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Top Ten Geological Wonders

Whether they are huge volcanoes that dominate the skyline, dramatic canyons or mysterious underground caves, these geological wonders add an awe-inspiring extra dimension to your explorations.

El Teide and Las Cañadas, Tenerife, Spain. Spain’s highest mountain, El Teide (3,718 metres), is in fact a stratovolcano which is surrounded by a gigantic caldera known as Las Cañadas. Geologists do not know for sure what created the caldera (in fact two semi-calderas separated by a ridge), but whatever it was – a landslide or a volcanic explosion – created a desert-like landscape of great drama and stark beauty in which tones of yellow, red, brown and ochre dominate. Needless to say, the views from these great heights are astonishing.

Skocjan Caves, Kras, Slovenia. This whole region of Slovenia is one of the most studied karst landscapes in the world. Other than the marvellous stalagmite and stalactite formations, what makes the Unesco-protected Škocjan Caves so astonishing is their size – there are some 6 kilometres of underground passages, numerous waterfalls and one of the largest underground chambers ever discovered.

Bletterbach Canyon, Südtirol, Italy. In the Südtirol’s only canyon, 20-metre-high rock walls frame the river dramatically, revealing the structure and evolution of the Dolomite range – and many fossils. As you walk through it, you are able to distinguish three layers of rock: porphyry (a form of quartzite unique to the Alps) on the bottom, followed by a layer of sandstone, which in turn is topped by dolomite rock, a limestone. Of course, the Dolomite peaks which often frame the horizon as you walk in the Südtirol are a geological wonder in their own right, the pale-coloured limestone having been eroded over the millennia into towers and steep cliffs by rain, ice and wind.

Western Fjords, Norway. The sheer grandeur of Norway’s western fjords is awe-inspiring – and humbling. They were formed during the last Ice Age, when the weight of the vast ice sheets that covered Scandinavia pushed the existing river valleys further and further down, lower even than the ocean floor, creating vast coastal basins that filled with water as the ice retreated. Perhaps the most majestic of them all is Sognefjord, in which the water depth is around 1,250 metres, ten times that of the Norwegian Sea.

Faial's Badlands, Azores, Portugal. So many of the wonders in our Top Ten are awe-inspiring because of their age, but Faial's badlands are very new, relatively speaking. The stark – and very eerie – landscape of volcanic ash and large rocks was created by a year-long eruption in 1957. So much volcanic matter spewed from the volcano that Faial increased in size by two kilometres to the west. The 19th-century lighthouse that once stood on the western cliffs is now inland – a strange sight. Almost fifty years on, signs of life are appearing in the form of occasional, very hardy flowers growing amid the expanses of lava, but visitors still have the impression of walking on the moon. Only the terns flying overhead from the protected colony nearby remind you that you aren't!

Cabo Girão, Madeira, Portugal. The cliffs at Cabo Girão in southern Madeira rise 580 metres from the sea, making them the second tallest sea cliffs in Europe. From the magnificent – if rather vertiginous – viewpoint at the top, you can see minute plots of land cut into the cliff face where vines thrive in the sunshine. Elsewhere along Madeira’s dramatic coastline are fajas – large, now cultivated strips of land at the foot of towering cliffs that were formed when erosion by the sea caused the upper part of the cliff to fall down.

Garganta Divina , Asturias, Spain. The correct name is the Cares Gorge, but Garganta Divina – which translates as ‘Divine Ravine’ – better conveys the drama of the landscape. It is hard not to feel a sense of awe as you explore. Almost as astonishing as the gorge itself is the path (and water channel) that has been carved into the side of the gorge, a real feat of engineering that allows you to admire breathtaking views of the mountains at the heart of the Picos de Europa.

Boscarró, Garrotxa, Spain. The Garrotxa region of Catalonia is full of little surprises such as handsome stone villages, volcanoes, diverse wildlife, sudden views of the Mediterranean – and El Boscarró. It is just a small, humble site, but nevertheless an interesting one, and consists of a cliff composed of hexagonal basaltic columns similar to those which make up the Giant’s Causeway in County Antrim.

Gouffre de Padirac, Dordogne, France. The vast, gaping sinkhole measuring 33 metres in diameter and 75 metres deep was once commonly believed to have been created by Satan. Indeed, legend had it that, after an unsuccessful day searching for souls that could go straight to heaven, St Martin had come across Satan. Satan cut an abyss in the ground with his claw and offered to hand over to St Martin all the damned souls of the locality if he could jump across. Rising to the challenge, St Martin spurred on his horse and, with one huge bound, cleared the chasm, leaving hoof marks on the rock as a reminder of the souls he redeemed. Although the creation of the caves was, of course, much more mundane, they are still just as impressive, and the guided tour is partly on foot, partly by boat so that you can discover the immense caverns, spectacular stalactites and underground lakes.

Aletsch Glacier, Valais, Switzerland. (You can go and see it from the Hotel Castle in the Goms Valley.) Located in the heart of the most glaciated part of the Alps, in an area that has been designated a Unesco World Heritage Site, the Aletsch Glacier is the largest and longest in western Eurasia, making it the subject of many studies into glacial history and climate change. As with so many of the other natural wonders listed here, its sheer size cannot fail to impress.

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