From alluvial fans and enormous holes, our Earth is full of certain magnificent land formations that is difficult to capture in words or even images. Like dramatic natural fractals on a larger and massive scale, below are some of the most stunning, awe-inspiring examples of Earth‘s magnificent land formations.
Alluvial Fan, China
The satellite photo above shows the formation of an alluvial fan across the Kunlun and Altun mountain ranges of the Taklimakan desert in XinJiang, China. One of the largest in the world, it covers an area 56.6 x 61.3 km. As it appears on the photo, the left side which appears blue is the fan’s active part, where water flows out of the mountains and then fans out into many small streams that disappear into the desert. An alluvial fan is defined as soft, gently sloping planes of loose rock and sediment, usually the result as water leaves a canyon.
Brandberg Massif, Africa
Brandberg Massif covering an area of about 650 km² towers over the arid Namib Desert in Namibia, Africa. The piles of granite are ancient magma chambers, formed billions of years ago. Today, this granite intrusion, which forms a dome-shaped plateau, is haven to unique plant and animal communities. Also, prehistoric cave paintings decorate walls hidden in its steep cliffs.
Shoemaker Impact Structure, Australia
The Shoemaker impact structure (formerly known as Teague Ring) is found in arid central Western Australia, near Wiluna. Considered as Australia’s oldest known impact structure to date, scientists estimate that it is about 1.7 billion years old. The crater with an outer diameter of about 30 km, contains arid, harsh seasonal lakes that is covered with salt. Teague Ring has recently been renamed the Shoemaker impact structure, after the late geologist Eugene M. Shoemaker, who was one of the founding fathers of impact research.
Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided ravine about 277 miles (446 km) long, varies in width from 6.4 to 29 km and is more than 6000 feet in depth. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, Nevada, U.S.A. It is one of the most beautiful examples of epic land formations that pictured the Earth’s geological history more than 2 billion years ago. The Grand Canyon showed how the Colorado River have been unmasked as its streams cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted.
Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland
The Giant’s Causeway is situated at the foot of the basalt cliffs in Antrim, Northern Ireland. These interconnected black shiny volcanic rocks numbering about 40,000 columns were formed about 60 million years ago. Most of the columns are hexagonal while the tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986, and is one of Northern Ireland great tourist destination.
Barringer Meteorite Crater, Arizona, United States
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The Barringer Meteorite Crater, a bowl-shaped hole was formed 50,000 years ago when a large meteorite impacted in the rolling plain of what is now Arizona. The asteroid that created this crater was made almost entirely of a nickel-iron combination. Basically a giant hole, the crater is about a mile (1.2km) wide and 570 feet (175 m) deep. The visitor center at the crater’s edge is open year round.
The Green Bridge of Wales
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The Green Bridge of Wales, in Pembrokeshire, is a spectacular natural arch formed over thousands of years through the natural erosion of limestone. By the action of the sea and weather on the cliff face, an arch was made, likewise; by coastal erosion and waves, eventually this arch will collapse. The largest natural arch in Wales, this feature can be reach by visitors via the Pembrokeshire coastal path – an easy grass path leading to a viewing platform.
Alum Bay, Isle of Wight
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The stunning waters of Alum Bay off the Isle of Wight are unique enough, but the remarkable feature here is the cliffs. It has one of the most amazing series of rock layers (strata) in Britain. If you stand on the beach at certain times of day, particularly sunset; your eyes will be deceived as the cliffs appear to be striped in various bright colors. Since the cliffs of the coastline at Alum Bay are littered with multicolored sands, the colored sands create a spectacular landscape. Let your eye run from right to left you will see “volumes” of Earth’s history as if you are traveling forwards through time.
The Himalayas, Asia
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The Himalayas, is a mountain range in Asia, which separate the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau in Asia. It is the largest mountain system in the world, and home to the world’s highest peaks, Mount Everest and K2. The range which is more than 2,400 km long includes over 100 mountains exceeding 7,200 m, some of the world’s major rivers, and home to some 1.3 billion people. This enormous mountain range was formed about 40 and 50 million years ago, when two large landmasses, India and Eurasia, driven by plate movement, collided.
Cathedral Caves, New Zealand
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One of the most popular tourist destination in New Zealand, the splendid Cathedral Caves are a series of sea caves found in Catlins, New Zealand. It features two gigantic caves with distinct narrow, lofty openings, nature seekers will surely enjoy exploring. The two main caves, with one having a 30 m (100 ft) high ceiling join together within the cliff. They are actually one cave, so visitors can enter through the first and exit from the second. However, Cathedral Caves are accessible for only 2 hours at low tide. For safety reason, the access gate to Cathedral Caves opens two hours before low tide and is closed again two hours after.
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