The Central Suriname Nature Reserve, Suriname, South America

THE CENTRAL SURINAME NATURE RESERVE (Suriname)

This site in NE South America preserves 6,200 sq mi of pristine montane and lowland primary tropical rainforest. Home to large mammals--like jaguars, giant armadillos, and eight species of primates--and over 5,000 plant species, it features granite domes, the highest mountain in Suriname, and a mountain range named for an explorer who died in the interior.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Río Abiseo National Park, Peru, South America

RIO ABISEO NATIONAL PARK (Peru)

Located on the eastern slope of the Andes in Peru, this 1,060 square mile nature reserve ranges from 1,150 to 13,780 feet in elevation, protecting three distinct ecoregions across seven climate zones. It shelters numerous endemic species; over 35 previously-unknown pre-Inca archaeological sites have been located as well. To protect its resources the park is closed to casual visitors.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Al Zubarah, Qatar

AL ZUBARAH (Qatar)

Ruins are all that remain of this originally nearly-1,000-acre fortified city on the NW coast of Qatar. Founded in the first half of the 18th century by the founder of Bahrain's Al Khalifa royal family, it was once a center of global trade between the Strait of Hormuz and the western arm of the Persian Gulf. Today it is Qatar's most substantial archaeological site.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Brazilian Atlantic Island Reserves

BRAZILIAN ATLANTIC ISLAND RESERVES (off the coast of Brazil)

The Fernando de Noronha archipelago and Rocas Atoll reserves in the Atlantic off the coast of Brazil are formed from the peaks of the Southern Atlantic submarine ridge. They provide breeding and feeding grounds for tuna, shark, turtle, and marine mammals, and are home to the largest concentration of tropical seabirds in the Western Atlantic.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Cueva de las Manos

CUEVA DE LOS MANOS (Río Pinturas, Santa Cruz, Argentina)

Spanish for "Cave of the Hands," located in a complex of rock art sites in the province of Santa Cruz Argentina, and named for the hundreds of hands stenciled on the rock walls. Dated to 7,300 BCE-700 CE, when several waves of people occupied the cave. Considered by some scholars to be the best physical evidence of South American early hunter-gatherer groups.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Patagonia

PATAGONIA (Chile and Argentina)

Don't let the name fool you: "Tierra del Fuego" (the Land of Fire) is NOT hot! It was named for the many bonfires the natives built to keep warm! The climate compares to the Aleutians, or Iceland. The whole region of Patagonia, the southernmost 1,000 miles or so of Chile and Argentina--is cool, being mostly steppes and lava plateaus at the southern end of the Andes.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Christ the Redeemer

CHRIST THE REDEEMER (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

This Art Deco statue overlooks the harbor and city of Rio de Janeiro, and is said to be the fourth largest statue of Jesus Christ in the world. It was built 1922-1931 and stands 98 feet high on a 26-foot pedestal atop a 2,300-foot peak; its arms stretch 292 feet wide--nearly one American football field, goal to goal.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)