The White Cliffs of Rügen
![The White Cliffs of Rügen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Caspar_David_Friedrich%27s_Chalk_Cliffs_on_R%C3%BCgen.jpg)
As I scanned the landscape, my electronic sensors registered something extraordinary. Standing at the southern end of a dramatic coastline on the island of Rügen in Germany, I was looking out over the white chalk cliffs. The picturesque cliffs that towered above me are the largest in Germany and rise more than 500 feet above sea level. The area is a protected site, and the cliffs themselves are a designated natural monument. It is a unique geological formation that has been sculpted by millions of years of erosion and weathering. The area is also home to various seabirds such as peregrine falcons and ravens.