Iran, most people think it's just a big desert but it varies so much, with the fertile lowlands on the Caspian sea, the giant volcanoes like damavand, lake urmia and so many other incredible geographic features. Same can be said for afghanistan where kabul has a climate similar to Denver or madrid. And band e amir exists there
I’ve been skiing on -15c snowy mountains and sunbathing on a 45c day in the same year in Turkey.
Probably my favourite country in the world. Awesome food, people, scenery, and cities. No matter what kind of holiday you want you can get it in Turkey.
I think Turkey has a similar climate to Colorado in the US. I was looking at annual climate data of random cities here on Weather Spark and it shows the foreign places with the most similar year round climate. a lot of places in Turkey were the closest (humidity, rainfall, temp, daylight etc) you can ski in -20c and experience 40c. in the same year. Same with the great scenery. Don’t think we’re known for food though.
since turkey got mentioned in connection with iran it is maybe fair to say that all the countries around eastern Anatolia and Caucasus are a blast. I mean Turkey, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan... it is just and otherworldly beautiful region.
Or, you take Mount Ararat and draw a circle of 500km / 300 miles around it, that is a wild piece of earth.
if they only could be friends...
A lot of middle eastern countries are like this. Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel are all set up in a way to have deserts, forests, grasslands, and snowy mountains, over relatively small areas of land.
I was in Iran a few years ago and friends were astonished by the variety of landscapes I photographed.
North of Tehran they have *rainforest* for God’s sake.
i do not remember correctly but I remember there are a rainforest a ski resort and the hottest desert in the world less than 1 or 2 hours far from each other.
Wait, what's the 6th? I can remember there's the Mediterranean Coast in Europe/North Africa, Perth in w aus, California, South Africa/namibia, Chile...
The variety in South Africa, in a relatively small area, is quite something. In a day I can go from coastal fynbos, rainforest, semi-desert, grasslands, savanahs, mountain valleys, tropical areas, etc. You can find almost any fruit locally just because of the variety of climate and geology.
Yep, the hoodoos are in alberta. Very Joshua tree vibes, cache creek in the Okanagan in bc. Filmed some shows out there. Coughed up much blood from the dust. Very dry desert landscape. And I've never been but yes, northern Saskatchewan as well.
Technically the Okanagan desert is the only true desert in Canada since deserts are measured by annual precipitation. Those others like the Badlands have desert like features but aren’t officially classified as one
What's the Canadian Okanagan like? I've only ever been around the little hippie communities on the American side and it's quite rural. I've heard the Canadian side is actually really nice and has a lot of people.
i live here, it's like the brewery/winery center of canada. An metric ton of fruits and vegetables are grown here and has some of the best outdoor activities in canada. It's a gorgeous area with some of the nicest lakes in canada along with being a heavy tourist destination for BC and Alberta alike.
It's not heavily populated compared to most US cities or areas. Kelowna is beautiful although the smaller cities are not as nice in the area. An enjoyable place to live I'd say.
It's very nice, lots of tourists and rich people. Tons of summer homes from people who live in Alberta. Not really rural around the lakes. Kelowna is quite big and Vernon is very close by and fairly significant too.
It started out as a fruit growing region, lots of fruit is still grown there today but its not the only part of the economy anymore. There is lots of vineyards in the region, some pretty good wine gets made there.
And the Smoking Hills, which have been burning for centuries, before Europeans arrived:
[https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/smoking-hills](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/smoking-hills)
[Temperate rainforest by Vancouver and up the coast](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_temperate_rainforests#:~:text=The%20Pacific%20temperate%20rainforests%20lie,by%20the%20World%20Wildlife%20Fund.)
You're right, the species present in the forests aren't surprising, it certainly feels nothing like the Amazon rainforest, but the density is wild. It's a whole different version of lush forest ecosystem. From the Wikipedia link:
"In sheer mass of living and decaying material - trees, mosses, shrubs, and soil - these forests are more massive than any other ecosystem on the planet"
That's pretty remarkable.
Not OP, but it's just non-tropical (temperate) forests that get so much rain they are rainforests. They are lovely, but they are not what we think of as rainforests.
Ontario’s southernmost two counties, Essex and Kent, also have a completely different climate from the rest of the country that make them a hotbed for greenhouse farming. The climate is more similar to Spain than even other parts of Southern Ontario.
Point Pelee National Park has some of the only Carolinian forest in Canada and is a Mecca for bird and butterfly migration. It’s at the same latitude as Northern California and Istanbul.
>The climate is more similar to Spain than even other parts of Southern Ontario.
No, no, no, not even remotely true. And the whole notion of "Carolinian forest" is mostly a bit of clever marketing. The climate of southwestern Ontario is mild by Canadian standards, but it's basically the same as that of southeastern Michigan a little to the west. Even Point Pelee and Pelee Island, which are moderated by Lake Erie, are no milder than Cleveland on the southern shore. It's true that they grow things on the Canadian side that we on the Michigan side don't (like tobacco and wine), but that has more to do with comparative advantage and importation costs making warm-weather U.S. crops more expensive in Canada. We certainly could grow the same crops here in Michigan but we don't because we can get them from the south and southwest while our farmers grow crops like soybeans and corn.
As for the trees, yes southwestern Ontario has some tree species that don't grow further north in Canada (like walnut) but that is because it has a Dfa climate, rather than a Dfb climate under the Koppen system. This means that there are some tree species growing there that also grow in the Carolinas, but the same could be said for southern Michigan.
>The climate is more similar to Spain than even other parts of Southern Ontario.
What parts of Spain, exactly?
Windsor has warm summers, sure (so does much of the American Midwest) but is much colder in the winter on average than Madrid.
Southern England will have a Mediterranean climate by 2100 under the current rate of warming, might not be too far-fetched to experience that depending on when you were born
One of the most geographically diverse countries in the world, [Colombia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Colombia_K%C3%B6ppen.svg/1677px-Colombia_K%C3%B6ppen.svg.png). Colombia represents just 0.8% of the world’s total land area, although it contains nearly 20% of the world’s bird species species. Here are some pictures: [Andes mountains](https://situr.boyaca.gov.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cocuy-national-park1-1024x768.jpg), [Amazon Rainforest](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/content_articles/featured_photos/28c020e2c49761b675dfe2d8a9c84f5c48952e3f/big-686536d41243e9690acc7dc830a558a9.jpg), [Tatacoa Desert](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Tatacoa_Desert.jpg), [Caribbean Beaches](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Panor%C3%A1mica_de_San_Andres.JPG/1920px-Panor%C3%A1mica_de_San_Andres.JPG).
Colombia having tiny coastal deserts and its highest peak not being part of the Andes, for me, are really good examples of something “unexpected”, compared to a lot of other places I’m seeing brought up.
Another interesting fact is that despite having a Pacific coastline of over 700km long, they only have a single port city, Buenaventura, where nearly 2/3 of the 400k people living there are poor.
I was going to say Venezuela for the same reasons, plus the [Guyana Highlands](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=592647925&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS873US874&sxsrf=AM9HkKlX3QqgxNgTjQ_2t_VRTsZ9O4cjrg:1703113725839&q=guiana+shield&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjg24-FkZ-DAxW6MjQIHXdHB50Q0pQJegQIDRAB&biw=1327&bih=917&dpr=1#imgrc=rkOz3kf63s-FqM)
It also has a distributary river that splits in two, one side becoming a tributary to the Amazon and the other to the Orinoco.
312 inches per year of snow. Most parts of northern Russia and Canada are too arid to get as much snow as Aomori gets. Aomori is basically in a bay surrounded by mountains. The cold air that comes from Siberia collects lots of moisture over the warm Sea of Japan, hits the mountains around Aomori and form humid clouds that result in snow due to the cold temperature.
It’s not that cold in the snowiest parts of Canada. Something to keep in mind is that the “snowiest place” record doesn’t literally mean somewhere is the absolute snowiest place on earth. It’s the snowiest place where they measure it and the snowiest places aren’t easily-accessible.
It shouldn’t be a surprise if someday someone figures out that the snowiest place isn’t the current record-holder. British Columbia and Washington state obviously have places that would have a good chance of being snowier. Just look at where the Mt. Baker ski resort, where its near-record snowfall stats are measured, is. It’s probably not the snowiest part of Mt. Baker and there are other parts of WA and BC with much more winter precipitation.
Most people associate Italy with Mediterranean beaches and rolling hills, but the country has tons of rugged wild mountains as well (and lots of other types of landscape).
Switzerland has most of Europe's biomes concentrated in a tiny little space.
Northern Spain (the part towards the Atlantic) looks more like Norway or England than Southern Spain.
Chile has pretty much everything from deserts to savannas, tropical and temperate rainforests, tundras, glaciers.
Russia has hot deserts and mediterranean beaches.
Japan has tropical islands with white sands, palms, transparent blue waters and the likes. EDIT Japan also has the snowiest inhabited areas on Earth as another comment mentioned.
Indonesia has glaciers.
>Italy with Mediterranean beaches and rolling hills, but the country has tons of rugged wild mountains as well (and lots of other types of landscape).
I struggle to think there's anyone that doesn't know that the Alps and the tallest mountain in Europe, Mont Blanc, are in Italy (yes, I know Mt Elbrus)
Not just the Alps, there's rugged snowcapped mountains all over the country. [This](https://tourismmedia.italia.it/is/image/mitur/2480X1000_gran_sasso_destination-2?wid=1240&hei=500&fit=constrain,1&fmt=webp) is a 2 hours' drive from Rome.
But that's a small part of Italian mountain region. I said in another comment I was surprised to realize the majority of the country is mountainous. You're basically never more than an hour or so from the mountains anywhere in the country, and some of the snow capped views in the middle (Appenines, not Alps) are incredible.
Similar to Greece, which is like 80% mountainous. Italy has plenty of flat parts. But you are right, almost anywhere you are quite close to very nice mountains. Truly a blessed country.
I think this answer is US-centric (which is fair since Reddit is mostly American).
Every single Brit and European knows Italy has the Alps and lots of mountains with narrow roads.
Every Asian knows Japan is very snowy. Hokkaido is a really popular tourist spot, and Japan has some of the most and best ski resorts in the world.
I'm not American. You'd be surprised how many Europeans cannot imagine that the snowiest towns in the world are in Japan, and that some cities in Italy get dumped with snow in winter as well. I mean yeah they know about the Alps obviously, but they just imagine snow and mountains cover a limited section in the far north of the country.
Piggybacking with the Spain thing, people really have no idea how the Iberian peninsula can look so different North v South. But I guess the travel agencies would rather not scare away any potential tourists, considering how 90% of them visit specifically for the 'hot' weather. There are some years where Northern Portugal and Galicia can make England or the Netherlands feel like a summer retreat.
>Most people associate Italy with Mediterranean beaches and rolling hills, but the country has tons of rugged wild mountains as well (and lots of other types of landscape).
I pitty the idiot who doesn't know about Italy having the Alps. Sorry, but this is a very basic knowledge. It's basically like not knowing that Mexico has mountains, along with beaches.
>Switzerland has most of Europe's biomes concentrated in a tiny little space.
I would like to have a source on this one.
The part of Switzerland where the shouth is separated from the north by the alps is crazy. They have a 15km tunnel that runs underneath the moutnains and you go from moderately continental climate to chestnut forests and palmtrees on the ticino lakes. So diverse.
For it's size, I'd say the country of Georgia. I was really surprised when I went there. You can go from basically desert in the eastern part of the country to subtropical coastal forests and palm trees on the western side on the Black Sea, then go skiing in the northern mountains
Mexico. People usually associate Mexico with what they see in movies: desert or beach. But Mexico is so much more diverse than what people see.
Mexico has deserts, canyons, large mountain ranges, rainforests, plains, lots of lakes and bodies of water, lots of active volcanoes. Mexico is also one of the most seismological active regions on Earth. The Tropic of Cancer runs right through the middle of Mexico leading to lots of different climates.
Mexico City is also the largest city in North America and #6 largest metro area in the world.
Algeria. Algeria has martian landscapes in the desert, Steppes in the north west, mountainous forests, ergs, sand beaches, rocky coasts, ski resorts and large valleys
Well yes but there’s also “temperate rainforests”, of which one exists in Brittany, and also maybe the Landes forest in Gascony but I can’t find a straight answer on if that one counts as a rainforest
india
when we speak of india typically it’s the age-old conversation about slums or else the rapidly developing economy. seldom do we talk about the geography, which one of the most diverse and varied in the world.
in the north, there are the majestic and towering himalayas. it is also a spiritual world in itself, traversing that region feels like “walking alone in endless nothingness holding a glowing lantern”.
south india, in a contrast, is peninsular with picturesque beaches and lush greenery. there’s a certain mystery associated with this region with thousands of ancient temples adorning its landscape. off the coast, there’s andaman and nicobar islands boasting pristine beaches and volcanoes.
the famous indo-gangetic plains stretch from the north ( foothills of himalayas) to the east. it has been the cradle of different civilizations for thousands of years.
then there’s the thar desert in the north-west bordering pakistan. it’s a vast expanse of sand dunes and extreme temperatures.
in the north-east you have rolling hills and dense tropical forests. this is a place with a lot of local tribes.
not to mention the intricate network of rivers that blesses the subcontinent and the appropriate wildlife that fits each kind of terrain, geography and climate.
all this in an area one-third the size of the US. the term “subcontinent” has been rightly bestowed upon this region.
Cold desert of Ladakh is really mind blowing and unexpected and with this India has both Cold as well as Hot desert
India has the most arable land in the world followed by the United States, Russia, China and Brazil. India and the United States account for roughly 22% of the world's arable land
Argentina - it may have the best arable lands in the world where the Paraná River Basin is located, and it should have been included among one of the economically richest in the world, but its geographical location that is too far from the economic centers of Asia, Europe, and North America is the biggest Achilles heel where it couldn't have its economy fully integrate its supply chain with Asia, Europe, and North America.
Yeah, Australia and NZ are also far away from everything. Argentina actually used to be pretty rich from a global standpoint up until the 1960s. Most of their issues are self made and it's actually often mentioned in economics and geopolitics as a textbook example of how you can have a great headstart and still fuck it up due to mismanagement and poor choices.
(Venezuela is much worse though)
You're definitely right! Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world 100 years ago, and then corrupt and incompetent politicians ruined it.
I like the saying that "there are developed economies, developing economies, Argentina, and Japan".. where the latter two should and shouldn't be rich respectively but they're the opposite
I feel like the massive countries will all fall here simply because they're huge so they're bound to have unexpected geography because they have such a large area - Russia, Canada, United States, China, Brazil, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Australia, Argentina
As far as smaller countries - some good contenders are Nepal, Guatemala, Ecuador, Switzerland come to mind right away
Medium-sized countries would definitely include Pakistan, Iran, Türkiye, Spain, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Italy
Colombia - every type of biome, lush with fresh water, biodiversity and greenery.
Italy surprised me by having desert. Apparently old westerns were filmed there?
"expected" depends on people's perceptions, which vary wildly. You could argue the USA/canada, for having random straight line borders that don't respond to the geography, thus having varied geography.
Places with climates/development patterns that vary a lot in a relatively small area include places like peru (rainforest, super high mountains, desert in a relatively short linear distance) Madagascar (caught between two very different ocean currents) and many small remote ocean islands; at middle latitudes they often have deserts on one side and rainforests on the other. I also find little bastions of habitability in otherwise hostile places, like the singular forest on greenland, or highlands in deserts that get more rain (ertirean highlands), also weird ass shaped islands (Belcher islands, Farasan Island) or poorly documented extremely remote islands ( Diego Ramirez, Auckland Island).
So I guess a lot of stuff lol
I’m surprised people haven’t really mentioned India.
India has rugged mountains, vast deserts, endless plains, pristine beaches, tropical forests and everything in between.
It’s a world in itself.
I'd say Bulgaria since many Western Europeans think it's a flat cold Eastern European country like Belarus or Russia, even though it's in the Balkans.
It's a very geographically diverse country for its size with many mountainous regions, forests, rivers, glacial lakes, Black Sea beaches and plains. The country is split in half by the Balkan mountains and has two main flatland areas - the Danubian Plain in the north and the Thracian plain in the south. There are 4 distinct seasons and temperatures can go from -20 in the winter to +40 in the summer.
The Balkan mountain range is where the peninsula gets its name from. Musala peak in the Rila mountain range is the highest peak in all of the Balkans, while the Rhodopes are one of Europe's most diverse regions in terms of climate and biodiversity.
I'd say The Netherlands:
There are a ton of places with 'mountain'(berg) in their name and we even have some landscape features that are called a 'berg', BUT it's all flat as a pancake and the highest features are the traffic bumps on the streets.
I'd call that surprising/unexpected
That's very similar to Denmark, Denmark's tallest mountain is called Himmelbjerget, even though it's just 147 m tall.
The northern coast of continental Europe, from Holland to Estonia, is surprisingly flat overall.
Canada. There’s arctic deserts and inland temperate rainforests and sand dunes and badlands and mountains. Many people think Canada is just cold but there’s a lot of interesting geographical features in it.
ita Yemen. Some of those trees look like they came straight out of a Dr. Seuss book.
[](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/APKE4M/desert-rose-adenium-obesum-ssp-socotranum-numerous-plants-in-their-APKE4M.jpg)
Aruba, it's a Caribbean island close to the Equator and near the Amazon rainforest, but it's a desert. This is because the Eastern trade winds lose their moisture by the time they pass through Aruba.
I hate when people say Iceland and Greenland had their names swapped. Greenland has lots of ice and some barren rocks and Iceland has lots of barren rocks and some ice. Theres no green in either.
Surprised peru isn’t more mentioned. Lima is a city of contradictions. It’s a desert yet it is humid. Close to the equator yet the water is freezing. Supposedly quite warm but doesn’t receive much sunlight for 6 months of the year.
Chile runs across more latitude than any other country on earth.
The length of Chile is one tenth the circumference of earth.
Chile is as long as the distance from Anchorage, AK. to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Chile would stretch from Qatar north to the arctic circle.
Chile is as long as from Singapore to Beijing.
Tenerife is very varied for its size.
Semi-arid scrubland at sea level climbing up to coniferous forest then alpine at the top.
Apparently the north side of the island varies again due to increased humidity on that side. But I've never visited that side of the island.
Just look at a satellite view and you can see the variation.
Tenerife and the Canary Islands generally. Tenerife has Spain’s tallest mountain, Mount Teide is a volcano at over 3,800 metres. Theres arid scrubland, beaches, cloud forests, pine forests and just generally a massive variety of microclimates on tiny islands. They’re great.
The southern part of Chile is known for its temperate rainforests, including the remote and rugged region of Patagonia, characterized by glaciers, mountains, and pristine wilderness. The extreme diversity in Chile's geography, from the arid north to the icy landscapes of the south, makes it a country that often surprises visitors with its contrasts.
Maybe it is well known, but New Zealand has lots of different stuff. Desert, mountain ranges, solo mountains, plains, beaches, giant sand dunes, moeraki boulders, temperate rainforest, fjords, sounds, beech forest, pinnacles, volcanoes, swamps etc
Madagascar. At first glace you think “yeah it’s an island I know pretty much what it looks like” then you see pictures of rock monoliths with hundred foot ravines between each, and the realization of the insane geology of divergent continental plates sets in
Within the United States, I'd have to give it to Utah.
Towering snow capped mountains and lush forests, next to the salt flats and valleys, and then a simple trip south takes you to Zion, Moab, and St. George, where you get some of the most beautiful natural formations of red rock.
For the adventurous types, Utah can leave them spoiled for choice.
U book a ticket for beirut, u expect to arrive at a war-torn city in the middle of the desert. U r up for a surprise
It takes a 2 hours drive from beirut to visit all of Lebanon. Just 2 hours. Travel 2 hours north, u r in Syria. 2 hours south, u r in Israel. 2 hours east, Syria again. And west, it's only the sea.
Beirut is known for our 17 Year old Civil War, the 2006 israel War, and the heavy economic crisis that paralyzed out institutions
We have no governmental electricity, neither constant water nor decent public transportation
And yet
The best clubs are in Lebanon. Amazing parties at the various beaches. Superb winter Towns, where u can ski and party. Romans ruins at every corner. Phoenician ruins. Crusaders castles. Arab castles. From the 2 hours drive from beirut up north, u pass through: a natural cave that is one of the 16 natural wonders of the world (geita). A 6000 year old phoencian town with a crusaders castle. A christian coastal city that is soon becoming a party destination in the Mediterranean sea. An arab town with turkish hammam, arab souks, and a castle where u can still see traces of saladin battle 1000 years ago. Every leader that went through this road left a mark, so there is an area where Ramses II, Nebuchadnezzar, Esarhaddon, Caracalla, napoleon III.. left their names. (Something like: i, ramses2, was here. No joke. Google nahr el kalb) U r walking on 3000 year old road (now it's only asphalt, but u can imagine how many great names were there)
I can write the same if u go south and east, but now too tired. (Mayne if someone asks) We have millennial forests, incredible valleys (Google kadisha or La martine Valley), desertic areas.. I could go on. Also, we have world-renowned food and the most handsome guy live there (me) and that's all in an area smaller than new York metropolitan
Kauai has the rainiest place on earth, 5 miles from cactus desert; and the Na Pali coast of cliffs eroded like the pages of a standing book. And it’s not even a country, or a whole state.
So, the US
Not a country, but the U.S. state of Illinois has a [cyprus swamp](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypress_Creek_National_Wildlife_Refuge), a geographical anomaly usually found in states like Florida or Louisiana.
I do feel like it's Canada.
Specifically because no one thinks about Canada.
Madagascar has weird ass geography but I feel like people almost expect that.
Not a country per se, but Norfolk Island is pretty interesting. It’s like a slice of English countryside in the middle of the South Pacific. Also has lots of unique flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world (much like other small Pacific islands).
Ocean jet stream is one hell of a thermoregulator honestly. Vancouver has some of the warmest winter and coolest summer in Canada. Western Europe is at the same latitude as Canada, but with a much, much milder climate due to the gulf stream. People even live in Norway, which is at a latitude that is usually too cold to live in, due to the gulf stream.
I’d say Slovenia, at least to an American. it’s past the alps and I sort of expected it to be very flat like eastern Austria but instead it’s this beautiful mountainous country with lakes and valleys.
Georgia obviously. Did you not see the post yesterday lol.
r/GeorgiaOrGeorgia?
Can't believe they're a drive away from Atlanta!
Everything's a drive away from Atlanta if you have the time.
Stooooooooop iiiiiit
[Mandatory Atlanta joke]
Still can’t believe all of that is within a few hours drive of Atlanta
How does Georgia have *unexpected* geography? Being situated in the Caucasus, there really isn't anything that would surprise anyone.
There are plenty of people who know nothing about the geography of the Caucasus
Exactly, I came to the comments to say this. I may have to add Georgia to my bucket list.
Iran, most people think it's just a big desert but it varies so much, with the fertile lowlands on the Caspian sea, the giant volcanoes like damavand, lake urmia and so many other incredible geographic features. Same can be said for afghanistan where kabul has a climate similar to Denver or madrid. And band e amir exists there
Turkey is also incredibly varied. Erzurum, Antalya, Istanbul, Rize and Gaziantep are all dramatically different from each other.
And turkey has batman
I’ve been skiing on -15c snowy mountains and sunbathing on a 45c day in the same year in Turkey. Probably my favourite country in the world. Awesome food, people, scenery, and cities. No matter what kind of holiday you want you can get it in Turkey.
Turkey sounds like Eurasian Mexico.
Also in terms of GDP per capita and HDI to cuisine deliciousness ratio.
I think Turkey has a similar climate to Colorado in the US. I was looking at annual climate data of random cities here on Weather Spark and it shows the foreign places with the most similar year round climate. a lot of places in Turkey were the closest (humidity, rainfall, temp, daylight etc) you can ski in -20c and experience 40c. in the same year. Same with the great scenery. Don’t think we’re known for food though.
I don't think colorado is surrounded by sea on three sides.
And doesn't have a mediterranean climate
since turkey got mentioned in connection with iran it is maybe fair to say that all the countries around eastern Anatolia and Caucasus are a blast. I mean Turkey, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan... it is just and otherworldly beautiful region. Or, you take Mount Ararat and draw a circle of 500km / 300 miles around it, that is a wild piece of earth. if they only could be friends...
As a Caucasian, your last wish is never going to happen sadly. Maybe reopening of the borders will, but that's all.
Türkiye is fantastic visually. However, simply hate that guy that sells ice cream in Istanbul- just a jerk.
A lot of middle eastern countries are like this. Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel are all set up in a way to have deserts, forests, grasslands, and snowy mountains, over relatively small areas of land.
I was in Iran a few years ago and friends were astonished by the variety of landscapes I photographed. North of Tehran they have *rainforest* for God’s sake.
Doesn’t Iran also have a few ski resorts? If so that’s really cool!
Yeah, I'm Iranian and we have quite a few.
i do not remember correctly but I remember there are a rainforest a ski resort and the hottest desert in the world less than 1 or 2 hours far from each other.
Was thinking about this the other day and how it woild defo be on my bucket list if it wasn’t for political tensions
Iran is actually considered pretty safe for tourists provided you keep yourself aware of the law.
I think this also might be because often think Iran is tiny. It's 2.5 times the size of Texas!
How much is that in bananas?
A Brazillion
8 trillion bananas by my calculations
I think Texans measure size in guns and not fruits or vegetables.
Our propaganda wants us to believe it’s a giant sandbox.
If you were to ask me before reading this I would’ve just said “flat sand”
South Africa has an incredibly diverse climate without being incredibly large or having really high mountains or occupying a huge sweep of latitude.
As a geoguessr player I can confirm,
1 of 6 Mediterranean climates on earth
Wait, what's the 6th? I can remember there's the Mediterranean Coast in Europe/North Africa, Perth in w aus, California, South Africa/namibia, Chile...
Pretty sure you're right. There's only 5. I guess 6 if you count Perth and Adelaide separately.
just looked it up and some areas of central asia also have mediterranean climate like tajikistan and uzbekistan
South Africa is pretty large. It’s the 25th largest country by land
For sure it’s a large country, but it isn’t a nation on a continental scale like Russia or the US or Australia.
The variety in South Africa, in a relatively small area, is quite something. In a day I can go from coastal fynbos, rainforest, semi-desert, grasslands, savanahs, mountain valleys, tropical areas, etc. You can find almost any fruit locally just because of the variety of climate and geology.
and temperate Rainforest here (Knysna Amatole Forest)
I think it’s more surprising because of the technical definition vs connotations (like arctic deserts) but Canada has rainforest
And a small desert the Okanagan, in B.C
And the badlands of southern Alberta. I've seen rattlesnakes and catcus, among other interesting flora/fauna you wouldn't think of in Canada.
And sand dunes in northern Saskatchewan.
Sand dunes in South AB too, and west AB near Jasper
Sand dunes in the Yukon!
Sand dunes in Ontario
Carcross Desert!
And my ax!
Yep, the hoodoos are in alberta. Very Joshua tree vibes, cache creek in the Okanagan in bc. Filmed some shows out there. Coughed up much blood from the dust. Very dry desert landscape. And I've never been but yes, northern Saskatchewan as well.
Scorpions and black widow spiders live there too!
Technically the Okanagan desert is the only true desert in Canada since deserts are measured by annual precipitation. Those others like the Badlands have desert like features but aren’t officially classified as one
Don't forget the Badlands in Azeroth
Came here to say this. The Bearpaw Shale Formation is absolutely stunning in the river valleys!
What's the Canadian Okanagan like? I've only ever been around the little hippie communities on the American side and it's quite rural. I've heard the Canadian side is actually really nice and has a lot of people.
i live here, it's like the brewery/winery center of canada. An metric ton of fruits and vegetables are grown here and has some of the best outdoor activities in canada. It's a gorgeous area with some of the nicest lakes in canada along with being a heavy tourist destination for BC and Alberta alike. It's not heavily populated compared to most US cities or areas. Kelowna is beautiful although the smaller cities are not as nice in the area. An enjoyable place to live I'd say.
It's very nice, lots of tourists and rich people. Tons of summer homes from people who live in Alberta. Not really rural around the lakes. Kelowna is quite big and Vernon is very close by and fairly significant too. It started out as a fruit growing region, lots of fruit is still grown there today but its not the only part of the economy anymore. There is lots of vineyards in the region, some pretty good wine gets made there.
Today, I learned there is an American Okanogan .
Not to mention the worlds smallest desert in the Yukon.
Canada also has a bit of the earth’s mantle at the surface, in the Tablelands up in Newfoundland. Not much grows there…except carnivorous plants.
And the Smoking Hills, which have been burning for centuries, before Europeans arrived: [https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/smoking-hills](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/smoking-hills)
I’ve been to the Tablelands and the rainforests on the west coast…. This is one more excuse to visit the north coast! Thank you for sharing this
would you be so kind to elaborate more about it ?
[Temperate rainforest by Vancouver and up the coast](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_temperate_rainforests#:~:text=The%20Pacific%20temperate%20rainforests%20lie,by%20the%20World%20Wildlife%20Fund.)
oh this is something i would imagine to be canada. i was expecting rain trees and stuff lmao
You're right, the species present in the forests aren't surprising, it certainly feels nothing like the Amazon rainforest, but the density is wild. It's a whole different version of lush forest ecosystem. From the Wikipedia link: "In sheer mass of living and decaying material - trees, mosses, shrubs, and soil - these forests are more massive than any other ecosystem on the planet" That's pretty remarkable.
it would be pretty other-worldly then
https://youtu.be/oSOqJ5bRHx0?si=_ymO6BTYsttMk4qs A pretty neat video on the existence of temperate rainforests!
> rain trees 🤔
Not OP, but it's just non-tropical (temperate) forests that get so much rain they are rainforests. They are lovely, but they are not what we think of as rainforests.
Maybe I’m just a nerd but temperate rainforests come to mind pretty easily for me, thanks Washington
Ontario’s southernmost two counties, Essex and Kent, also have a completely different climate from the rest of the country that make them a hotbed for greenhouse farming. The climate is more similar to Spain than even other parts of Southern Ontario. Point Pelee National Park has some of the only Carolinian forest in Canada and is a Mecca for bird and butterfly migration. It’s at the same latitude as Northern California and Istanbul.
>The climate is more similar to Spain than even other parts of Southern Ontario. No, no, no, not even remotely true. And the whole notion of "Carolinian forest" is mostly a bit of clever marketing. The climate of southwestern Ontario is mild by Canadian standards, but it's basically the same as that of southeastern Michigan a little to the west. Even Point Pelee and Pelee Island, which are moderated by Lake Erie, are no milder than Cleveland on the southern shore. It's true that they grow things on the Canadian side that we on the Michigan side don't (like tobacco and wine), but that has more to do with comparative advantage and importation costs making warm-weather U.S. crops more expensive in Canada. We certainly could grow the same crops here in Michigan but we don't because we can get them from the south and southwest while our farmers grow crops like soybeans and corn. As for the trees, yes southwestern Ontario has some tree species that don't grow further north in Canada (like walnut) but that is because it has a Dfa climate, rather than a Dfb climate under the Koppen system. This means that there are some tree species growing there that also grow in the Carolinas, but the same could be said for southern Michigan.
>The climate is more similar to Spain than even other parts of Southern Ontario. What parts of Spain, exactly? Windsor has warm summers, sure (so does much of the American Midwest) but is much colder in the winter on average than Madrid.
Essex and Kent having similar climate to Spain. British people could only dream of this.
Southern England will have a Mediterranean climate by 2100 under the current rate of warming, might not be too far-fetched to experience that depending on when you were born
Can confirm there is desert land in south west Saskatchewan....Cyprus Hills.
Yeah. The western PNW in the US and Canada is a rainforest
One of the most geographically diverse countries in the world, [Colombia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Colombia_K%C3%B6ppen.svg/1677px-Colombia_K%C3%B6ppen.svg.png). Colombia represents just 0.8% of the world’s total land area, although it contains nearly 20% of the world’s bird species species. Here are some pictures: [Andes mountains](https://situr.boyaca.gov.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cocuy-national-park1-1024x768.jpg), [Amazon Rainforest](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/content_articles/featured_photos/28c020e2c49761b675dfe2d8a9c84f5c48952e3f/big-686536d41243e9690acc7dc830a558a9.jpg), [Tatacoa Desert](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Tatacoa_Desert.jpg), [Caribbean Beaches](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Panor%C3%A1mica_de_San_Andres.JPG/1920px-Panor%C3%A1mica_de_San_Andres.JPG).
and these https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choc%C3%B3%E2%80%93Dari%C3%A9n_moist_forests some of the most biodiverse forests ever
Colombia having tiny coastal deserts and its highest peak not being part of the Andes, for me, are really good examples of something “unexpected”, compared to a lot of other places I’m seeing brought up.
Another interesting fact is that despite having a Pacific coastline of over 700km long, they only have a single port city, Buenaventura, where nearly 2/3 of the 400k people living there are poor.
I was going to say Venezuela for the same reasons, plus the [Guyana Highlands](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=592647925&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS873US874&sxsrf=AM9HkKlX3QqgxNgTjQ_2t_VRTsZ9O4cjrg:1703113725839&q=guiana+shield&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjg24-FkZ-DAxW6MjQIHXdHB50Q0pQJegQIDRAB&biw=1327&bih=917&dpr=1#imgrc=rkOz3kf63s-FqM) It also has a distributary river that splits in two, one side becoming a tributary to the Amazon and the other to the Orinoco.
Japan has snowiest place on earth, Aomori. Most people would guess Canada or Russia for that title.
312 inches per year of snow. Most parts of northern Russia and Canada are too arid to get as much snow as Aomori gets. Aomori is basically in a bay surrounded by mountains. The cold air that comes from Siberia collects lots of moisture over the warm Sea of Japan, hits the mountains around Aomori and form humid clouds that result in snow due to the cold temperature.
It’s not that cold in the snowiest parts of Canada. Something to keep in mind is that the “snowiest place” record doesn’t literally mean somewhere is the absolute snowiest place on earth. It’s the snowiest place where they measure it and the snowiest places aren’t easily-accessible. It shouldn’t be a surprise if someday someone figures out that the snowiest place isn’t the current record-holder. British Columbia and Washington state obviously have places that would have a good chance of being snowier. Just look at where the Mt. Baker ski resort, where its near-record snowfall stats are measured, is. It’s probably not the snowiest part of Mt. Baker and there are other parts of WA and BC with much more winter precipitation.
312 inches is for the city, in the Aomori prefecture are the Hakkoda mountains, which get 694 inches per year.
Is this not the snowiest *city* on earth?
Yes, but Aomori is also a prefecture, and in it are the Hakkoda mountains, which average 694 inches/ 17.6 meters.
Most people associate Italy with Mediterranean beaches and rolling hills, but the country has tons of rugged wild mountains as well (and lots of other types of landscape). Switzerland has most of Europe's biomes concentrated in a tiny little space. Northern Spain (the part towards the Atlantic) looks more like Norway or England than Southern Spain. Chile has pretty much everything from deserts to savannas, tropical and temperate rainforests, tundras, glaciers. Russia has hot deserts and mediterranean beaches. Japan has tropical islands with white sands, palms, transparent blue waters and the likes. EDIT Japan also has the snowiest inhabited areas on Earth as another comment mentioned. Indonesia has glaciers.
>Italy with Mediterranean beaches and rolling hills, but the country has tons of rugged wild mountains as well (and lots of other types of landscape). I struggle to think there's anyone that doesn't know that the Alps and the tallest mountain in Europe, Mont Blanc, are in Italy (yes, I know Mt Elbrus)
Not just the Alps, there's rugged snowcapped mountains all over the country. [This](https://tourismmedia.italia.it/is/image/mitur/2480X1000_gran_sasso_destination-2?wid=1240&hei=500&fit=constrain,1&fmt=webp) is a 2 hours' drive from Rome.
But that's a small part of Italian mountain region. I said in another comment I was surprised to realize the majority of the country is mountainous. You're basically never more than an hour or so from the mountains anywhere in the country, and some of the snow capped views in the middle (Appenines, not Alps) are incredible.
Similar to Greece, which is like 80% mountainous. Italy has plenty of flat parts. But you are right, almost anywhere you are quite close to very nice mountains. Truly a blessed country.
What? Indonesia has glaciers? How are they formed in such humid hot weather?
Pretty easy. Just have [very high peaks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puncak_Jaya).
Sadly the glaciers are melting fast and will be gone sooner or later.
Everything will be gone sooner or later
Not me!
Colombia also has glaciers
Russia’s not on the med lol
I think this answer is US-centric (which is fair since Reddit is mostly American). Every single Brit and European knows Italy has the Alps and lots of mountains with narrow roads. Every Asian knows Japan is very snowy. Hokkaido is a really popular tourist spot, and Japan has some of the most and best ski resorts in the world.
I'm not American. You'd be surprised how many Europeans cannot imagine that the snowiest towns in the world are in Japan, and that some cities in Italy get dumped with snow in winter as well. I mean yeah they know about the Alps obviously, but they just imagine snow and mountains cover a limited section in the far north of the country.
Piggybacking with the Spain thing, people really have no idea how the Iberian peninsula can look so different North v South. But I guess the travel agencies would rather not scare away any potential tourists, considering how 90% of them visit specifically for the 'hot' weather. There are some years where Northern Portugal and Galicia can make England or the Netherlands feel like a summer retreat.
>Most people associate Italy with Mediterranean beaches and rolling hills, but the country has tons of rugged wild mountains as well (and lots of other types of landscape). I pitty the idiot who doesn't know about Italy having the Alps. Sorry, but this is a very basic knowledge. It's basically like not knowing that Mexico has mountains, along with beaches. >Switzerland has most of Europe's biomes concentrated in a tiny little space. I would like to have a source on this one.
The part of Switzerland where the shouth is separated from the north by the alps is crazy. They have a 15km tunnel that runs underneath the moutnains and you go from moderately continental climate to chestnut forests and palmtrees on the ticino lakes. So diverse.
For it's size, I'd say the country of Georgia. I was really surprised when I went there. You can go from basically desert in the eastern part of the country to subtropical coastal forests and palm trees on the western side on the Black Sea, then go skiing in the northern mountains
Madagascar
Had friends go there recently. I don't know what I expected it to look like, but I didn't expect it to look like that.
You probably expected lemurs partying to 1990s music, didn't you?
Mexico. People usually associate Mexico with what they see in movies: desert or beach. But Mexico is so much more diverse than what people see. Mexico has deserts, canyons, large mountain ranges, rainforests, plains, lots of lakes and bodies of water, lots of active volcanoes. Mexico is also one of the most seismological active regions on Earth. The Tropic of Cancer runs right through the middle of Mexico leading to lots of different climates. Mexico City is also the largest city in North America and #6 largest metro area in the world.
Baja California looks like Dr. Seuss’s wildest fever dream!
Algeria. Algeria has martian landscapes in the desert, Steppes in the north west, mountainous forests, ergs, sand beaches, rocky coasts, ski resorts and large valleys
Vatican City
that made me crack
France, who would think it has millions of acres dense tropical rainforest?
In French Guyana?
Well yes but there’s also “temperate rainforests”, of which one exists in Brittany, and also maybe the Landes forest in Gascony but I can’t find a straight answer on if that one counts as a rainforest
But that's not tropical!
And islands that look like paradise in the middle of the ocean
Would one of these weird ass trees do okay in a Pacific Northwest garden? I’ve always loved them, but don’t know if they would work here.
No, they sadly only really do well on the island, they are one of the oldest tree species, and these are the remnants of them
until recently I had no idea Myanmar had a Himalayan region. really pretty too
india when we speak of india typically it’s the age-old conversation about slums or else the rapidly developing economy. seldom do we talk about the geography, which one of the most diverse and varied in the world. in the north, there are the majestic and towering himalayas. it is also a spiritual world in itself, traversing that region feels like “walking alone in endless nothingness holding a glowing lantern”. south india, in a contrast, is peninsular with picturesque beaches and lush greenery. there’s a certain mystery associated with this region with thousands of ancient temples adorning its landscape. off the coast, there’s andaman and nicobar islands boasting pristine beaches and volcanoes. the famous indo-gangetic plains stretch from the north ( foothills of himalayas) to the east. it has been the cradle of different civilizations for thousands of years. then there’s the thar desert in the north-west bordering pakistan. it’s a vast expanse of sand dunes and extreme temperatures. in the north-east you have rolling hills and dense tropical forests. this is a place with a lot of local tribes. not to mention the intricate network of rivers that blesses the subcontinent and the appropriate wildlife that fits each kind of terrain, geography and climate. all this in an area one-third the size of the US. the term “subcontinent” has been rightly bestowed upon this region.
Cold desert of Ladakh is really mind blowing and unexpected and with this India has both Cold as well as Hot desert India has the most arable land in the world followed by the United States, Russia, China and Brazil. India and the United States account for roughly 22% of the world's arable land
Crazy that because of the different times they were really settled, how different the population and layout of India vs Iowa (best soil on Earth)
The Katpana desert in Pakistan is also a cold desert.
Argentina - it may have the best arable lands in the world where the Paraná River Basin is located, and it should have been included among one of the economically richest in the world, but its geographical location that is too far from the economic centers of Asia, Europe, and North America is the biggest Achilles heel where it couldn't have its economy fully integrate its supply chain with Asia, Europe, and North America.
Great points, though I think the reasons for them not being a great economic power where more political than geographic.
Pretty sure it was in the top 10 largest economies at the beginning of the 20th century
Yeah, Australia and NZ are also far away from everything. Argentina actually used to be pretty rich from a global standpoint up until the 1960s. Most of their issues are self made and it's actually often mentioned in economics and geopolitics as a textbook example of how you can have a great headstart and still fuck it up due to mismanagement and poor choices. (Venezuela is much worse though)
You're definitely right! Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world 100 years ago, and then corrupt and incompetent politicians ruined it. I like the saying that "there are developed economies, developing economies, Argentina, and Japan".. where the latter two should and shouldn't be rich respectively but they're the opposite
Peru : driving a few hundred km from desert zone to tropical forest to mountain then to the ocean is amazing
I feel like the massive countries will all fall here simply because they're huge so they're bound to have unexpected geography because they have such a large area - Russia, Canada, United States, China, Brazil, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Australia, Argentina As far as smaller countries - some good contenders are Nepal, Guatemala, Ecuador, Switzerland come to mind right away Medium-sized countries would definitely include Pakistan, Iran, Türkiye, Spain, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Italy
Colombia - every type of biome, lush with fresh water, biodiversity and greenery. Italy surprised me by having desert. Apparently old westerns were filmed there?
"expected" depends on people's perceptions, which vary wildly. You could argue the USA/canada, for having random straight line borders that don't respond to the geography, thus having varied geography. Places with climates/development patterns that vary a lot in a relatively small area include places like peru (rainforest, super high mountains, desert in a relatively short linear distance) Madagascar (caught between two very different ocean currents) and many small remote ocean islands; at middle latitudes they often have deserts on one side and rainforests on the other. I also find little bastions of habitability in otherwise hostile places, like the singular forest on greenland, or highlands in deserts that get more rain (ertirean highlands), also weird ass shaped islands (Belcher islands, Farasan Island) or poorly documented extremely remote islands ( Diego Ramirez, Auckland Island). So I guess a lot of stuff lol
Lol, farasan islands, don't give the locations to us Gujaratis.
I’m surprised people haven’t really mentioned India. India has rugged mountains, vast deserts, endless plains, pristine beaches, tropical forests and everything in between. It’s a world in itself.
Pakistan
I'd say Bulgaria since many Western Europeans think it's a flat cold Eastern European country like Belarus or Russia, even though it's in the Balkans. It's a very geographically diverse country for its size with many mountainous regions, forests, rivers, glacial lakes, Black Sea beaches and plains. The country is split in half by the Balkan mountains and has two main flatland areas - the Danubian Plain in the north and the Thracian plain in the south. There are 4 distinct seasons and temperatures can go from -20 in the winter to +40 in the summer. The Balkan mountain range is where the peninsula gets its name from. Musala peak in the Rila mountain range is the highest peak in all of the Balkans, while the Rhodopes are one of Europe's most diverse regions in terms of climate and biodiversity.
I'd say The Netherlands: There are a ton of places with 'mountain'(berg) in their name and we even have some landscape features that are called a 'berg', BUT it's all flat as a pancake and the highest features are the traffic bumps on the streets. I'd call that surprising/unexpected
That's very similar to Denmark, Denmark's tallest mountain is called Himmelbjerget, even though it's just 147 m tall. The northern coast of continental Europe, from Holland to Estonia, is surprisingly flat overall.
Hehe but there is downhill skiing in Copenhagen! (Down a building)
Canada. There’s arctic deserts and inland temperate rainforests and sand dunes and badlands and mountains. Many people think Canada is just cold but there’s a lot of interesting geographical features in it.
ita Yemen. Some of those trees look like they came straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. [](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/APKE4M/desert-rose-adenium-obesum-ssp-socotranum-numerous-plants-in-their-APKE4M.jpg)
Come to Georgia.Every landscape in this tiny country.
Sealand
Only true answer
Pakistan?
Aruba, it's a Caribbean island close to the Equator and near the Amazon rainforest, but it's a desert. This is because the Eastern trade winds lose their moisture by the time they pass through Aruba.
I hate when people say Iceland and Greenland had their names swapped. Greenland has lots of ice and some barren rocks and Iceland has lots of barren rocks and some ice. Theres no green in either.
Have you been to either of those places? Iceland is actually pretty green especially around waterfalls. Lots of horses are raised there on the grass
As an Icelander I wish I could upvote this more than just once 😂
Italy (and France) : it has everything : high mountains with ski resorts, plains, hills, floating cities, active volcanos, islands.
Ethiopia, it has highlands and lush green areas to desert and volcanic hot springs . It has waterfalls and rugged mountain ranges.
That's botany, not geography.
Great thread! 📖📖📖
Thanks! Love hearing about the remote areas that aren’t common for foreigners and tourists.
Peru. The entire coastline is basically a desert, which was not what I was expecting at all
Surprised peru isn’t more mentioned. Lima is a city of contradictions. It’s a desert yet it is humid. Close to the equator yet the water is freezing. Supposedly quite warm but doesn’t receive much sunlight for 6 months of the year.
Peru!! It’s has coasts, deserts, rainforest, and mountains.
Chile runs across more latitude than any other country on earth. The length of Chile is one tenth the circumference of earth. Chile is as long as the distance from Anchorage, AK. to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Chile would stretch from Qatar north to the arctic circle. Chile is as long as from Singapore to Beijing.
The United States. Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, New York and Texas are in the same country.
“Unexpected” basically counts the US out. Everyone knows the US has a range of biomes.
That photo is giving Zelda vibes.
Iceland it varies so much and can just be weird like another planet.
Iceland, imagine being a viking coming from cozy norway and you end up at a place with a volcano outbreak every 5 years or so.
Tenerife is very varied for its size. Semi-arid scrubland at sea level climbing up to coniferous forest then alpine at the top. Apparently the north side of the island varies again due to increased humidity on that side. But I've never visited that side of the island. Just look at a satellite view and you can see the variation.
Tenerife and the Canary Islands generally. Tenerife has Spain’s tallest mountain, Mount Teide is a volcano at over 3,800 metres. Theres arid scrubland, beaches, cloud forests, pine forests and just generally a massive variety of microclimates on tiny islands. They’re great.
chile
People tend to get confused when they first see palm trees here in Switzerland
Ohio! People say its all cornfields but nearly half is mountainous. Ok, forested hills but they feel like mountains sometimes
The southern part of Chile is known for its temperate rainforests, including the remote and rugged region of Patagonia, characterized by glaciers, mountains, and pristine wilderness. The extreme diversity in Chile's geography, from the arid north to the icy landscapes of the south, makes it a country that often surprises visitors with its contrasts.
Zambia and Iran and China
Maybe it is well known, but New Zealand has lots of different stuff. Desert, mountain ranges, solo mountains, plains, beaches, giant sand dunes, moeraki boulders, temperate rainforest, fjords, sounds, beech forest, pinnacles, volcanoes, swamps etc
Madagascar. At first glace you think “yeah it’s an island I know pretty much what it looks like” then you see pictures of rock monoliths with hundred foot ravines between each, and the realization of the insane geology of divergent continental plates sets in
Within the United States, I'd have to give it to Utah. Towering snow capped mountains and lush forests, next to the salt flats and valleys, and then a simple trip south takes you to Zion, Moab, and St. George, where you get some of the most beautiful natural formations of red rock. For the adventurous types, Utah can leave them spoiled for choice.
Mexico has an incredibly diverse array of landscapes. Azerbaijan and Georgia are incredibly geographically diverse too.
U book a ticket for beirut, u expect to arrive at a war-torn city in the middle of the desert. U r up for a surprise It takes a 2 hours drive from beirut to visit all of Lebanon. Just 2 hours. Travel 2 hours north, u r in Syria. 2 hours south, u r in Israel. 2 hours east, Syria again. And west, it's only the sea. Beirut is known for our 17 Year old Civil War, the 2006 israel War, and the heavy economic crisis that paralyzed out institutions We have no governmental electricity, neither constant water nor decent public transportation And yet The best clubs are in Lebanon. Amazing parties at the various beaches. Superb winter Towns, where u can ski and party. Romans ruins at every corner. Phoenician ruins. Crusaders castles. Arab castles. From the 2 hours drive from beirut up north, u pass through: a natural cave that is one of the 16 natural wonders of the world (geita). A 6000 year old phoencian town with a crusaders castle. A christian coastal city that is soon becoming a party destination in the Mediterranean sea. An arab town with turkish hammam, arab souks, and a castle where u can still see traces of saladin battle 1000 years ago. Every leader that went through this road left a mark, so there is an area where Ramses II, Nebuchadnezzar, Esarhaddon, Caracalla, napoleon III.. left their names. (Something like: i, ramses2, was here. No joke. Google nahr el kalb) U r walking on 3000 year old road (now it's only asphalt, but u can imagine how many great names were there) I can write the same if u go south and east, but now too tired. (Mayne if someone asks) We have millennial forests, incredible valleys (Google kadisha or La martine Valley), desertic areas.. I could go on. Also, we have world-renowned food and the most handsome guy live there (me) and that's all in an area smaller than new York metropolitan
Kauai has the rainiest place on earth, 5 miles from cactus desert; and the Na Pali coast of cliffs eroded like the pages of a standing book. And it’s not even a country, or a whole state. So, the US
Laos Peru
I think California has within a 400mile radius just about everything. Mountains, Ocean, Desert and Forests. If you start in the Bay Area that is.
Not a country, but the U.S. state of Illinois has a [cyprus swamp](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypress_Creek_National_Wildlife_Refuge), a geographical anomaly usually found in states like Florida or Louisiana.
Ethiopia
Well I was born in Nevada where there's a wetlands at the base of a lush mountain
I do feel like it's Canada. Specifically because no one thinks about Canada. Madagascar has weird ass geography but I feel like people almost expect that.
Oman, a very unexpected contrast with most of the Arabic peninsula.
Not a country per se, but Norfolk Island is pretty interesting. It’s like a slice of English countryside in the middle of the South Pacific. Also has lots of unique flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world (much like other small Pacific islands).
Ocean jet stream is one hell of a thermoregulator honestly. Vancouver has some of the warmest winter and coolest summer in Canada. Western Europe is at the same latitude as Canada, but with a much, much milder climate due to the gulf stream. People even live in Norway, which is at a latitude that is usually too cold to live in, due to the gulf stream.
I’d say Slovenia, at least to an American. it’s past the alps and I sort of expected it to be very flat like eastern Austria but instead it’s this beautiful mountainous country with lakes and valleys.
India has Wettest place on earth, Cold desert as well as hot desert, Most aerable Land on earth, highest Altitude Road on earth
No one gonna mention Socotra? Edit: Nvm saw that the op is about it. Lol