Mount Everest? Surely, you’ve heard of it. The Grand Canyon? Obviously. Uluru? Probably. These are all magnificent features, but they’re far too mainstream for us.
This list is an ode to the many landforms whose beauty, scale, and significance are often underappreciated at best and unknown at worst. The world is vast and full of natural wonders, and its jaw-dropping topographies go far beyond the Matterhorns and McKinleys that grab the limelight
10. The Three Sisters
In the Blue Mountains of Australia near Katoomba, a tourist town filled with hostels and backpackers, The Three Sisters are a trio of tall sandstone outcroppings formed by land erosion. Given the monikers of Meehni, Wimlah, and Gunnedoo, they have earned a fascinating place in the ancient mythos of the aboriginal peoples of the area.
The legend of the three sisters states that three women of the names above fell into forbidden love with three men from a neighboring tribe. After the three men, who were brothers, absconded with their flames, war ensued and the three women were turned into stone by a shaman to protect them from harm.
The shaman died in the battle that followed, and no one lived who could turn them back. Hence, they remain as oft-photographed pillars of stone, weathering away day by day.