Blok888: Geological

5. Tsingy de Bemaraha, Madagascar

Tsingy de Bemaraha is a Unesco World Heritage site situated in Melaky Region, Madagascar. Most popular for The Tsingy - sharp limestone pinnacles that could reach 150 feet tall. The Tsingys actually are karstic plateaus wherein groundwater has undercut the elevated uplands, and fissures into the limestone and due to local environment, the corrosion is patterned vertically as well as horizontally. In several regions the superposition of vertical and horizontal corrosion forms has generated dramatic "forests" of limestone needles.

4. Pamukkale, Turkey

By Antoine Taveneaux

By Wolfgangbeyer

By Pvasiliadis

Pamukkale, which means "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural spot in Denizli Province in southwestern Turkey. Pamukkale's terraces are made of travertine, a sedimentary rock deposited by water from the hot springs. The travertines have a concentric presence as they are almost pure white presenting the location an ethereal appearance. The hot springs precipitate calcium carbonate at their mouths and create the extraordinary structures. This geological wonder is also the site of the ancient city of Hierapolis.

3. Devils Tower, United States.

By Jeff Fennell

By Plumbago

Devils Tower is an igneous intrusion or laccolith (sheet intrusion that has been injected between two layers of sedimentary rock) in the Black Hills close to northeastern Wyoming, United States. It goes up dramatically 1,267 feet (386 m) above the surrounding landscape and the peak is at 5,114 feet (1,559 m) altitude. Devils Tower was the first announced United States National Monument, established on September 24, 1906, by President Theodore Roosevelt.

2. Salar Uyuni, Bolivia

Panoramic view of Salar Uyuni by Martin St-Amant

By Luca Galuzzi

By Chechevere

Salar Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat at 10,582 square kilometers, situated in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes which is at an altitude of 3,656 meters (11,995 ft) above sea level. Salar Uyuni was formed as a result of alterations between some prehistoric lakes. It is covered by a few meters of salt crust, which has a terrific flatness with the average altitude variations within one meter over the whole area. Once the rains sweep down onto the Uyuni Salt Flats, the entire expanse turns into a tremendous reflecting pool. The water on the salt flats actually hardly ever reaches up to a depth of more than 6 inches, so it provides visitors the sensational experience of strolling on the surface of a mirror.

1. Yellow Mountain, China.

By Svalin

By Arne Hückelheim

By Stephane.janel

Better known as Huangshan, Yellow Mountain is a mountain range in southern Anhui province in eastern China. The range is composed of material which had been uplifted from an ancient sea at the Mesozoic period. The mountains themselves were engraved by glaciers during the Quaternary and plants on the range is thickest below 1.100 meters, with trees growing up to the treeline at 1.800 meters. Mount Huangshan features numerous striking peaks, forests of stone pillars and evergreen sturdy pines.

Our planet is the great and incredible creation. It formed by abrasion, volcanic eruptions, plate tectonics, as well as other processes during the period of millions of years. Amazing geological scenes are all over the world. However only a few would meet the requirements to be geological wonders that are supposed not merely wonderful and really worth to visit, but additionally could teach us a certain thing relating to the process our planet works.

Here are our Top 10 list of Amazing Geological Wonders on Planet Earth.

10. Monument Valley, United States.

By Olivier BACQUET

By Bernard Gagnon

By Jean-Christophe BENOIST

Monument Valley is situated on the Arizona-Utah state line, and lies within the range of the Navajo Nation Reservation. Before human existence, Monument Valley was once a massive lowland basin. For hundreds of millions of years, substances that eroded from the early Rock Mountains deposited layer upon layer of sediments which cemented a gradual and gentle uplift created by consistent pressure from below the surface and raising these horizontal strata to three miles above sea level. Natural forces of wind and water that eroded the land spent the last 50 million years cutting in to and peeling away at the surface of the plateau.

9. Fingal's Cave, Scotland

By AJ Alfieri-Crispin

By Hartmut Josi Bennöhr

By dun_deagh

Fingal's Cave is a sea cave on the small island of Staffa, in Scotland. Fingal's Cave is formed totally from hexagonally jointed basalt columns within a Paleocene lava motion which produces the naturally arched ceiling. The cave stretches 250 feet in to the rock and its roof is 70 feet above the sea. The size and naturally arched roof of Fingal's Cave and the eerie sounds produced by the echoes of waves, give it the atmosphere of a natural cathedral. The Hebrides, Op. 26, of Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn (also known as Fingal's Cave overture), actually inspired by the weird echoes in the cave.

8. Catedral de Marmol, Chile

By Carlos Jorquera

By Dan Lundberg

By Nicolás Lara

Catedral de Marmol is positioned on General Carrera Lake located in Patagonia and shared by Argentina and Chile. Formed by more than 6,000 years, Catedral de Marmol is a unique geological formation featuring a group of caverns, tunnels and pillars created in monoliths of marble. The amazing vibrant blue and grey cave chambers, all lay in memorizing turquoise waters of Carrera Lake which is glacial origin and is surrounded by the Andes mountain range.

7. Uluru Monolith, Australia

By Kouiskas

By Corey Leopold

By Paul Mannix

Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory in central Australia. The rock is jutting up about 350m from its barren surrounds and has a total circumference of 9.4 km (5.8 mi). It is the world's largest monolith and also an Aboriginal sacred site.

6. Reed Flute Cave, China.

By Dennis Jarvis

By Romain Pontida

By Bernt Rostad

The Reed Flute Cave is a natural limestone cave with colourful illumination and has long been considered one of Guilin’s, China most fascinating visitors attractions for more than 1200 years. The cave acquired its name from the variety of reed developing outside, which can be made into melodious flutes. Reed Flute Cave is made up of a great number of stalactites, stalagmites together with natural stone structures in strange and amazing formations. Inside, there are more than 70 inscriptions presented in ink, which can be dated back as far as 792 AD in the Tang Dynasty. These ancient inscriptions state that it has been an attraction in Guilin since ancient times.

Top 10 Amazing Geological Wonders on Planet Earth 1