Category Archives: Places

Iguazu Falls, one of top natural wonders of the world, straddles the border between Argentina and Brazil in the southern half of South America. Both countries have allotted land on their side of the falls to a national park, and both sides are visited by tourists eager to explore this area and its wildlife. Home to endangered species such as jaguar, jaguarundi, ocelots, tapir, and harpy eagles, this area also features a wide diversity of butterflies along with toucans and coati. Visit the sites below to find out more about this amazing natural wonder!

iguazu national park argentina brazil south america natural wonder world unesco heritage site wildlife endangered species

UNESCO World Heritage Site
WikiTravel
Our Beautiful World
Escape Here

aside | Leave a comment September 22, 2016

This full-length (59min) nature documentary by National Geographic Wild is in high definition and free on YouTube!
The southeast corner of Russia is home to some of the world’s most beautiful endangered wild cats. See these and much more while you watch this entertaining movie.

quote | Leave a comment September 7, 2016

Chitwan National Park, at the foot of the Himalayan Mountains in Nepal, is one of the last refuges for the Bengal tiger as well as home to the largest population of one horned rhinoceros in the world. Visitors to the park are encouraged to explore the area by boat, by foot, or by elephant. There are also several breeding areas such as for vultures, elephants, and crocodiles.

chitwan national park nepal himalyas one horned rhinoceros calf mother baby

Wikipedia   |   WikiVoyage
UNESCO   |   Official Park Site
Lonely Planet   |   YouTube Video

link | Leave a comment August 24, 2016

Virunga National Park lies on DR Congo’s eastern border with Uganda, in eastern Africa. This is home to the famed Mountain Gorillas but also features hippos, lions, forest elephants, the golden cat, and the okapi. This was Africa’s first national park, originally named Albert NP after King Albert I of Belgium in 1925 before the time of independence. Since then, the park has suffered greatly from unstable politics and threats of oil exploitation. However, dedicated naturalists and park rangers have brought the park back from the edge of destruction and made it a thriving tourist attraction and safe home for wildlife.

virunga national park mountain gorillas congo africa

Wikipedia   |   Wikitravel
Official Website of the Park
Virunga News on WWF
UNESCO page for the park
Virunga NP YouTube channel

status | Leave a comment August 17, 2016

The Salar de Uyuni in southern Bolivia is the world’s largest salt flat at almost 5000 square miles. In all that area, its height above sea level only varies by three feet — so nearly perfectly level that NASA uses it as a benchmark to align some of their equipment in space! This whole area is unique with many geologic features — check out the links below to find out more and see awesome pics!

salar de uyuni salt flat largest world bolivia south america desert altiplano unusual places

Wikipedia   |   WikiTravel   |   Lonely Planet
YouTube video   |   Epic Pics!

aside | Leave a comment August 13, 2016

Sagarmatha is the world’s highest national park, for it includes Mount Everest and the surrounding area of Nepal. About 3000 indigenous Sherpa people live here, along with world famous rhododendrons that bloom in April and May, pikas and snow leopards, and 193 different species of birds!

sagarmatha national park nepal himalayan mountains everest sherpa

UNESCO page
Beautiful World
YouTube Video tour

link | Leave a comment July 24, 2016

The desert heat has evaporated so much water from the Umm Al-maa oasis in the Sahara desert, that it is saltier than the sea. Yet migrating sparrows feast here. How? Watch this short little clip from BBC’s Africa documentary series to find out.

Poisonous Sahara Oasis

video | Leave a comment July 18, 2016

Kaziranga National Park lies in the far northeastern portion of India, just south of the Himalayan Mountains. It is home to two-thirds of the world’s population of endangered one-horned rhinoceroses and has the highest density of tigers of all protected areas in the world. This area also protects Asian elephants, water buffaloes and swamp deer, along with thousands of birds. Check out the links below to learn more about this ecological hot spot!

kaziranga national park india rhino

Kaziranga National Park
Koyeli Tours and Travel
UNESCO listing
Wikipedia

status | Leave a comment April 13, 2016

Besides protecting its more than 5000 komodo dragons found nowhere else on the planet, Komodo National Park in Indonesia features over 250 species of coral builders, over 1000 species of fish, plus sponges, sharks, dugong, lobsters, sea turtles, mangroves and seagrass beds, and Timor deer. The park includes three major islands and 26 smaller ones, spread out in the middle of the Indonesian archipelago. Click the links below to explore this natural resource.

komodo island dragon national park indonesia unesco biodiversity hot spot

Komodo National Park website
UNESCO
WWF Global
Wikipedia

link | Leave a comment April 12, 2016

Up in the rugged, unforgiving mountains of Scotland, can any wildlife make a living? This BBC free full-length documentary film is presented on YouTube by AnimalLife. In these Scottish hills, we see that red deer and pine martens join many hardy bird species such as black-throated divers, hooded crows, ptarmigans, and reintroduced sea eagles. Follow a family of divers from a late second laying to the fledging and beyond. And follow the migration of salmon to the highest points in the river. At the end of the film is an entertaining filming diary.

quote | Leave a comment January 18, 2016

“Satoyama is a place where nature and people exist in harmony, where people make a sustainable living from the land“. This is the opening statement in a 10 minute video presented by the United Nations University, linked to below the YouTube video shown. A full-length documentary on the same topic, presented by BBC and narrated by David Attenborough, is featured here:

UN University video
Wikipedia on Satoyama
Article on TreeHugger.com

quote | Leave a comment January 17, 2016

The Natural Wall is a rock formation in northern Michigan which appears man-made due to its brick-like structure. Lying along the Keweenaw Fault in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where the land juts out into Lake Superior just south of Canada, this is a very rare near-vertical slope of natural sandstone. Visitors can trek along the riverbank to access the site, but are advised that the trip may entail traversing mud and large water puddles, along with some rocky terrain. Visit the sites below for more pics and directions to the site — but be aware that the area is private rather than public land.

natural wall keweenaw peninsula michigan lake superior geology sandstone nature places

Keweenaw Wall
The Natural Wall
Natural Wall

status | Leave a comment January 2, 2016

The Succulent Karoo is a region of south Africa which hosts 1/3 of the world’s succulent plant species — the richest diversity of succulent flora on the planet! The climate here is mild compared to other desert areas, with sparse but reliable rainfall, especially in the winter. The heat of summer is also moderated by fog created by the Benguela Current flowing northward along the coast.

succulent karoo desert biome area south africa arid cactus cacti species biodiversity hotspot

The Encyclopedia of Earth
Environmental Literacy Council
World Wildlife Fund
Plantz Africa

aside | Leave a comment October 29, 2015

The St. Lucia or iSimangaliso Wetland Park in the southeastern corner of Africa features a wide variety of wildlife habitats including forest, inland lake, swamp, sand dunes, and coastal waters where whales make their annual migrations.

iSimangaliso Wetland Park

video | Leave a comment September 6, 2015

Is this the “richest part of the ocean anywhere on the planet”?
According to this video, the Philippines takes this prize!
Check out the biodiversity of this World Hot Spot!

Philippine Biodiversity!

video | Leave a comment August 18, 2015

A well-made slideshow portraying the beauty and wildness that is The Camargue:

The Camargue in Pictures

video | Leave a comment July 13, 2015

The Camargue is an area in southern France, a marshy delta area where the Rhone river flows into the Mediterranean Sea. In this area are wild horses and flamingos.

Click the links below the pic for more info on this beautiful wild habitat!

camargue france southern rhone delta wild horses marsh white green blue

The Camargue: France’s Wild West
Wikipedia
World Wildlife Fund

status | Leave a comment July 13, 2015

Tikal National Park in Guatemala (central America south of Mexico) is bursting with biodiversity, thanks in part to the Maya Biosphere Reserve next door!

tikal national park wildlife nature conservation maya biosphere reserve

Tikal Scientific Information (nature!)
Tikal National Park (UNESCO)
Maya Biosphere Reserve

aside | Leave a comment July 8, 2015

This is one of the most famous individual trees in the world.
Nicknamed “The Tree of Life“, it stands alone in the desert without any detectable source of water.

tree of life bahrain mesquite old alone isolated lonely desert prosopis cineraria species specimen wonder asia

Find out more:
Amusing Planet
Trip Advisor
World Top Top

link | Leave a comment June 30, 2015

The Socotra Archipelago is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has an amazing number of endemic species, found nowhere else on the planet!

Socotra Archipelago: UNESCO video

video | Leave a comment November 12, 2014