Countries with the Most Picturesque Landscape

countries with the most picturesque landscape map

Landscape paintings often have three key elements: mountainous terrain, a body of water, and a variety of vegetation. This is seen as the ideal landscape in both European picturesque artwork and East Asian shanshui artwork. This statistically-based study looks at which countries have a combination of these characteristics. The criteria are as follows:

One-third is weighted for mountainous terrain including density of ultra prominent mountains, percentage of mountain area, average elevation above lowest point, and high point prominence compared to land area. One-third is weighted for an abundance of water including ratio of coastline to area, percentage of land 100km from the ocean, density of 10 hectare lakes, and freshwater surface area. One-third is weighted for a variety of vegetation conditions, including the variance of land cover conditions, such as forests, shrublands, grasslands, croplands, and barren lands. Please see the table of data and sources.

Each country is judged as a whole, so there maybe some very picturesque landscapes in some countries that are low on the list. For example, the English Lake District is famous for its beauty, but it is not representative of the entire country.

Full List of Most Picturesque Countries

The following countries were found to have the most picturesque landscape, according to the these three categories:

1) Chile – 83.1

According to the study, Chile is the country with the most picturesque landscape in the world. The Latin American country has a lot of coastline, since it is located along the Pacific Coast. It is also quite mountainous because the Andes Mountains run through a large portion of the country. Furthermore, the country has a variety of vegetation conditions. 31% is forested, 21% is barren land, 16% is shrubland, and 6% is cropland.

2) Norway – 75.5

Norway has the most picturesque landscape in Europe, according to the research. The country has a large amount of coastline because it has many fjords and borders the North Atlantic Ocean. It is also extremely mountainous because the Scandinavian Mountains run through a large part of its land. Moreover, Norway has a variety of vegetation conditions. 43% is forested, 18% has sparse vegetation, 12% is grassland, and 6% is barren land.

3) Switzerland – 75.3

Based on the data, Switzerland is another country in Europe that is very picturesque. Although the country is landlocked, the country is dotted with many lakes filled with water from its glaciers. Since it is located in the Alps, it is also one of the most mountainous countries in the world. In addition, the country has a variety of vegetation conditions. 37% is forested, 28% is grassland, 14% is cropland, and 8% is barren land.

4) Albania – 74.8

Albania is yet another European country among the top five most picturesque countries, according to the study. Unlike, Norway and Switzerland, the country borders the Mediterranean Sea. Despite having a relatively small land area, the country has six ultra-prominent mountain peaks. Furthermore, the country has a variety of vegetation conditions. 36% of its land is forested, while 48% of its land is cropland.

5) Cape Verde – 71.6

Cape Verde is a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Africa. It is one of the most unique countries in the world. The country has many active volcanos, so it is quite mountainous. Obviously, Cape Verde has a lot of coastline as well since it is an archipelago. Moreover, the country has a variety of vegetation conditions. Although Cape Verde has little forested land, it does have 36% is shrubland, 36% is barren land, and 13% is grassland.

Top 20 Most Picturesque Countries

  1. Chile
  2. Norway
  3. Switzerland
  4. Albania
  5. Cape Verde
  6. Cyprus
  7. Greece
  8. Taiwan
  9. Samoa
  10. Dominican Republic
  11. Philippines
  12. Nepal
  13. South Korea
  14. New Zealand
  15. Georgia
  16. North Macedonia
  17. Jamaica
  18. Austria
  19. Cuba
  20. Italy

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