Kolsai Lakes National Park is a protected mountain area in southeastern Kazakhstan, located in the northern Tian Shan east of Almaty. The park is centered on a chain of alpine lakes surrounded by steep forested slopes, rocky peaks, and mountain valleys. The three Kolsai Lakes occupy different elevations along the Kolsai River, with the landscape changing from coniferous forest at lower levels to alpine terrain higher in the mountains.
Mayaro Bay is a long stretch of coastline on the southeastern side of Trinidad, facing the Atlantic Ocean and extending along the Mayaro coast. The area is known for its broad sandy beaches, coconut palms, coastal vegetation, and low-lying landscapes shaped by the sea. Unlike Trinidad’s more developed northwestern coastal districts, Mayaro has a more rural character, with villages, fishing activity, small farms, and scattered residences along the shoreline.
Gogasheni is a small mountain village in Georgia’s Samtskhe-Javakheti region, situated in the rugged landscape of the Javakheti highlands. The settlement lies near the shores of Lake Paravani, Georgia’s largest lake, and is surrounded by broad upland fields, volcanic hills, and open grassland.
Yuma is a city in southwestern Arizona near the Colorado River, close to the borders with California and Mexico. Its location in the lower Colorado River Valley has made it an important crossing point, agricultural center, and transportation hub in the desert Southwest. The surrounding landscape is characterized by low desert plains, irrigated farmland, sand dunes, and rugged mountains.
In ancient times, Kaanapali was a royal retreat for the rulers of Maui, who delighted in the perfect three-mile stretch of white sand beach, the gentle waves, warm sunny days and the majestic West Maui Mountains. Maui royalty surfed, raced their outrigger canoes, feasted at luaus that lasted for weeks, and where the Kaanapali Golf Course now blankets the land, they played ulu maika, a form of lawn bowling with heavy lava balls.