Sunset Crater Arizona

Sunset Crater Volcano is approximately one thousand years old. The last eruption took place sometime between about 1080 and 1150 AD. Sunset Crater, located in north-central Arizona, actually the youngest volcano found on the 130,000-square-mile at Colorado Plateau. The series of volcano eruption reshaped the nearby landscape, persistently changing the lives of human beings, plants, and animals.

It is named for it’s dazzlingly colored scoria deposits on the cone and only one of more than 550 vents of the vast San Francisco volcanic field. The Sunset main crater at the summit of the cone measures approximately 400 feet across, though the base of the cinder cone measures around one mile. Source: CP

Sea Lion Caves in the Oregon Coast of U.S.

Sea Lion Caves are a connected system of sea caves and caverns open to the Pacific Ocean in the U.S. state of Oregon. They’re are located 11 miles north of Florence and 400 miles Oregon Coast. In this region area Highway 101 follows a steep and undeveloped seascape 300 feet above sea level. Lichens, algae, and mineral stains cover the cavern walls with greens, pinks, purples, buffs, and reds on the rough surfaces, few of which are named Lincoln’s Head, the Indian Maiden, and The Goddess of Liberty.

Original Article Source: Charismatic Planet

The Migration of Monarch Butterflies

The Mexican mountain where orange, black Monarch butterflies gather in countless numbers covers 10 ACRES after a 3,400 mile journey from the US, they’ve earned a rest. The butterflies travel down from the United States and Canada to spend their winters in the mountains west of Mexico City where they are counted by biologists. Unfortunately population of Monarch butterflies have been in serious decline in the recent years, but thanks to conservation efforts by the Canadian, Mexican and American governments, putting great efforts to increase the insects have been making a big comeback.

The Looking Glass Rock is located in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, of Western North Carolina. The sheer face makes it one of best rock climbing destination in the United States. Full article at: Source: Charismatic Planet

The Superstition Mountain

A mountain range located east of Phoenix, Arizona. Already it’s off to a great start with the name. According to legend, sometime in the 1800s a man named Jacob Waltz discovered a huge goldmine within the mountains that has since been dubbed the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine. He kept the location a secret until his deathbed, upon which he may or may not have told a single person the secret. Regardless, the mine has never been found, in spite of many expeditions. Some say the spirits of people who have lost their lives in search of the gold still haunt the mountains.

Kilauea, Hawaii

Kilauea is a currently active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, and the most active of the five volcanoes that together form the island of Hawaii. Located along the southern shore of the island, the volcano is between 300,000 and 600,000 years old and emerged above sea level about 100,000 years ago. It is the second youngest product of the Hawaiian hotspot and the current eruptive center of the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain. It's name means "spewing" or "much spreading" in the Hawaiian language, referring to its frequent outpouring of lava.

McKenzie River - Oregon

The McKenzie River is a 90-mile tributary of the Willamette River in western Oregon in the United States. It drains part of the Cascade Range east of Eugene and flows into the southernmost end of the Willamette Valley.

Ruby Falls ,Chattanooga ,Tennessee

The sheer beauty of Ruby Falls is named one of the ten most incredible cave waterfalls on earth. It is America's deepest commercial cave and largest underground waterfall. You must enjoy a guided tour through the fascinating cavern with its unique rock formations. The highlight of the tour is the sparkling 145-foot underground waterfall.  It's always 59 degrees inside of naturally wonderful Ruby Falls. See the panoramic view from the Lookout Mountain Tower.Source: Noor Kyani

Yosemite National Park, California, USA

Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in the central eastern portion of the U.S. state of California. The park, which is managed by the National Park Service, covers an area of 747,956 acres and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain. Over 3.7 million people visit Yosemite each year: most spend their time in the seven square miles of Yosemite Valley. It is designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves, and biological diversity. Almost 95% of the park is designated wilderness. Yosemite was central to the development of the national park idea. First, Galen Clark and others lobbied to protect Yosemite Valley from development, ultimately leading to President Abraham Lincoln's signing the Yosemite Grant in 1864. Later, John Muir led a successful movement to establish a larger national park encompassing not just the valley, but surrounding mountains and forests as well paving the way for the United States national park system.

Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America

Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America. Located in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada of California, it is a major attraction in the park, especially in late spring when the water flow is at its peak. The total 2,425 feet (739 m) from the top of the upper fall to the base of the lower fall[1] qualifies Yosemite Falls as the sixth highest waterfall in the world, though with the recent discovery of Gocta Cataracts, it appears on some lists as seventh. 

 

The Grand Canyon, USA (Nature architecture)

The Grand Canyon is one of the most remarkable natural wonders in the world. Located in the state of Arizona, USA, it is one of the deepest gorges on Earth with an average depth of one mile (1.6km) and an average width of ten miles. The canyon was carved over the past 6 million years by the action of the Colorado River as it drops over 2,200 feet along the 277-mile length of the gorge. For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site and made pilgrimages to it.

Pearl Beach in Bora Bora Islands!!

Is an island in the Leeward group of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean. The island, located about 230 kilometres (143 miles) northwest of Papeete, is surrounded by a lagoon and a barrier reef. Indeed this is beautiful and must visit place. 

Mirror Lake, Yosemite National Park.

The majestic Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. The lovely valley is about 8 miles long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines. The valley is drained by the Merced River and a multitude of streams and waterfalls including Tenaya, Illilouette, Yosemite and Bridalveil Creeks. Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America, and is a great attraction specifically in the spring when the water flow is at its peak. The valley is famous for its natural beauty, and is extensively viewed as the centerpiece of Yosemite National Park, enticing tourists from around the world.

The majestic beauty of this valley is the main attraction in the park for the majority of tourists, and a bustling hub of activity during "tourist season" in the summer months. However; in July 2, 2011 there was a record 20,851 tourists to the valley. Most tourists enter the valley from roads to the west and pass through the well-known Tunnel View entrance. Therefore; visitor facilities are located in the center of the valley. There’re both hiking trail loops that stay within the valley and trailheads that lead to higher elevations, all of which give glimpses of the parks many scenic wonders.

Grand Canyon Star Trails

One of the natural wonders of planet Earth, the Grand Canyon in the American southwest stretches across this early evening skyscape. The digitally stacked sequence reveals the canyon's layers of sedimentary rock in bright moonlight. Exposed sedimentary rock layers range in age from about 200 million to 2 billion years old, a window to history on a geological timescale. A recent study has found evidence that the canyon itself may have been carved by erosion as much as 70 million years ago. With the camera fixed to a tripod while Earth rotates, each star above carves a graceful arc through the night sky. The concentric arcs are centered on the north celestial pole, the extension of Earth's rotation axis into space, presently near the bright star Polaris.

Falls Creek Falls - Skamania County, Washington

Falls Creek Falls is among the largest and most powerful waterfalls in southern Washington. Fed by an extensive network of springs and streams originating on the Red Mountain plateau - itself a product of the volcanic eruptions which created nearby Big Lava Field - Falls Creek sends a considerable volume of water hurtling 335 feet over its valley's headwall in three distinct steps. The upper tier veils 109 feet in a broad fan-shaped fall which skips down the initial tier of the cliff.

Waipio Valley Hawaii USA

Waipio Valley on the Hamakua Coast is a beautiful valley surrounded by steep cliffs and waterfalls and fronted by a mile long black sand beach.The area has a rich history and is a sacred place for Hawaiians.Hi'ilawe Falls, the Big Island's tallest waterfall, cascades down 1,300 feet in the back of Waipio.

Sailor Lake in Montana's Tobacco Root Mtns; Middle Mtn. at left, Mt. Jackson at right.

Holland Falls - A Final Look Seeley, Montana

This 84 foot water fall is stunning in person. The hike isn't difficult, but you do have to climb some boulders at the end of the trail...makes it a little more interesting :)) I did not see a vantage point where a tripod could be used. These shots were taken while dangling from a downed tree that spanned the turbulent water.

Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the state of Arizona in the United States. It is contained within and managed by Grand Canyon National Park, the Hualapai Tribal Nation, the Havasupai Tribe and the Navajo Nation. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area, and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.

The Great valley

Not just a great valley, but a shrine to human foresight, the strength of granite, the power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra. First protected in 1864, Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more.