Unforgiving temperatures of up to 60℃ (140℉) beat down on these saltminers on a daily basis. The mines, situated in the Afar Triangle in Ethiopia, stretch across 38,000 sq miles and at their lowest point are more than 300ft below sea level. Joel Santos travelled to capture the area’s dry, brutal beauty. Here: Dromedaries and donkeys are used to transport the salt. (Photo by Joel Santos/Barcroft Images)

Coonoor is a municipality in the Nilgiris district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is known for its production of Nilgiri tea. Coonoor is located at an altitude of 1,850 m above sea level and is the second largest hill station in the Nilgiri hills after Ooty. Coonoor is known for the massive private tea plantations that surround the hills. The local economy of Coonoor runs on tourism and tea production. (Photo by Qamar Abbas)

“Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of Georgia is Tbilisi. Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 km², and its population is almost 4.7 million. Georgia is a unitary, semi-presidential republic, with the government elected through a representative democracy”. – Wikipedia

Underwater photographer Sarah Lee uses a technique known as “duck diving” to capture these stunning photos of surfers in Hawaii. Surfers “duck dive” under the water to avoid incoming waves so they can get further out to sea. Photo: A surfer comes free from her surfboard. (Photo by Sarah Lee/Caters News)

A long time exposure shows a Igloo at the “Igloo village” (Iglu Dorf) in front of the famous Matterhorn mountain in Zermatt, Switzerland, late 28 January 2016. The hotel-igloo village made of snow and ice at 2'815 meters about sea level with a bar, a restaurant, bedrooms and wellness are celebrating their 20th anniversary. For this occasion the hosts built the largest classic igloo with a diameter of 13 meters and a ceiling hight of 11 meters in front of Matterhorn in Zermatt, and they will attempt the world record for this Igloo. (Photo by Jean-Christophe Bott/EPA)

A tourist walks inside the Ice Palace glacier hollow at Hintertux glacier, located at around 3250 meters above sea level, in Zillertal, Austria, 02 March, 2016. The hollow's temperature remains constant at 0 degrees Celsius, in summer and winter alike, and is also used by the University of Innsbruck for scientific research projects. (Photo by Lisi Niesner/EPA)

People walk along the Dune du Pilat (Dune of Pilat), the tallest sand dune in Europe, in La Teste de Buch, near Bordeaux, France, June 15, 2016. The dune has a volume of about 60,000,000 m³, measuring around 500 m wide from east to west and 2.7 km in length from north to south. Its height is currently 110 meters above sea level. (Photo by Sergio Perez/Reuters)

Dhofar Region, Oman. Much of Oman is desert, but the Arabian Sea coast in the Dhofar region represents a startling difference in climate. This coastal region catches the monsoon rains, or khareef, during the summer months. Drenching rains fall primarily on the mountainous ridge that separates the lush, fertile areas along the coast from the arid interior, recharging streams, waterfalls and springs that provide plentiful water supplies in the fertile lowlands for the remainder of the year. Image taken by Landsat 5 on April 2, 2005. (Photo by USGS/NASA)