Cabo Girão Cliff is found on Portugal’s Madeira Island. The cliff reaches a height of 1,870 feet, and the glass cliff skywalk is the highest of its kind in Europe. The skywalk draws approximately 1,800 visitors each day to the Cabo Girão Cliff, which is the third-highest sea cliff in Europe.

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument covers 280,000 acres in both Arizona and Utah. The Vermilion Cliffs are made of sandstone, siltstone, limestone and shale; they rise approximately 3,000 feet from their bases. The cliffs are also home to the endangered California condor.

Built in 491 CE during the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Hanging Monastery (aka Hanging Temple) was the brainchild of a monk named Lio Ran. The monastery is found on Mount Heng, one of China’s Five Great Mountains. Looking out the windows of the monastery, you can see directly down the side of the cliff face.

In a famous scene from Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” the character Edgar lies and tells the blind Earl of Gloucester that he is at the edge of one of the White Cliffs of Dover. Shakespeare Cliff, one of the cliffs at Dover, takes its name from this reference. It’s said that Shakespeare himself often visited the White Cliffs of Dover while writing the play.

Rising 830 feet above the Mediterranean Sea, the Dingli Cliffs are the highest point in the Mediterranean island nation of Malta. A tiny chapel dedicated to Mary Magdalene sits on the edge of the cliffs. The cliffs extend to another notable natural wonder called the Blue Grotto, which is a series of spectacular sea caverns.

The Auyán-tepui plateau gives way to several imposing cliffs, as well as the world’s tallest waterfall, Angel Falls, which cascades 3,200 feet over a cliff’s edge. The surrounding Auyán-tepui cliffs rise from 5,200 feet to an elevation greater than 8,000 feet above sea level.

Taiwan’s Qingshui Cliffs are striking to look at, but maybe even more striking is the view from the cliffs — it is the only place in Taroko National Park where you can see three distinctly different color tones that comprise the Pacific Ocean. The cliffs, one of the “Eight Wonders of Taiwan,” rise 2,600 feet above Chongde Beach.

South Africa’s Drakensberg Amphitheatre extends 3.1 miles in length and reaches over 4,000 feet above the ground. The cliffs are found in the Royal Natal National Park in KwaZulu-Natal. Visitors can reach the cliffs via a two-hour hike and can also visit the nearby Tugela Falls on the way.

Australia’s Bunda Cliffs rise between 200 and 390 feet above Australia’s southern coast, but they are more notable for their length. Running for 62 miles, the Bunda Cliffs are the longest uninterrupted line of sea cliffs on Earth. The cliffs were formed when Australia broke apart from Antarctica approximately 65 million years ago.

Pakistan’s Trango Towers are a series of rock towers that contain some of the world’s most striking cliffs. There are four peaks that reach over 20,000 feet tall, which can be found along the rock tower known as Great Trango. The eastern face of Great Trango Tower is the highest of the bunch at 20,623 feet, and it features the world’s greatest near-vertical drop.

In the classic 1987 fairy-tale comedy “The Princess Bride,” Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher are depicted as the Cliffs of Insanity, which the characters ascend via rope. The actual Cliffs of Moher — one of Ireland’s most popular tourist attractions — are situated on the Emerald Isle’s scenic western coast, overlooking Galway Bay, the Dingle Peninsula, and the Maumturk Mountains.

It takes roughly four hours to hike to the top of Norway’s Preikestolen cliff, and about 300,000 tourists make the trek each year. Preikestolen is also known as “the Pulpit Rock” and “the Preacher’s Chair,” as the flat, white, square plateau at the top resembles a seat. The cliff sits 1,900 feet above the Lysefjord.

Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park is home to the remains of a large cliff dwelling constructed by ancient Pueblans in the 13th century. Known as Cliff Palace, the structure consists of about 150 separate rooms carved into stone on the cliff side. Cliff Palace is believed to have served as an administrative center for a population of over 600 people.

According to legend, an Irish giant named Finn McCool created a causeway to get across the Irish Sea to face off with a Scottish Giant named Benandonner. After McCool was victorious, Benandonner tore up the causeway, leaving the series of black, basalt cliffs found on the north coast of Northern Ireland, now known as the Giant’s Causeway.

Located along the English Channel on the south coast of England, the Seven Sisters are a series of seven prominent chalk cliffs. They are famous for their unspoiled natural beauty, but that almost wasn’t the case — in 1926, a group of developers wanted to build a new town on the site of the Seven Sisters cliffs. They were only stopped when a group of environmentalists raised enough money to purchase the land.

Located in Nunavut’s Auyuittuq National Park, Mount Thor features the world’s greatest vertical drop. The Baffin Island cliff stands 1,250 feet above ground at an average angle of 105 degrees, and is composed of granite. Base jumping from the cliff is officially illegal, although adventurers don’t always take the cliff’s rules at face value.

California’s Highway 1 (aka the Pacific Coast Highway) traces the state’s scenic coastline, and one of its most spectacular stretches is the 90-mile cliffside route along Big Sur. The highway was completed in 1937, and while it provides amazing views, its cliffside location can also be treacherous — this stretch of highway has been closed more than 50 times due to landslides.

Claude Monet visited the coastal village of Étretat, France, annually between 1883 and 1886, creating over 50 paintings depicting the landscape from various perspectives. In 1885, Monet painted the cliffs and rock formations known as the Elephant and the Needle, and titled his work “The Cliffs at Étretat.”

The White Cliffs of Dover are located at England’s closest point to the European mainland. They are only 25 miles across the English Channel away from the French port city of Calais. Dover’s location, and the height of its cliffs, have made it an important defensive barrier during wartime. Tunnels were dug underneath the cliffs during the Napoleonic War, and during World War II they were enlarged and connected to Winston Churchill’s military headquarters.

Rising between 3,000 and 4,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean, the Sea Cliffs of Molokai in Hawaii are the world’s tallest sea cliffs. The cliffs were formed over millions of years of volcanic activity. Today, visitors can access the cliffs by helicopter tour, or through Molokai’s Kalaupapa National Historical Park or Palaau State Park.