Lonely Planet - Lonely Planet’s Beautiful World

Rufous hummingbird. California, USA Rufous hummingbirds, here seen feeding on nectar at Huntington Beach, California, are just 8cm long but the hyperactive birds migrate across North America, following the blooming of wild flowers. Susan Gary | Getty Images

California, USA The General Sherman Tree, a sequoia found in Californias Sequoia National Park, is the worlds largest tree. It is more than 83m tall and has a diameter of 7.7m. Its thought to be around 2000 years old. David Clapp | Getty Images The Dolomites, Italy Home to our solar system, the mighty Milky Way contains more than 200 billion stars and perhaps almost as many planets not least of which is Earth. Anita Stizzoli | Getty Images Danakil Desert, Ethiopia The ancient volcanic crater in Dallol creates amazing heat (it is said to be the hottest place on earth), colourful, acidic ponds, mountains of sulphur, and an out-of-this-world landscape.

Radius Images | Corbis Cappadocia, Turkey Cappadocia is a geological oddity of honeycombed hills and towering boulders that were fashioned through volcanic ash and moulded by millennia of rain and river flow. George Steinmetz | Corbis Easter Island, Pacific Ocean The monolithic human figures on Easter Island were carved by the Rapa Nui people sometime between the years 1250 and 1500. The tallest statue is almost 10m high. Science Photo Library | Getty Images Utah, USA Dawns warm light hits the rock formations of Canyonlands. The arches, bridges, needles, spires and craters of Utahs largest park were carved by the Colorado River. Neale Clarke | Getty Images Sahara Desert, Algeria Water lies about 15m below the Adjder oasis, and the local farmers reach it via hand-dug wells.

These days electric pumps make the task a lot easier. George Steinmetz | Corbis Yunnan, China In the southwest of China lies this fertile plateau of rice paddies. Agriculture in east Asia began 10,000 years ago, and prompted people to settle in one area. Panorama Media | Getty Images New South Wales, Australia The Blue Mountains National Park, 80km west of Sydney, comprises waterfalls, canyons and rainforest. An ancient tree species, the Wollemi pine, was found in a gorge here. Ted Mead | Getty Images Djibouti The fractures in the lava of Ghoubbet-el-Kharab the Devils Throat continue to widen each year because of the high seismic activity; the region straddles three tectonic plates.

Nigel Pavitt | Corbis Croatia This Unesco World Heritagelisted park is made up of interlinked and cascading lakes, caves and forest. The colours of the lakes range from azure to green, blue and even grey. Kelly Cheng | Getty Images Western Australia These bulbous trees live throughout the Kimberley. For Australias indigenous people they were a source of food, water and shelter. Peter Walton | Getty Images Amboseli National Park, Kenya In some years the rains dont arrive in Amboseli National Park and one of Africas best places to see wildlife becomes a desert; in other years heavy rains turn it into a swamp. Gerry Ellis | Getty Images

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