The first stop to observe one of these wonders is in Venezuela, and more precisely, Mount Roraima. It is a 10 km long tabular mountain between Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela. Mount Roraima emerges nearly 1,000 meters above the rainforest and savannah. Moreover, it is one of the oldest rock masses on earth, and it consists ►
The first stop to observe one of these wonders is in Venezuela, and more precisely, Mount Roraima. It is a 10 km long tabular mountain between Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela. Mount Roraima emerges nearly 1,000 meters above the rainforest and savannah. Moreover, it is one of the oldest rock masses on earth, and it consists of sandstone, silica, and quartz that form natural pools and caves due to erosion. This geological formation looks like a small desert island. Further afield, in Arizona, La Vague is a place not to be missed. Located in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, between Arizona and Utah, the undulations in red and ochre colors are incredible. The wind carved these geological formations more than 190 million years ago. This site is made of dunes and compact clay, making it brittle; therefore, access is only possible to about twenty people daily. In North America, Mount Thor in Canada is unmissable. It is almost the tallest vertical wall in the world and measures 1,250 meters with an angle of 105°. This granite peak was formed by glaciers that carved out the rock over the years. Moreover, alongside it is Mount Asgard, just as impressive. Then, in Argentina, there is the Valley of the Moon because it refers to a dry surface dotted with rocks. There are geological formations born 180 to 230 million years ago on this site with somewhat atypical names such as El Gusano, La Esfinge, El Submarino, and La Cancha. On the Asian side, the Philippines intrigues many travelers with the geological formations of the Chocolate Hills. For this, explorers can go to the island of Bohol, where more than 1,700 mountains of brown shale await them. These famous Chocolate Hills are listed on a territory of 50 km2 at approximately 30 to 50 meters. These have existed for nearly two million years through the sedimentation of sand and limestone from coral and shells. Then, this layer was eroded by rainwater to form these strange giant molehills covered in greenery in the rainy season. Further afield, the rainbow mountains of Zhangye Danxia are real intrigues in China. These include a gradient of colors unique in the world, and these hills result from numerous layers of varied sediments accumulated over twenty million years. Thus, each color depends on the composition of the rock: red indicates the presence of iron oxide, while green comes from chlorite. On the African continent, Madagascar is the next destination to visit to admire one of the most beautiful geological formations in the world. The Tsingy de Bemaraha is presented as a natural limestone cathedral. The landscape offers a sharp-sided needle forest shaped by centuries of erosion. Tsingy, also called lapiaz, results from an accumulation of fossilized shells during the Jurassic period when the sea still submerged the western part of the island. Only after a landslide that this plate lifted and over the years, the rain erased the traces of limestone to give way to a jagged relief. Europe also has some geologically surprising places. It is mainly the case with the giant's causeway in Ireland. Here, 40,000 geometric columns stand on the Northern Irish coast as steps for giants straight out of the Celtic imagination. This geological formation was caused by a basalt flow from a volcanic eruption nearly 60 million years ago. These columns then formed due to a rapid contraction of the lava. On the continent of Oceania, the Bungle Bungle awaits tourists in Australia. These are strange striped orange and anthracite domes found in Purnululu National Park. They are made of sandstone dating back more than 300 million years and offer a breathtaking sight. ◄
