Originally, a landmark literally meant a prominent, easily identified geographic point, (like a mountain, a cliff, or a river) used by explorers and others to find their way back or through an area.
In modern use, it includes anything that can be recognized easily, such as a monument, building, or other structure. In American English it is the main word used to call places that are tourist attractions because they are beautiful, or big, or they have historical importance. Some, such as National Landmarks, are on official lists of landmarks. Landmarks in the British English are normally used for casual navigation, such as giving directions to someone to get somewhere. This is done in American English as well.
Landmarks also can be of two different categories: natural (e.g., physical features such as waterfalls and mountains), and structures constructed by humans. Many of them are World Heritage Sites.
Some important landmarks across the world today include:
Natural phenomena
- Amazon Rainforest, Brazil/Peru
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- Angel Falls, Canaima National Park, Gran Sabana, Bolivar State, Venezuela
- Cotton Tree, Freetown, Sierra Leone
- The Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare, Ireland
- Galápagos Islands, Galápagos Province, Ecuador
- Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
- Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
- Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, Queensland, Australia
- The Great Blue Hole, Belize
- Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee/North Carolina, USA
- Iguazu Falls, Paraná/Misiones, Brazil/Argentina /
- Matterhorn, Alps, Switzerland/Italy
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- Milford Sound, South Island, New Zealand
- Mont Saint Michel, France
- Monument Valley, Arizona, USA
- Mount Cook, South Island, New Zealand
- Mount Everest, Himalayas, Nepal/China
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- Mount Fuji, Chūbu region, Honshū, Japan
- Mount Kilimanjaro, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
- Niagara Falls, Ontario/New York, Canada/USA
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- Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
- Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil
- Stone Mountain, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
- Southern Patagonian Ice Field, Southern Patagonic Andes, Argentina/Chile, /
- Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa
- The Twelve Apostles (Victoria), Victoria, Australia
- The Three Sisters,, Australia
- Torres del Paine, Magallanes, Chile
- Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia
- Victoria Falls, Zambia/Zimbabwe
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Constructed features
Africa
- Great Pyramid of Giza, Sphinx, Egypt
- Abu Simbel, Aswan, Egypt
- Nubian Monuments Philae, Aswan, Egypt
- Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca, Morocco
- Great Mosque of Djenné, Djenné, Mali
- Tomb of Askia, Gao, Mali
Asia
- Baalbek, Baalbeck, Lebanon
- Persepolis, Fars, Iran
- Azadi Tower, Tehran, Iran
- Taj Mahal, Agra, India
- Gateway of India, Mumbai, India
- Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar, India
- Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- The Great Wall of China, Beijing, China
- Tiananmen Square/Forbidden City, Beijing, China
- Temple of Heaven, Beijing, China
- Beijing National Stadium, Beijing, China
- Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China
- The Terracotta Army, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
- Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai, China
- Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai, China
- Leshan Giant Buddha, Sichuan, China
- Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
- Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong
- Two International Finance Centre, Hong Kong
- International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong
- Langham Place , Hong Kong
- 63 Building/N Seoul Tower, Seoul, South Korea
- Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul, South Korea
- Golden Pavilion, Kyoto, Japan
- Tokyo Tower, Tokyo, Japan
- Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo, Japan
- Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand
- Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan
- Sigiriya Fortress, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
- Angkor Wat, Angkor, Cambodia
- Borobudur, Central Java, Indonesia
- Burj Al Arab, Dubai, UAE
- Emirates Office Tower, Dubai, UAE
- Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE
- The Palm, Dubai, UAE
- The World (archipelago), Dubai, UAE
- Petra, Arabah, Aqaba Governorate, Jordan
- Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel
- Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, Israel
- Azrieli Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
- Masjid al-Haram, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Europe
- Irish Government Buildings, Dublin, Ireland
- Newgrange, Co. Meath, Ireland
- The Customs House, Dublin, Ireland
- The Spire of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Hungarian Parliament Building, Budapest, Hungary
- The Parthenon, Athens, Greece
- The White Tower of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
- Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
- Louvre, Paris, France
- Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France
- Sacré-Cœur Basilica, Paris, France
- The Colosseum, Rome, Italy
- Leaning Tower of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- St Mark's Square, Venice, Italy
- Pompeii, Campania, Italy
- Big Ben, London, United Kingdom
- Stonehenge, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
- Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth, United Kingdom
- Eden Project, Cornwall, United Kingdom
- Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol, United Kingdom
- Angel Of The North, Bristol, United Kingdom
- Roman Baths, Bath, United Kingdom
- London Eye, London, United Kingdom
- Millenium Dome, The 02, London, United Kingdom
- Tower Bridge, London, United Kingdom
- St Paul's Cathedral, London, United Kingdom
- Trafalgar Square, London, England, United Kingdom
- The Shard, London, United Kingdom
- Palace of the Parliament, Bucharest, Romania
- Red Square/Saint Basil's Cathedral, Moscow, Russia
- Mamayev Kurgan, Volgograd, Russia
- Saint Isaac's Cathedral, Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Peter and Paul Fortress, Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium
- Atomium, Brussels, Belgium
- Kölner Dom, Cologne, Germany
- Frauenkirche, Munich, Germany
- Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany
- Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany
- Reichstag Building, Berlin, Germany
- Fernsehturm, Berlin, Germany
- Torre de Belém, Lisboa, Portugal
- Sagrada Família, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Mezquita de Córdoba, Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain
- Alhambra, Granada, Andalusia, Spain
- City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia, Spain
- St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City
- Pobednik, Belgrade, Serbia
- Palace on Dam square, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Central Station, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Market Hall, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Delta Works, Zeeland, Netherlands
North America
- CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California, USA
- Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York City, New York, USA
- Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, USA
- Hollywood Sign, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Hoover Dam, Colorado River, Arizona\Nevada, USA
- One World Trade Center, New York City, New York, USA
- 432 Park Avenue, New York City, New York, USA
- 30 Hudson Yards, New York City, New York, USA
- Empire State Building, New York City, New York, USA
- Sears Tower, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Faneuil Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- White House, Washington, D.C., USA
- Capitol, Washington, D.C., USA
- Renaissance Center, Detroit, Michigan, USA
- Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Chichen Itza, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
Central and South America
- Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Macchu Picchu, Urubamba Valley, Peru
- Moais, Eastern Island, Chile
- Historic Town of Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais State, Brazil
- Panama Canal, Panama
- Tikal, Department of El Petén, Guatemala
Australia
- Sydney Opera House, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Sydney Tower, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Eureka Tower, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Flinders Street Station, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Federation Square, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Q1, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
- Bell Tower, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
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