Mountains and Rivers without End: An Ode to the Earth’s Beauty
The valley path is calm and cool as I walk here between green walls – and those are diamond waterfalls; this is a bird; and that’s a pool. I heard their far insistent calls and gladly have returned to these. What is revealed to me and known beyond material things alone? It is enough that trees are trees, that earth is earth and stone is stone.
The Earth, away from the messy world of humans, is immensely beautiful despite all that we have done to it. Nature remains a wonderland of wonders, intricate, exquisite and mysterious. And if you believe that all this filigree of beauty is work of a Creator, then you will surely agree that the Creator loves pizzaz, and the photos below, taken from around the globe, are proof of that. They are pictures that will make even the most seasoned traveler weak at the knees, or swoon and thirst for more adventures in the big outdoors. This is as it should be.
A man strolls over one of the finest pink beach in the world in Labuan Bajo, Flores, Eastern Indonesia. Photo: Tom Franklin.
As perfect as you can get: a dreamy view of Mt. Fuji reflected on the surrounding lakes, with a fisherman exactly in the middle of the water. Tom Franklin.
A panoramic view of Urumqi in Xinjiang, China, the city that is the furthest from the ocean. In the background, the snow-capped Tianshan (“heavenly”) mountains with Bogda Peak visible at 5,445m above sea level.
This is Firefall in the Yosemite National Park during the last stages of the golden hour when sunlight hits a small seasonal waterfall called Horsetail Falls. It is an event which only last for two weeks from early February and only happens when multiple exacting conditions are met, including enough snowfall in the days or weeks before, a clear cloudless sky, warm temperatures during the day so the snow will melt to actually get the water flowing and low to no mind conditions as the waterfall doesn’t produce much water. Photo: Tom Franklin.
A cave in Jogjakarta, Indonesia. An underground river has eroded this cave into perfection, creating a hole in the ceiling where the sun’s rays gets a chance to shine through. Photo: Tom Franklin.
Sunset in Sossusvlei in Namibia, Africa casting abstract shadows on the high red sand dunes, with an oryx showing up for special visual effects. Sossusvlei is a salt and clay pan surrounded by tall dunes, located in the southern part of the Namib Desert in Namibia. Photo: Tom Franklin.
A moon halo looking over clouds in Ambon, Maluku, Eastern Indonesia. Moon halos are a rare phenomenon. A halo needs ice crystals to be present in high cirrus clouds. The crystals act as prisms and mirrors, reflecting and refracting light between their surfaces, sending shafts of light in particular directions.
Iceland is full of waterfalls, but Skogafoss lords over them all, with its thundering drop of some 60 meters and a width of 25 meters. You can walk right up to it but be prepared to be drenched! Photo: Tom Franklin.
There are places in the world that gives you the feeling like you’ve landed on another planet. Namibia is one such place. Pictured here are the alien-looking Quiver Trees of Namibia against the backdrop of a beautiful sunset. The tree is also known as an “upside down” tree as the “leaves” look somewhat like roots. This tree has a long history of beliefs that it will bring good luck to whoever worships and nurtures it. Photo: Tom Franklin.Here’s another place where you can imagine yourself being on Mars. This is Wadi Rum in South Jordan and it’s where Ridley Scott shot scenes of “Mars” for his Sci-fi flick, The Martian. Also called the Valley of the Moon, the 278-square-mile protected area indeed looks about as Martian as you’re likely to find anywhere on Earth. Photo: Tom Franklin.
A dried-up river bed in Deadvlei close to Sossusvlei in Namibia. The contrast between the red clay of the pan and the white cracked mud creates a surreal beauty reminiscent of an abstract painting. Photo: Tom Franklin.
A dead tree in Deadvlei, Namibia standing amidst the towering red dunes of the Namb Rand desert just outside Sossusvlei in Namibia, Africa. The name Deadvlei means dead marsh. What was once a marsh is now a dried white clay pan, surrounded by some of the highest sand dunes in the world. The trees are estimated to be approximately 900 years old. However they have not decomposed due to the dry climate. Photo: Tom Franklin.
A beautiful morning in Iceland with the sun touching the edges of a geyser. It is estimated that there are between 20 and 30 active geysers in Iceland, and some 38 dormant or sealed ones. Geysers are so plentiful in Iceland because of the large numbers of active volcanoes (at least 30) scattered around the island. All this tectonic activity and volcanoes produces a lot of energy and heat and some of it comes to the surface. Photo: Tom Franklin.Every end March to early May in Japan’s Toyoma Bay, firefly squids rise to the surface of the sea and put on a spectacular show. They ascend from ocean depths of 200 to 600m to the surface to spawn and to take in the abundance of nutrients deposited from the snow melt of the nearby Tateyama mountains. The firefly squids have luminous organs that give off an ethereal blue-white glow that attracts thousands of visitors every year vying to catch a glimpse of the shimmering spectacle. Photo: Tom Franklin.Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni is a place of mirage, a vast 4,000 square miles of salt flats that date back to over 30,000 years ago when the lakes dried up to form the Salar. You can drive over the salt deposits or walk on the salt flats after the rains to take in the mirage of walking on clouds, an effect caused by the rainwater on the surface reflecting the whole sky like a giant mirror (note the rainy season runs from November to March). Photo: Derek Low.Walking on clouds in Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni.
The first time any visitor set their eyes on the Waves in Vermillion Cliffs at the border between Utah and Arizona in the US, they will find it hard to believe something like this exists. It is one of nature’s many great works of art. These incredible rock formations with their vibrant colors and intriguing forms, attract hordes of photographers, artists, and tourists alike.
Known as the mountain of the tri-colored lakes, Mount Kelimutu in Flores, Indonesia is a magical place, and a source of myths and legends. Each lake in the crest of the volcano would change color and display different shades depending on the time of day – at times milky white, at times turquoise, and at times green and even black. The changing colors are caused by various minerals such as zinc and lead interacting with steam and gases such as Sulphur dioxide from fumaroles or volcanic vents. Sunsets are particularly crowded with visitors, but sunrise is also a good time to see the enchanted lakes.
An aerial view of the different colors on the lakes at Mount Kelimutu taken by NASA.
