Alto Purús - Peru

Deep in the remote upper reaches of the Peruvian Amazon, the region known as the Alto Purús has a history of natural-resource extraction and exploitation, starting with the rubber boom of the 19th century, that ...

Kahoʻolawe - United States

For decades, the sacred Hawaiian island of Kahoʻolawe, the physical incarnation of the sea god Kanaloa, was wracked by explosions set off by the U.S. Navy. Native Hawaiians demanded an end to the ...

Mount Sinai - Egypt

In the remote and rugged high desert of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula lies a land with immense historical and spiritual significance to the world’s three great monotheistic religions. The Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions ...

Jerusalem - Israel

There are many who contend that there is something inherently sacred about places that cultures adopt as holy sites. Of all the Earth’s sacred places, this idea seems most validated in the city ...

Yucca Mountain - United States

For more than two decades, the Shoshone and Paiute peoples, scientists, environmentalists, the federal government, Nevada citizens and politicians have wrestled over the fate of Yucca Mountain. ...

Sutter Buttes - United States

The Sutter Buttes of Northern California's Sacramento Valley are where life began and where life ends. Playing a role in the traditional creation and afterlife stories of the Maidu and Wintun peoples, this ...

Xingu River System - Brazil

The Xingu River system, which runs through central Brazil northward to the Amazon, is a vital part of the complex ecosystem that sustains the world’s largest rainforests and a great diversity of cultures. ...