Jeju Island
KOREA (SOUTH)
Jejudo is a volcanic island, 130 km from the southern coast of Korea. The largest island and smallest province in Korea, the island has a surface area of 1,846 sqkm. A central feature of Jeju is Hallasan, the tallest mountain in South Korea and a dormant volcano, which rises 1,950 m above sea level.
The island was created entirely from volcanic eruptions approximately 2 million years ago, during the time period from the Tertiary to the beginning of the Quaternary period, and consists chiefly of basalt and lava. The eruptions took place in the Cenozoic era. It has a humid subtropical climate, warmer than that of the rest of Korea, with four distinct seasons. Winters are cool and dry while summers are hot, humid, and sometimes rainy.
There is a crater lake which is the only natural lake in South Korea.
An area covering about 12% (224 square kilometers) of Jeju is known as Gotjawal Forest. This area had remained untouched until the 21st century, as its base of ʻAʻā lava made it difficult to develop for agriculture. Because this forest remained untouched for a long time, it has a unique ecology.The forest is the main source of groundwater, the main water source for the half millon people of the island, because rainwater penetrates directly into the groundwater aquifer through the cracks of the lava under the forest. Gotjawal forest is considered an internationally important wetland under the Ramsar Convention by some researchers because it is the habitat of unique species of plants and is the main source of water for the residents, although to date it has not been declared a Ramsar site.
Gros Morne National Park
CANADA
Situated on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland, the park provides a rare example of the process of continental drift, where deep ocean crust and the rocks of the earth's mantle lie exposed. More recent glacial action has resulted in some spectacular scenery, with coastal lowland, alpine plateau, fjords, glacial valleys, sheer cliffs, waterfalls and many pristine lakes.
Gros Morne National Park of Canada was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. It is an area of great natural beauty with a rich variety of scenery, wildlife, and recreational activities. Visitors can hike through wild, uninhabited mountains and camp by the sea. Boat tours bring visitors under the towering cliffs of a freshwater fjord carved out by glaciers. Waterfalls, marine inlets, sea stacks, sandy beaches, and colourful nearby fishing villages complete the phenomenal natural and cultural surroundings of Gros Morne National Park of Canada.
Yellowstone National Park
UNITED STATES
Yellowstone National Park, located in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, became the world's first national park in 1872. The park is known for its wildlife and geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular areas in the park.
Yellowstone National Park is the world's first national park. It is America's favorite park and for good reason. Sixty percent of the world's active geysers are found in Yellowstone. If that isn't enough, nowhere in the Lower 48 is there more abundant wildlife than in the Greater Yellowstone National Park region!
From biking to bear sightings, geyser eruptions to a Grand Canyon, your Yellowstone vacation will be more fun than you can imagine.
In this region, you can go on a whitewater raft trip, take a horseback ride or go on a scenic boat cruise. You can spend hours at a museum or take in a rodeo. Spend a day fishing some of the best trout waters in the country or head into the backcountry for a few nights and camp in some of the nation’s most rugged country. Eat a hearty meal at an Old West Cookout or ride in a stagecoach replica.
Grand Prismatic Spring
United States
The Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is the third largest in the world and the largest hot spring in the United States. It is located in the Midway Geyser Basin.
Grand Prismatic sits upon a wide, spreading mound where water flows evenly on all sides forming a series of small, stair-step terraces. The central location provides dramatic scenery for visitors and residents alike.
The spring is approximately 90 meters wide and 50 meters deep and expels an estimated 560 gallons of water per minute.
Cinque Terre
Italy
Cinque Terre which means Five Lands, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Cinque comprise the five small coastal villages of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso located in the region of Liguria in the province of La Spezia in italia.
Four of the five villages are at the bottom of steep hills that run down to the sea. Corniglia sits on a cliff about a thousand feet above the sea.
Until the 1960's, these villages were not accessible by road, so they remained isolated. This all changed when the road was built, but the villages still have an "old world" feel. They are very small towns, full of interesting old buildings and narrow pedestrian lanes. Cars are not allowed in most areas of the villages.
Yosemite National Park
UNITED STATES
Yosemite National Park is located in California, United States. The park covers an area of 761,266 acres (3,081 km²). It is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity.Yosemite is one of the most visited attractions in California. People from all over the world come for the incredible scenery and abundant wildlife of Yosemite.
Yosemite National Park is a four-hour drive east of San Francisco and covers 1,200 square miles of the loveliest countryside you’ve even set eyes on. Yosemite is in the central Park of the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, so there are interesting natural landmarks like the Yosemite Falls. This waterfall makes a vertical plunge over 2600 feet down a narrow rock gorge. Depending on the snowmelt, April, May and June is when you will see the Yosemite Falls at it fullest. You can hike around this landmark and to other areas in the park.
The summer months are the busiest at Yosemite National Park, and the campgrounds are often full. The park is enormous, so you can choose the location you want whether it be in one of the nearby towns that offers reasonably prices lodging near Yosemite or a rustic tent cabin in the park.
Yosemite is a California State Park that rivals Yellowstone in its scale and beauty. This park is a great place for a family vacation or a scenic drive through the loveliest alpine meadows and California Mountains.
Lake Louise
Canada
Lake Louise is a lake in Alberta, Canada. The glacial lake is located in Banff National Park, 5 km from the hamlet of Lake Louise and the Trans-Canada Highway.
The emerald colour of the water comes from rock flour carried into the lake by melt-water from the glaciers that overlook the lake. The lake has a surface of 0.8 km2 (0.3 sq mi) and is drained through the 3 km long Louise Creek into the Bow River.
The eastern shore of the lake is dominated by Chateau Lake Louise, one of Canada's grand railway hotels, a luxury resort hotel built in the early decades of the 20th century by the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Moraine Lake and Lake Agnes are also accessible from Lake Louise.
Giant's Causeway
Ireland
Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is located on the north-east coast of Nothern Ireland. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven and eight sides.
A World Heritage Site, this natural rock formation is extraordinary. Sitting at the foot of steep cliffs, and stretching out into the sea, it is a natural formation of thousands of tightly packed basalt columns. The tops of the columns form flat stepping stones the size of dinner plates, but the strangest thing about them is that they are almost perfectly hexagonal. They are all about 12 inches in diameter, and some are as tall as 12m (39 ft.).
Scientists believe they were formed 60 or 70 million years ago by volcanic eruptions and cooling lava. The ancients, on the other hand, believed the rock formation to be the work of giants. To reach the causeway, you walk from the parking area down a steep path for nearly 1.6km (1 mile), past amphitheaters of stone columns and formations with fanciful names like Honeycomb, Wishing Well, Giant's Granny, King and his Nobles, and Lover's Leap.
Niagara Falls
Canada & USA
The Niagara Falls are voluminous waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. The falls are 17 miles (27 km) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 75 miles (120 km) south-southeast of Toronto, Ontario, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York.
Niagara Falls is composed of two major sections separated by Goat Island: Horseshoe Falls, the majority of which lies on the Canadian side of the border, and American Falls on the American side. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side, separated from the main falls by Luna Island.
Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation (the last ice age), and water from the newly formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. While not exceptionally high, the Niagara Falls are very wide. More than 6 million cubic feet (168,000 m³) of water falls over the crest line every minute in high flow, and almost 4 million cubic feet (110,000 m³) on average. It is the most powerful waterfall in North America.
The Niagara Falls are renowned both for their beauty and as a valuable source of hydroelectric power. Managing the balance between recreational, commercial, and industrial uses has been a challenge for the stewards of the falls since the 1800s.
Mammoth Cave National Park
USA
Mammoth Cave National Park is a U.S. National Park in central Kentucky, encompassing portions of Mammoth Cave, the longest cave system known in the world. The official name of the system is the Mammoth-Flint Ridge Cave System for the ridge under which the cave has formed. The park was established as a national park on July 1, 1941. It became a World Heritage Site on October 27, 1981, and an international Biosphere Reserve on September 26, 1990.
The park's 52,835 acres (21,382 ha) are located primarily in Edmonson County, Kentucky, with small areas extending eastward into Hart County and Barren County. It is centered around the Green River, with a tributary, the Nolin River, feeding into the Green just inside the park. With over 367 miles (591 km) of passageways it is by far the world's longest known cave system, being well over twice as long as the second longest cave system, which is South Dakota's Jewel Cave with just over 150 miles (240 km) of known passageways.
Angel Falls
VENEZUELA
Angel Falls is the highest waterfall in the world, at 1,002 m, and is located in the Canaima National Park in Bolivar State, along Venezuela’s border with Brazil.
Angel Falls is located in the Canaima National Park in the Guayana highlands,one of five topographical regions of Venezuela. It plunges off the edge of a "Tepuy", or table-top mountain, and free falls 2,421 feet to the river below, making it the tallest waterfalls on earth. In total it is 15 times higher than Niagara Falls with a total of 2,937 feet.
The fascinating world of the National park in Canaima, is a perfect combination of magic and reality, with their impressive table top mountains called Tepuys, their countless rivers, lagoons, and water falls, forests and savannas distributed as a green sea.
The park, possesses 3 million Hectares, occupying this way the second protected natural area of more extension in Venezuela and the seventh of its size in the world.
Finally, this amazing atmosphere calls for a unique visit at least once in a lifetime.