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Earth's Toughest Spots....
National Geographic Photos



Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) ride out
high surf on blue-ice icebergs near Candlemas Island
in the South Sandwich Islands



For trees that grow on mountaintops near Cape Town,
South Africa, wind can be a magnificent sculptor.
Trees that can handle the wind's effects
best will alter their shape to deal with the load of the wind.



Silhouetted by the sun, the Hand of Fatima rock formations
near Hombori village stretch toward the sky in Mali.
The tallest tower rises 2,000 feet (610 meters)
from the desert floor. Lore has it that the formations'
name stems from the five towers' resemblance to a hand
from the sky.



Erosion's force becomes clear in these limestone cliffs
in Port Campbell National Park, Australia.
About five million years ago the area was a
limestone plateau, but as sea levels rose the effects
of surf and rain began to carve out these
magnificent cliffs, along with stacks and arches