Great Natural Wonders of the World

00:00:07 The Earth is indeed an extraordinary planet

00:02:04 We start in north America a land of countless wonders both old and new

00:04:19 coffin peak

00:05:55 When summer comes the intense sunlight encourages the growth of colorful algae that

00:08:08 This desert landscape forms part of the Navaho nation tribal park which straddles the border between Utah and Arizona

00:10:44 Afternoon storms bring more rain which floods down the face of the pinnacles deepening the gullies and reshaping the canyon

00:13:10 As each droplet falls into the cool chamber it deposits a tiny veneer of limestone

00:16:36 South America is a land of immense rivers and vast wildernesses

00:18:28 In the wet season its river swell to bursting point

00:21:52 and glaciers still gnaw at their foundations

00:25:10 until all that remains above the surface are the remanets of the rim of the crater

00:27:42 Further west in India

00:30:13 From these peaks massive glaciers surge down the mountain valleys

00:32:48 Several of the formations have been given fairytale names, this is Julius castle

00:35:54 South to the world's second largest continent

00:38:03 Along its course are sceneries of lakes of fall

00:41:04 Statistically this is the driest desert in Africa

00:43:52 to the great monolith that aborigines call Uluru and European travelers in the 19th century named Ayers Rock

00:46:33 The different layers of limestone were laid down as sediment on the floor of an ancient and long vanished sea

00:48:34 But it's the power and speed of the ebb and flow that is so impressive

00:51:09 But the curious beehive-shaped domes of sandstone are comparatibly recent creations

00:54:07 Tallest of all is Mt. Cook, part of the young rugged spine of South Island

00:56:30 that in itself is a direct consequence of the wonderfully varied natural features and landscapes of our planet