The Colorado and Green River wind through the lush area known as the Canyonlands and makes even the most urbane individual contemplate a journey west. Garnering millions of visitors every year, the construction of British Columbia's beautiful Butchart Gardens' was completed in 1921.

Although Francisco Franco sought to oppress Spain's northern autonomous region known as the Basque Country throughout his quasi-fascist reign, no matter how successful he was at stultifying their culture and language he could never suppress the region's bewitching beauty. Rather fitting that the Northern Lights over Ireland are a brilliant emerald green.

Taken in Tanzania, the Serengeti not only provides a home to a staggering amount of mammal and avifauna species but also gives its denizens some pretty spectacular sunsets to witness. Named after an Albertan princess, Canada's Lake Louise offers visitors emerald water carried into the lake by nearby glaciers.

This exquisite photograph was taken in Colorado. Earth and the heavens finally meet. At a near-heavenly height of 14,409 feet, Washington state's Mount Rainier's sweeping shadow is enough to make those living nearby to think that nighttime has descended. Found in Iceland's eutrophic Myvatn lake, Pseutocrater Isle is a sight you should not miss.

Comprising one of Spain's Islas Baleares, Mallorca's natural beauty makes it a top holiday destination around the world. It's not a pattern for a shirt; it's a field of fragrant tulip flowers in the Netherlands. Millions of them. With a sweeping length of over 1,000 miles, the Snake River is as vast as it is stunning.

Summer may be dwindling away, but that doesn't mean that your days of sun worship have to. Just pretend that's you brushing over the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean Sea. Found at the navy base, it's just a few careful paces down these steep steps until one reaches a secluded beach paradise.

One now understands why the Von Trapps were so eager to sing! Captured by NASA's newly upgraded Hubble Telescope in 2009, the Butterfly Nebula is over 4,000 light years away and the heat of the central star reaches over 250 thousand degrees Celsius.

Source: Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/jup3nep/2814865508/ One now understands why the Von Trapps were so eager to sing!