World Map of Natural Formations
A complementary way to explore the library: each marker is a real, named example of a formation covered in Frontline Earth, plotted over NASA's Blue Marble composite satellite image of Earth. If you prefer, the full list below the map has the same information in an accessible, linkable format.
All mapped locations
The same data as the map above, in list form.
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Mount Everest
Mountain
The highest point on Earth, raised by the ongoing collision between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
Read: How Mountains Form → -
Mount Fuji
Volcano
A classic stratovolcano built from alternating layers of hardened lava and ash.
Read: The Main Types of Volcanoes → -
Grand Canyon
Canyon
A mile-deep gorge cut by the Colorado River through layers of exposed rock.
Read: How Canyons Are Carved → -
Mammoth Cave
Cave & Cavern
The longest known cave system in the world, dissolved from thick limestone beds.
Read: How Caves and Caverns Develop → -
Sahara Desert
Desert
The largest hot desert on Earth, shaped by persistent high-pressure, dry air circulation.
Read: How Deserts Form → -
Perito Moreno Glacier
Glacier
One of the few glaciers in Patagonia that is still advancing rather than retreating.
Read: How Glaciers Shape the Landscape → -
Geirangerfjord
Fjord
A steep-sided Norwegian fjord carved by glaciers during past ice ages.
Read: How Fjords Are Created → -
Angel Falls
Waterfall
The world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall, dropping from a flat-topped tepui.
Read: How Waterfalls Form and Change → -
Mississippi River Delta
River Delta
A sediment-built delta that has been shifting its main channel for thousands of years.
Read: How River Deltas Develop → -
Colorado Plateau
Plateau
A broad, elevated region of layered rock that has been uplifted largely intact.
Read: How Plateaus Form → -
Great Plains
Plain
A vast interior lowland built up by sediment and wind-blown soil over millions of years.
Read: Plains and the Processes That Create Them → -
Yosemite Valley
Valley
A glacially carved valley with steep granite walls and a broad, flat floor.
Read: How Valleys Are Formed → -
Cliffs of Moher
Coastal Cliff
Atlantic-facing cliffs shaped by centuries of wave attack on layered rock.
Read: How Coastal Cliffs Develop → -
Sossusvlei Dunes
Sand Dune
Some of the tallest sand dunes on Earth, built and reshaped by shifting desert winds.
Read: How Sand Dunes Move and Change → -
Pantanal
Wetland
One of the largest tropical wetlands in the world, shaped by seasonal flooding.
Read: How Wetlands Form → -
Bikini Atoll
Coral Atoll
A ring-shaped coral atoll marking the site of a slowly subsided volcanic island.
Read: How Coral Atolls Develop → -
Guilin Karst
Karst Landscape
Dramatic limestone towers formed by the dissolution of thick carbonate rock.
Read: Karst Landscapes and Limestone Erosion → -
Yellowstone Geyser Basin
Geyser & Hot Spring
Home to the largest concentration of active geysers on Earth, fed by a volcanic hot spot.
Read: How Geysers and Hot Springs Work → -
Badlands National Park
Badlands
Sharply eroded sedimentary formations carved rapidly by water on soft, dry rock.
Read: How Badlands Are Formed → -
Salar de Uyuni
Salt Flat
The largest salt flat on Earth, left behind by a series of evaporated prehistoric lakes.
Read: How Salt Flats Develop → -
Barringer Meteor Crater
Impact Crater
One of the best-preserved meteorite impact craters on Earth's surface.
Read: How Impact Craters Are Created → -
Delicate Arch
Natural Arch
A freestanding sandstone arch shaped by the selective erosion of softer rock layers.
Read: Natural Arches and the Power of Erosion → -
Great Blue Hole
Sinkhole
A giant marine sinkhole that formed as a limestone cave system during past ice ages.
Read: How Sinkholes Form → -
Siberian Permafrost (Yakutia)
Permafrost Landscape
Vast stretches of permanently frozen ground that shape the regional landscape and ecology.
Read: Permafrost Landscapes and Seasonal Change → -
Great Rift Valley
Rift Valley
A long system of connected trenches formed as tectonic plates pull apart across East Africa.
Read: How Rift Valleys Are Created → -
Amazon Floodplain
Floodplain
Seasonally flooded lowlands bordering the Amazon River, rebuilt with sediment each year.
Read: How Floodplains Develop → -
Twelve Apostles
Coastal Landform
Limestone sea stacks left standing after wave erosion collapsed the cliffs around them.
Read: How Coastal Erosion Creates New Landforms → -
Hawaiian Islands
Island
A chain of volcanic islands built directly from the ocean floor above a stationary hot spot.
Read: Volcanic Islands vs Continental Islands →