Originally, a landmark literally meant a geographic feature used by explorers and others to find their way back or through an area.

In modern usage, it includes anything that is easily recognizable, such as a monument, building, or other structure. In American English it is the main term used to designate places that might be of interest to tourists due to notable physical features or historical significance. Landmarks in the British English sense are often used for casual navigation, such as giving directions. This is done in American English as well.

A variant is a seamark or daymark, a structure usually built intentionally to aid sailors navigating featureless coasts. An example is the tower at Walton-on-the-Naze in England.

Links to landmarks around the world

Landmarks may be split into two categories: natural phenomena (physical features such as waterfalls and mountains) and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares, and so forth.

Natural phenomena

• Cotton Tree, Freetown, Sierra Leone
• Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia
• Stone Mountain, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
• Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
• Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa
• The Twelve Apostles (Victoria), Victoria, Australia
• Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, Queensland, Australia
• Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
• Niagara Falls, Ontario/New York, Canada/USA /
• Victoria Falls, Zambia/Zimbabwe /
• Angel Falls, Canaima National Park, Gran Sabana, Bolivar State, Venezuela
• Mount Everest, Himalayas, Nepal/China /

Man-made features

Africa

• Great Pyramids, Cairo, Egypt

Asia

• Baalbek, Baalbeck, Lebanon
• Persepolis, Fars, Iran
• Azadi Tower, Tehran, Iran
• Taj Mahal, Agra, India
• Gateway of India, Mumbai, India
• Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban, Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai, China
• The Great Wall of China, Beijing, China
• Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
• 63 Building/N Seoul Tower, Seoul, South Korea
• Tokyo Tower, Tokyo, Japan
• Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand
• Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan
• Sigiriya Fortress, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
• Burj Al Arab, Dubai, UAE
• Petra, Arabah, Aqaba Governorate, Jordan
• Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel

Australasia

• Sydney Opera House, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• Harbour Bridge, Sydney, New South Wales Australia
• Q1 Tower, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
• Eureka Tower, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• MCG, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• Flinders Street Station, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• Parliament house, Canberra, Australia
• Sky Tower, Auckland, New Zealand

Europe

• The Parthenon, Athens, Greece
• The White Tower of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
• Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
• Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France
• The Colosseum, Rome, Italy
• Leaning Tower of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
• Big Ben, London, United Kingdom
• Wembley Stadium, London, United Kingdom
• Stonehenge, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
• Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol, United Kingdom
• London Eye, London, United Kingdom
• Tower Bridge, London, United Kingdom
• St. Paul’s Cathedral, 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
• Kölner Dom, Cologne, Germany
• Frauenkirche, Munich, Germany
• Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany
• Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany
• Reichstag Building, Berlin, Germany
• Torre de Belém, Lisboa, Portugal
• Sagrada Família, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
• Mezquita de Córdoba, Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain
• Alhambra, Granada, Andalusia, Spain
• St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City
• Pobednik, Belgrade, Serbia
• Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

North America

• CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Canada Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada,
• Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California, USA
• Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York City, New York, USA
• Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, USA
• Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
• Hoover Dam, Colorado River, ArizonaNevada, USA
• Empire State Building, New York City, New York, USA
• Sears Tower, Chicago, Illinois, USA
• Faneuil Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Chichen Itza, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
• White House, Washington, D.C., USA
• Renaissance Center, Detroit, Michigan, USA
• Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

South America

• Macchu Picchu, Urubamba Valley, Peru
• Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Monserrate, Bogota, Colombia

Photographs

See also

• Waypoint
• National Historic Landmark
• Tourism