01 / QuietUnited StatesWhite SandsMoonlight, pale dunes, and the traces of an older world.
Enter the story
Iceland / Vatnajökull
Earth.
Almost alien.
Extraordinary landscapes. A real planet.
Discover the worlds within our own.
64.40° N 16.80° W
Photograph by Eric Kilby · Image credits
01/ 24
An invitation to explore
Start with these
three worlds.
Quiet dunes. Living chemistry. Towers of stone.
Three contrasting ways to see the same planet.
The collection
Beyond the familiar.
From luminous ice to living colour.
Choose a landscape. Look a little closer.
24 places / All landscapesWONDER HAS COORDINATES
01 / 24IceVatnajökull
Iceland
Inside the blue hour
02 / 24SaltSalar de Uyuni
Bolivia
Where the sky touches itself
03 / 24DesertWadi Rum
Jordan
A desert written in stone
04 / 24DesertNamib Desert
Namibia
An ocean made of sand
05 / 24VolcanicMount Bromo
Indonesia
A crater inside a crater
06 / 24WaterPamukkale
Türkiye
Water becoming stone
07 / 24StoneGiant’s Causeway
Northern Ireland, UK
Geometry at the edge of the sea
08 / 24StoneTsingy de Bemaraha
Madagascar
A forest with stone crowns
09 / 24StoneSocotra
Yemen
An island of unlikely silhouettes
10 / 24WaterGrand Prismatic Spring
United States
A spectrum that is alive
11 / 24WaterLençóis Maranhenses
Brazil
Where rain fills the dunes
12 / 24StoneWulingyuan
China
A thousand islands in the mist
13 / 24IceLake Baikal
Russia
Winter over deep time
14 / 24VolcanicDallol
Ethiopia
Chemistry in full colour
15 / 24StonePurnululu
Australia
The striped stone country
16 / 24WaterMarble Caves
Chile
A cathedral made by water
17 / 24DesertWhite Sands
United States
A sea of ground crystal
18 / 24StoneRichat Structure
Mauritania
The Sahara opens an eye
19 / 24VolcanicKelimutu
Indonesia
Three lakes. No fixed palette.
20 / 24SaltSalar de Arizaro
Argentina
A vanished lake. A solitary summit.
21 / 24VolcanicLandmannalaugar
Iceland
Mountains with a molten past.
22 / 24WaterMono Lake
United States
A skyline built underwater.
23 / 24SaltLake Natron
Tanzania
A living palette of salt.
24 / 24IcePerito Moreno
Argentina
A wall that never stands still.
No places on this horizon.
Try another name, country or landscape.
24 perspectives on the same extraordinary planet.Back to the atlas ↑
Our perspective
Stranger than fiction.
Closer than you think.
Otherworldly Earth is a field guide to looking again. To the chemistry behind a colour, the water that carved a canyon, and the people whose stories belong to a place.
These are real landscapes, photographed on our own planet. Every story brings together science, human history and change over time, with sources to keep exploring. Wonder is only the beginning.
Photography, sources & credits
All landscape images are real photographs. Each is credited below and alongside its story. WebP-compressed images retain their original licenses; responsive layouts crop their presentation. Individual stories link to their editorial sources.
- VatnajökullIce Cave Blue Roof - Iceland.jpg · Eric Kilby · CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Salar de UyuniSalar de Uyuni, Bolivia, 2016-02-04, DD 10-12 HDR.JPG · Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Wadi RumWadi Rum at night · Daniele Colucci · Unsplash License. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Namib DesertBare trees on the pale floor of Deadvlei beneath orange dunes and a blue sky · Sam Power · Unsplash License. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Mount BromoGunung Bromo sunrise - Indonesia.jpg · Thomas Fuhrmann · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- PamukkalePamukkale travertine pools · User-supplied photograph · User-supplied image. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Giant’s CausewayAtlantic waves breaking against the basalt columns of Giant’s Causeway · Alexander · Unsplash License. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Tsingy de BemarahaJagged grey limestone pinnacles at Tsingy de Bemaraha framed by a rock overhang · Rafael Peier · Unsplash License. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- SocotraDragon's Blood Trees, Socotra Is. (22903622819).jpg · Rod Waddington · CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Grand Prismatic SpringGrand prismatic spring.jpg · Jim Peaco, National Park Service · Public domain. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Lençóis MaranhensesLençóis Maranhenses 2018 (cropped).jpg · Julius Dadalti · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- WulingyuanSandstone pillars above a misty valley in Zhangjiajie · Robynne O · Unsplash License. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Lake BaikalLake Baikal in winter.jpg · Sergey Pesterev · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- DallolEthiopia - Dallol.jpg · Thomas Fuhrmann · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Purnululu00 2117 Purnululu National Park (Australia).jpg · W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Marble CavesBlue marble walls reflected in calm water inside the Marble Caves · Timothy Cohen · Unsplash License. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- White SandsMoon above white gypsum dunes near sunset · John Fowler · Unsplash License. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Richat StructureSatellite view of the concentric Richat Structure within the orange sands and dark plateau of Mauritania · USGS · Unsplash License. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- KelimutuTurquoise lake in volcanic crater at sunrise · Yub 12 · Unsplash License. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Salar de ArizaroCono de Arita, Salta. Argentina.jpg · Ben Stubbs · CC BY 2.0. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- LandmannalaugarBrown mountain range · yifei liu · Unsplash License. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Mono LakeSunrise among Mono Lake’s tufa towers · Mick Haupt · Unsplash License. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Lake NatronLake Natron’s vibrant red water · Copernicus Sentinel-2 · Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- Perito MorenoPerito Moreno blue ice · User-supplied photograph · User-supplied image. Resized; displayed with cropping.
- World mapMade with Natural Earth, public-domain geographic data. Simplified overview; markers show approximate location.
- TypographyManrope and DM Sans, distributed under the SIL Open Font License. Manrope license · DM Sans license.
WADI RUM, JORDAN Photograph by Daniele Colucci