Where in the World

    In the extreme southern Pacific, bordering the continent of Antarctica, lies a seemingly improbable waterscape. Even though they are just above freezing and topped with a thick layer of ice, the waters of the Ross Sea off the western coast of Antarctica are anything but lifeless; they abound with wildlife of all types that continues to astound marine biologists.

South America is home to many interesting land formations and natural wonders, including Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat on Earth. The area is the remnant of prehistoric Lake Minchin, which left behind the enormous salt deposits visible today along with two smaller lakes, Poopó Lake and Uru Uru Lake.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, located in western North Dakota, is a unique park. Not only is it the only park to serve as a memorial, but its association with the 26^th president makes it as rich in historic resources as it is in natural wonder.

Jigokudani National Park, translated as “Hell’s Valley,” is located in the Nagano prefecture of Japan. This region is centrally located on the island of Honshu and contains Japan’s highest peaks. Water boils and steams through the valley floor, giving the valley its rather unwelcoming name.

In the northeastern section of the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal is the world’s largest bay. Bounded in the west by India and the island nation of Sri Lanka, in the north by Bangladesh, and in the east by Burma (also known as Myanmar) and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the name of the bay is taken from the eponymous region that spans parts of India and Bangladesh.

Walden Pond is located in Concord, Mass. It is 102 feet deep covering 61 acres with a 1.7 mile circumference. While seemingly unimpressive and indistinct as a natural feature, Walden Pond is nonetheless one of the most famous places in the United States. Often called the birthplace of the conservation movement, Walden Pond served as the inspiration and subject for Henry David Thoreau’s classic "Walden; or Life in the Woods." Thoreau’s book inspired awareness and respect for the natural environment for generations.

Crater Lake is found in the Cascade Range of southern Oregon. At nearly 2,000 feet, it is the deepest lake in the United States and one of the deepest in the world. The lake lies in the caldera (basin) of a volcano that collapsed following eruption about 7,700 years ago. It is surrounded by steep rock walls as high as 2,000 feet in some locations and is about five miles in diameter.

The Mesoamerican Reef is one of the largest reefs in the world, second only to the Great Barrier Reef. The reef spans nearly 700 miles from the northern tip of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula to the Bay Islands of Honduras. It covers 115 million acres and includes ocean habitats, coastal zones and tropical and cloud forests. There are more than 60 species of coral and 500 species of fish in the reef. It is also home to the whale shark, the world’s largest fish.