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During a long ago lesson on tectonic plates in Mrs. Hunt's fifth grade classroom, it was mentioned that due to various tectonicky matters, one day California would become detached from the contiguous United States. The torpid boy who sat next to me shot up his hand with uncharacteristic vigor. "Do they know when that's going to be?" he asked, "Because we are supposed to go there to visit my cousins over Spring Break." Mrs. Hunt had a good laugh at that one, assuring us it wouldn't be happening for thousands of years, but my seatmate still seemed uneasy. After all, we'd only just learned our geography, and now it turned out it wasn't permanent? How unsettling! (And also, why did we even have to learn it, then?)

To be honest, I still find it unsettling to learn that landmarks and places that seem as permanent as California have the ability to up and leave us. And, like that wise fifth-grader I once knew, I like to take into account impending disappearances when planning my travel. Like so many aspiring adventurers, I've had trips to the Alps, the Galapagos Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef planned since I first cracked open a National Geographic Magazine. I just always figured, you know, later. When I'm old. Really old.

Then I saw this somewhat chilling infographic from Earth Xplorer: 10 Places to go Before They're Gone. Some of the most exciting travel destinations in the world are disappearing, some of them shockingly quickly. We might only have 25 years to visit the Congo Basin, 5 years for that bucket-list-worthy trip to the Taj Mahal. So check out this infographic, and map out some life travels accordingly. Here's a hint: visiting the cousins in California can wait.

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