America's Tierra del Fuego archipelago marks the meeting of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Notorious for its violent seas, 'rounding the Horn' became a rite of passage for sailors before the Panama Canal.
The Cape of Good Hope (Kaap die Goeie Hoop), at the southwestern tip of Africa, was a critical waypoint on the Cape Route between Europe and Asia for centuries. Despite popular belief, it is not actually the southern tip of the continent: that distinction belongs to nearby Cape Agulhas.
The Dead Sea, on the Israel-Jordan-West Bank border, is the lowest point on land at 430 meters below sea level. Its hypersaline waters, about ten times saltier than the ocean, make swimmers float effortlessly.
Deadvlei, a white clay pan in Namibia's Namib-Naukluft Park, is dotted with the blackened skeletons of 800-year-old camel thorn trees, killed when the climate changed and unable to decay in the dry heat. Surrounded by some of the tallest sand dunes on Earth, it is one of the most photographed landscapes in Africa.
General Sherman in Sequoia National Park, California, is the largest known living single-stem tree on Earth by volume. The giant sequoia is roughly 2,200 years old and 83 meters tall, with a trunk 11 meters in diameter at the base.
Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, is a sacred fig grown from a cutting of the original Bodhi tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. Planted in 288 BCE, it is the oldest historically authenticated tree in the world.
The Rock of Gibraltar, a 426-meter limestone monolith at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, controls the strait between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The British Overseas Territory has been disputed by Spain since 1713.
Strokkur, a fountain geyser in southwest Iceland's Haukadalur valley, erupts every 6-10 minutes to heights of 15-40 meters. It is one of the country's most reliable and visited natural attractions.
Uluru (Ayers Rock) in central Australia is a 348-meter sandstone monolith sacred to the Aṉangu people. Its color shifts from ochre to deep red at sunset. Climbing was permanently banned in 2019 out of respect for Aṉangu wishes.
El Árbol del Tule, a Montezuma cypress in Santa María del Tule, Oaxaca, has the largest trunk girth of any tree on Earth, 11.6 meters in diameter. It is estimated to be between 1,200 and 3,000 years old.