In the Pacific Ocean, in British Columbia, the Queen Charlotte Islands are peaks of a submerged mountain chain. The seven largest islands of the 1,884 islands and islets in the archipelago are Langara, Graham, Moresby, Louise, Lyell, Burnaby and Kunghit. Just 2 km into the sea, the continental shelf falls away dramatically to the immense depths of the ocean, and this is Canada’s most active earthquake area. Photo by: marc_guitard

Naikoon Provincial Park, in the north-east of Graham Island, covers a range of diverse environments including sandy beaches and dunes, sphagnum bogs, ancient forests and rivers. The landscape was formed during the last Ice Age out of the deposits left by retreating glaciers. The main attraction here are the endless stretches of broad sandy beaches. On the north beach is Tow Hill, a 100 m outcrop of basalt columns which make a dramatic landmark. Also worth seeing is Rose Spit, an ecological reserve, where you can spot migrating birds travelling over the Pacific. Photo by: g d gustafsson

The Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site is in the south of the archipelago. The wilderness area of 138 islands stretching 90 km from north to south is only accessible by boat or charted aircraft. Mountains rise steeply to the west, and the coastline is dotted with stunning inlets, coves, bays and islands. This is great place to observe whales, bald eagles, nesting seabirds, black bears, river otters and sea lions. Photo by: Sam Beebe / Ecotrust

Rainforest and upland bog, salmon steams, estuaries and kelp beds sustain a rich diversity of life there.
When to go: April to November. Population: 4,935. Getting there: Fly to Vancouver or Prince Rupert to Sandspit, or take a ferry from Prince Rupert. You should know: This is a tranquil area with little development, so do not expect busy resort hotels with all the tourist comforts. Photo by: Yonn Yeth-Lachance

Photo by: Stef Olcen

These Lagoons are of exceptional natural beauty. The New Caledonia Barrier Reef is located in New Caledonia in the South Pacific. It’s the third largest coral reef structure in the world.

The Lagoons of New Caledonia are a group of six lagoons that contain coral reef ecosystems. Its flora and fauna are one-of-a-kind in the world, with more than 1,000 species of fish and 6,500 species of marine invertebrates.

The reef encloses a lagoon of 24,000 square kilometers (9,300 sq mi), which has an average depth of 25 meters (82 ft).

The lagoons features an exceptional diversity of coral and fish species and a continuum of habitats from mangroves to sea grasses. About 5,000 pairs of Roseate Tern ( Sterna dougalli ) have been found.

The reef complex is globally unique in that it is “free-standing” in the ocean and encircles the island of New Caledonia.

The Lagoons of New Caledonia were recorded on the prestigious list of sites that are declared a World Heritage by UNESCO, which is a first for an overseas territory of France.

Malpelo Island and the surrounding marine environment are located 500 kilometers west of mainland Colombia. This vast marine park, the largest no-fishing zone in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. It has a land area of 0.35 square kilometers (86 acres). The highest point, “El Cerro de La Mona”, is 376 m above sea level.

The island is a largely barren oceanic rock. Plant species are few and small: ferns, leguminous and grassy shrubs, mosses, lichens and algae which are also widespread underwater.

Sea birds like the pique, the tijereta de mar and the pico rojo nest on the hilltops, which serve them as a way station.

Malpelo holds a unique shark population; swarms of 500 hammerhead sharks and hundreds of silky sharks.

Endemic to the island are one crab species, two starfish, various species of coralline fish, and two reptiles.

As it is an oceanic island at quite a distance from the continent, Malpelo is a living laboratory, ideal for scientific research, as well as nature tourism-related activities like diving.

UNESCO declared the area a World Natural Heritage Site by virtue of its marine biodiversity!

The Golden Gate Bridge is acclaimed as one of the most beautiful and most photographed bridges in the world. With its tremendous towers, sweeping main cables, great span it is a beloved symbol of the San Francisco Bay Area. Many San Francisco tour operators include the Golden Gate Bridge in their tour and the Bridge can be a very busy place, particularly during the summer months.

The Golden Gate Bridge design echoes an Art Deco Theme it connects San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean. About nine million people from around the world visit the Bridge each year. Technical Information: Overall bridge length: 2824 m, Bridge main span length: 1280 m, Depth of Golden Gate strait: 130 m.

Each Orange Sea Pen (Scientific Name: Ptilosarcus gurneyi) is a colony of polyps  working together for the survival of the whole. The primary polyp loses its tentacles and becomes the stalk of the sea pen, with a bulb at its base. They can generally be found in temperate waters of northeastern Pacific.

The Giant Japanese spider crab (Scientific Name: Macrocheira kaempferi) is the largest arthropods known to man. Fully grown, it attains a leg span of about 4 m and a weight of about 20 kilograms. They generally have a dark orange body, with white spots on their legs and can live up to 100 years is considered to be a living fossil. The width of their body usually grows to about 37cm and they are covered with little nodules called tubercles. The Giant Japanese spider crab can generally be found in the Pacific Ocean around Japan. They are found in depths of 150m to 800m, but mainly these crabs go to depths of around 200m. If the female Japanese Spider Crabs need to lay their eggs, then they even go to shallow depths of 50m.

Known of the movie “Finding Nemo”, Clown Fish (Scientific Name: Amphiprion Ocellaris) are commonly found in the warm waters in the Pacific Ocean, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Clownfish belong to a group of small, brightly colored fish called damselfish. The largest reach a length of 18 cm, while the smallest barely reach 10 cm. They are not eaten by other fish because they are kept safe by the stinging tentacles of the Anemone.

The Pitcairn Islands are group of four separate volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. Farther from any continent than any other inhabited island the group is consists of: Pitcairn (main island), Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands. Became the first British Pacific island colony in 1838, it is most isolated British dependency with a sovereign jurisdiction. It’s also the tiniest one on earth, with only 48 residents from 9 original families. It is an extremely isolated – roughly 2170km of Tahiti, just over 6600km from Panama and are accessible only via a 30 hour boat ride from Mangareva Island.

Henderson Island is the largest island and it is one of the few atolls in the world whose ecology has been practically untouched by a human presence. Because of its isolated location, the island provides the ideal context for studying the dynamics of insular evolution and natural selection. It is particularly notable for the 10 plants and four land birds that are endemic to the island.

Most of Henderson Island is densely vegetated with pristine forest and thick scrub that has been undisturbed for the last 400 years. There are very few non-native plant species on the island. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with several endangered bird species.

Tamarindo Diria Beach and Golf Resort is a luxurious Four Star Hotel located on the Northwest Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. It is the only hotel located right on the beach. Surrounded by exotic and beautifully maintained lush tropical gardens, you will sense the natural beauty Costa Rica has to offer.

The property has a hotel with 200 rooms. The rooms offer a spacious balcony or a lovely terrace overlooking the ocean.

Amenities include cable TVs with US stations, minibars, air conditioning and ceiling fans, and digital safes.

The great swimming pool are surrounded by lush tropical gardens next to the beach. The beach front hotel is but a days trip away from active volcanoes, inactive volcano mud baths, jungles, waterfalls, and zip lines.
The Hotel Tamarindo also offers a bar, a boutique and a conference hall with a capacity of 150.

There are a variety of restaurants located nearby.

Activities: Horseback riding, Aerobics, Surfing, Scuba diving, Water skiing, Fishing, Excursions to national parks and wildlife refuges.

resort

Kurl Islands is a chain of 56 volcanic islands stretches for 1,300 km like stepping-stones all the way from the Kamatchka Peninsula to Hokkaido, Japan. They form the boundary between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean and the summits of undersea stratvolcanoes, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Offshore is the Kuril trench, one of the deepest ocean regions in the world, 10,5 km deep. 

The Kuril Islands are breathtakingly beautiful with dense greenery except at the highest levels and an amazing variety of spectacular scenery ranging from dramatic volcanic ridge and craters to alpine tundra, meadows and wetland. There are broadleaf woods, coniferous forests, crater lakes circled by trees, lush narrow valleys and fast running steams with coast of steep cliffs, volcanic sand beaches and rocky shores. Many millions of seabirds congregate on every available hammock and cliff ledge. Baird’s whales, fin and sperm whales, sea otters, sealions and fur seals.

Forty of the islands are volcanically active with hot springs and frequent eruptions. A combination of distance from the mainland, the depth of the ocean and strong currents have been major barriers to plant and animal dispersal so the each island had its own self-contained ecosystem and natural history. The Kurils are in one of the least scientifically explored regions of the world – and eco adventurer’s paradise, full of unique biological and geological wonders.

When to go: June to October. Population: 16,800. How to get there: You need a lot of determination to get to Kurl Islands. By boat to Kunashir (the southernmost island), from Kushiro, north Japan. Irregular ferry services to the other inhabited islands and a once monthly boat from Korsakov, the southern port of Sakhalin Island, Eastern Russia. To explore the Kurils on max, you must charter a boat or join an eco-expedition.

The Kurils were discovered in 1634 and first charted in 1739. They were seized by Japan in the 19th century and only returned to Russia at the end of the World War II. Photos by: sophieatkinson

At the southern-most tip of Japan in the Pacific Ocean near the Tropic of Cancer lies the island of Hateruma, part of the Yaeyama Island group. This enchanting coral island is clothed in banyan trees, Indian almonds, bamboo orchids and colourful hibiscus. There is a blissful feeling of remoteness in this beautiful rural backwater, with no man-made noise and the exotic decent of frangipani perfumes in the air. Photo by: ippei + janine

Tourism is virtually non-existent on Hateruma – there are no big hotels or coach parties making this the perfect place to unwind. The island is best explored by bicycle, at a slow pace fitting the pace of life here. The empty roads lead to endless reaches of sea and sky. There is one just village in the centre of the island, with most of the inhabitants involved in fishing, growing sugarcane or producing Awanami, a highly-priced alcoholic drink. Some of the wooden houses are plain and weathered, others are painted in pretty shades of green or blue, with traditional orange tiled roofs. Photo by: 703

The clear blue waters around the island make this a good place for diving and snorkeling. There is plenty to explore, featuring coral reefs, rock arches and brilliantly colourful tropical fish. In the spring migratory fish, such as hammerhead sharks,can be seen. If you want to relax, the beach at Nishi, edged with pandanus trees, the most beautiful beach in Japan. Photo by: hokipoki

Hateruma is also famous for its astronomical observatory, as this is the only place in Japan from where you can view the Southern Cross. Of the 88 constellations, 84 can be seen from there, and the clear skies and lack of light population make this a great place to view the night sky. Photo by: Akira ASKR

When to go: Mid-December to June to view the Southern Cross. Population: 600. How to get there: By air to Ishigaki Island and then take a ferry to Hateruma. Photo by: kozyndan

Los Angeles is a polarizing city and Wayfaring will show you one different side of the city. To some people the city is a paradise with its beautiful beaches, luxury hotels, bars and nightclubs. To others it’s a look of apocalypse with its air pollution, earthquake and wildfires. Los Angles is a kind of place that even though some people refuse to visit.

In order to understand the whole picture of Los Angles you have to understand how the city flows of its local landscape. Once you find out how the city operate – how it form a system – you will see the beauty of  it.

First of all I will begin from wastewater plant El Segundo. It’s actually the third largest plant in the country – behind Chicago and Boston. The city even offers tours to El Segundo, which is a great place nestled between LAX and Chevron refinery. You have got the Pacific Ocean to the west and  LAX to the north. You can even seen where its pipe extends. Then I offer you the other end of spectrum – Mt. Wilson – an observatory and antenna fields. It’s cool up there with a forest of huge antennas and you can run among the trees and the towers.

Another interesting building to visit is One Wilshire – a classic modernist Skidmore, Owings & Merrill building, at the crossroads of Grand and Wilshire—–but it’s called the most connected building on the West Coast in terms of internet bandwidth. It’s a telco hotel as well and has connections directly to Pacific submarine cables. In other words, it’s infrastructure, but it’s also architecture. It’s got floors and floors of computers—–and then, occasionally, some lawyer’s office.

One of my favorite places is the gravel trench in Irwindale—–the Durbin trench and the Vulcan trench. Those are two adjacent gravel trenches in this huge complex of trenches, where much of the gravel out is that one, which the structures and the freeways in Los Angeles get made.

In this picture is the Cascades, which are a registered State Histor-ical Landmark. They are where the 338-mile Owens River Aqueduct terminates, bringing fresh water to L.A. The aqueduct’s construction, which finished in 1913, is a fascinating—–and murky—–tale of government corruption and outright theft. Los Angeles is, after all, maybe more than other cities, a complex blend of physical facts and interpretive fictions.

The Marquesas Islands also emerged as ”The land of men” are a small group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, a collectivization of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. The highest point in the region is the peak of Mount Oave, located on Ua Pu island at 1, 230m above sea level. Ua Pu is the third largest of the Marquesas Islands and the only major island that was unified under a single monarch prior to the arrival of European explorers.

The capital of the Marquesas Islands is the settlement of Taiohae on the island of Nuku Hiva.  The Marquesas Islands are the island group farthest from any continent in the world, lying between 900 and 1,200 km (550 and 725 miles) south of the equator and 1,371 km (852 miles) northeast of Tahiti.

Besides the lush tropical vegetation that goes culturally, the Marquesas are remarkably dry islands. They are the first major break in the prevailing easterly winds spawned from the extraordinarily dry Humboldt Current. The Marquesas Islands are thought to have formed by a center of upwelling magma called the Marquesas hotspot. The islands are divided in six communes. French and Tahitian are the only official languages of French Polynesia, and therefore of the Marquesas Islands as well, the Marquesan languages, in their various forms.

Accommodations are available in only a few hotels (Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa) and small family homes on each island. The islands offer a wide range of activities, as Landrover excursions, horseback riding, hiking over mountain trails and to inland cascades, picnics on the beach or mountains, deep-sea fishing, sailing, motorboat rides, visits to archaeological sites, visits to artisansí workshops to buy wood carvings, tapa hangings and monoi perfumed oils.

To get there by boat try the mixed-freighter ARANUI takes up to 100 passenger in air-conditioned cabins for a 16 day cruise from Tahiti to the Marquesas through the Tuamotu archipelago and back. It includes  deluxe accommodation and meals as well as land excursions in the various islands.

New Zealand is an island country situated in the Pacific Ocean. The country is notable isolated, about 2000 km southeast of Australia with population of European descent and Indigenous Maori (being the largest minority).

The first European name for New Zealand was Staten Landt. The name New Zealand originated with Dutch Cartographers, who called the island Nova Zeelandia, after the Dutch province of Zealand.

New Zealand spread over two main islands, the North and South Islands, Te Ika a Maui and Te Wai Pounamu, and a number of smaller islands, located near the centre of the water hemisphere.

New Zealand has extraordinary flora and fauna, due to its long isolation from the rest of the world. About 80% of the land’s flora is endemic. The two main types of forest are those   podocarps or the gaint kauri. The other greenery in New Zealand are grasslands of tussock and other grasses.

New Zealand has suffered a high rate of extinctions, including moa, the huia, laughing owl and flightless wrens. This is because of human activities such as hunting and others.New Zealand has led the world in island restoration projects, where offshore islands are cleared of introduced mammalian pests and native species are reintroduced. Several islands located near to the three main islands are wildlife reserves where common pests such as possums and rodents have been eradicated to allow the reintroduction of endangered species to the islands.

It is not possible to get to Easter Island, without traveling a long distance. For example if you live in New York City you will travel to Santiago, Chile (almost 12 hours), probably you should rest a day and then catching another jet plane 5 hours into the Pacific to reach your goal. The adventure trip will be an hour shorter if you live in New Zealand, but don’t count on it.

Easter Island (Rapa Nui: Rapa Nui, Spanish: Isla de Pascua) is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeastern most point of the Polynesian triangle. The island is a special territory of Chile.

Easter Island (10 miles by 15 miles) was formed eons ago by three massive volcanoes rising from the sea. Most of the island is strewn with stone, with jagged cliffs for a coastline. The island is also strewn with over 800 gigantic and breathtaking statues averaging over 20 feet high. Only a relative few of these are upright and in original placement, but many of the rest can be seen and visited, half buried or prone. The experience is very much like visiting a fiction we have not imagined.

The island was settled — probably about A.D. 700.

There are several hundred free-roaming horses on the island, families mostly, and they often share the roads with you but are thoughtful in moving aside. There are 10 or 12 hotels, the most desirable one being the Hotel O’TAI, with lovely gardens, comfortable rooms, a pool, good breakfast, a friendly staff and reasonable rates. The people who live on Easter Island are friendly and often very beautiful.