The Wadden Sea, Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark

THE WADDEN SEA (Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark)

This intertidal zone in the SE part of the North Sea lies between the coast of NW Europe and the Frisian Islands. It forms a shallow body of water with tidal flats and wetlands, and high biological diversity. Its 3,900 square miles touch a 310-mile coastline; the dikes built to control flooding make it one of the most human-altered habitats on earth.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

MONARCH BUTTERFLY BIOSPHERE RESERVE (Mexico)

Every year in late-summer or autumn, monarch butterflies make a north-to-south migration. Hundreds of millions of these fly thousands of miles to overwinter in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve on the border of Michoacán and the State of Mexico, 60 miles NW of Mexico City. They breed along the way: no single individual makes the entire trip.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

The Laponian Area, Sweden

THE LAPONIAN AREA (Sweden)

Located in northern Sweden's Arctic Circle region, home of the Saami people, this is the largest and one of the last areas of the world supporting a semi-nomadic lifestyle revolving around the seasonal movement of livestock. The Saami lead their herds of reindeer into the mountains every summer, in addition to coastal fishing, fur trapping, and sheep herding.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Writing-on-Stone (Aisinai'pi), Alberta, Canada

WRITING-ON-STONE (AISINAI'PI) (ALBERTA, CANADA)

Sacred to the Blackfoot and other tribes, the Writing-on-Stone (Aisinai'pi) area in Alberta, Canada, contains the greatest concentration of rock art on the North American Great Plains, with over 50 petroglyph sites and thousands of works. Archaeological remains in the area date back as far as 4,500 years. This area of sandstone cliffs and columns (hoodoos) straddles the Milk River.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Huascaran National Park, Peru

HUASCARAN NATIONAL PARK (Peru)

Huascaran National Park centers on 22,205 foot Mt. Huascaran in Peru's Cordillera Blanca (the world's highest tropical mountain range), part of the central Andes. About 93 miles long and average 16 wide, it's filled with deep ravines, glacial lakes, and a variety of vegetation. A well-known mountaineering spot, it is home to spectacled bears, Andean condors, vicunas, and tarucas.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, The Philippines

TUBBATAHA REEFS NATURAL PARK (The Philippines)

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (from two Sama-Bajau words meaning "a long reef exposed at low tide") are a marine and bird sanctuary in the middle of the Sulu Sea consisting of two huge atolls and a smaller reef, covering 374.6 square miles. With its very high density of marine species (and serving as a nesting site for birds and marine turtles), it is an excellent example of a pristine coral reef.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Democratic Republic of the Congo

OKAPI WILDLIFE RESERVE (Democratic Republic of the Congo) 

The unique okapi (looks a bit like a zebra, but related to the giraffe) lives only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Okapi Wildlife Reserve, occupying about 1/5 of the Ituri forest in the country's NE, was founded by the Okapi Conservation Project in 1987. Threatened primates and birds and about 1/6 of the world's wild okapi live there, as do traditional nomadic pygmy hunters.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Taishan, China

TAISHAN (China)

Mount Tai (Taishan) is the eastern mountain of China's Five Sacred Mountains, signifying birth and renewal. It is considered sacred to both Buddhism and Taoism, and has been a site of religious activities for at least three millennia. It is also the highest point in China's Shandong Province.

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The Hortobagy National Park, Hungary

THE HORTOBAGY NATIONAL PARK (Hungary)

Located on the steppes (Puszta) of eastern Hungary, the Hortobagy National Park preserves landscapes that have been used for the grazing of domestic animals for over two millennia, a low-impact interaction between people and nature. At well over 300 sq mi it is the largest semi-natural grassland  in Europe. Inside its borders is the famed Nine-arched Bridge built 1827-1833.

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Slopes of the Himalayas, Uttarakhand, India

SLOPES OF THE HIMILAYAS, UTTARAKHAND (INDIA)

High in West Himalayas, Nanda Devi National Park in Uttarakhand, India, features rugged mountainous terrain; the annexed Valley of Flowers has meadows of alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty. A richly diverse area, it is home to Asiatic black bears, snow leopards, brown bears, and blue sheep. Together they encompass a unique transition zone.

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Papahanaumokuakea, Hawaii, USA

PAPAHANAUMOKUAKEA, HAWAII, USA

The euphoniously named Papahanaumokuakea is a Marine National Monument in the NW Hawaiian islands considered sacred by Native Hawaiians, who believe all life springs from there, and that spirits return there after death. It consists of 583,000 square miles of ocean, surrounding 10 islands and atolls. It is one of the world's largest protected areas, with numerous species.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Shark Bay, Australia

SHARK BAY (Australia)

Shark Bay and its islands are at the westernmost point of the Australian continent, about 500 miles north of Perth. The vast sea-grass beds are the largest and richest in the world, and home to 10,000 or so dugongs ("sea cows"), about 1/8 of the world's population. And its stromatolites (hard deposits formed by colonies of algae) are among the oldest lifeforms on earth.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Virgin Komi Forests, Russia

VIRGIN KOMI FORESTS (Russia)

This forest in the Northern Ural Mountains of the Komi Republic, Russia, is at over 12,600 square miles the largest virgin forest remaining in Europe.  Trees include conifers, aspens, and birches; mammals include reindeer, sables, minks, and hares. The area has peat bogs, rivers, and natural lakes, but logging--and gold deposits in its northern reaches--present threats to its protection.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

The Ennedi Massif, Chad, Africa

THE ENNEDI MASSIF (Chad)

Through the ages, water and wind erosion have sculpted the sandstone mountains of Ennedi in NE Chad into a spectacular landscape of canyons, valleys, cliffs, and arches. Permanent water in the largest canyons supports the Massif's ecosystem: floral, faunal, and human. Thousands of rock art images adorn caves, canyons and shelters, one of the largest ensembles in the Sahara.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

The Summer Palace, Beijing, China

THE SUMMER PALACE, BEIJING (China)

Beijing's Summer Palace was an imperial garden in the Qing dynasty, and today is an ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces a little over a square mile, most of it covered with water features. A 200-foot hill (made from soil acquired when excavating the central lake) has halls and pavilions on one side, and quiet natural beauty on the other.

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Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo

VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

The Albertine Rift (named, ultimately, for Queen Victoria's consort) runs through parts of several east African countries; on its western side, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Virunga (meaning "volcanoes") National Park runs 190 miles, with two active volcanoes and more than 3,000 faunal and floral species; more than 300 are endemic to the Rift including the eastern mountain gorilla and the golden monkey.

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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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The Cape Floral Region, South Africa

THE CAPE FLORAL REGION (South Africa)

Located on the extreme southwest coast of South Africa, the Cape Floral (or Floristic) Region is one of the world's great centers of terrestrial biodiversity, and includes national parks, nature reserves, wilderness areas, and other protected zones. It is by far the smallest of the world's six "Floristic Kingdoms," which typically embrace continents.

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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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The Khomani Cultural Landscape, South Africa

THE KHOMANI CULTURAL LANDSCAPE (South Africa)

Located on the South Africa/Botswana border near Namibia, this area contains evidence of human occupation from the Stone Age to the present. The culture of the formerly nomadic Khomani and related San people adapted to this harsh landscape, which bears testimony to their ethos of living softly on the land as part of nature over thousands of years.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)