# Landmark > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Landmark > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Landmark.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landmark > Source revision: 1331722354 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Recognizable feature used for navigation This article is about objects used in navigation. For visitor attractions, see [Tourist attraction](/source/Tourist_attraction). For other uses, see [Landmark (disambiguation)](/source/Landmark_(disambiguation)). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Landmark" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) An 18th-century painting of a ship with [Table Mountain](/source/Table_Mountain) in the background, used by navigators as the landmark to sail around [southern tip of Africa](/source/Cape_of_Good_Hope). A **landmark** is a recognizable[1] natural or artificial feature used for [navigation](/source/Navigation), a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or features that have become local or [national symbols](/source/National_symbol). ## Etymology The [Statue of Liberty](/source/Statue_of_Liberty) (formally *Liberty Enlightening the World*), a famous landmark of New York City and the United States, greets newly arrived immigrants and is located near [Ellis Island](/source/Ellis_Island), where millions of immigrants first touched U.S. soil. In Old English, the word *landmearc* (from *land* + *mearc* (mark)) was used to describe a [boundary marker](/source/Boundary_marker), an "object set up to mark the boundaries of a kingdom, estate, etc."[2] Starting around 1560, this interpretation of "landmark" was replaced by a more general one. A landmark became a "conspicuous object in a landscape". A *landmark* literally meant a [geographic feature](/source/Geographic_feature) used by [explorers](/source/Exploration) and others to find their way back to their departure point, or through an area.[3] For example, [Table Mountain](/source/Table_Mountain) near Cape Town, South Africa, was used as a landmark to help sailors navigate around the southern tip of Africa during the [Age of Exploration](/source/Age_of_Exploration). Artificial structures are also sometimes built to assist sailors in navigation. The [Lighthouse of Alexandria](/source/Lighthouse_of_Alexandria) and the [Colossus of Rhodes](/source/Colossus_of_Rhodes) are ancient structures built to lead ships to the port. In modern usage, a landmark includes anything that is easily recognizable, such as a [monument](/source/Monument), building, or other structure. In [American English](/source/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](/source/British_English) sense are often used for casual [navigation](/source/Navigation), such as giving directions. This is done in American English as well.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] In [urban studies](/source/Urban_studies) as well as in [geography](/source/Geography), a landmark is furthermore defined as an external point of reference that helps orientation in a familiar or unfamiliar environment.[4] Landmarks are often used in verbal route instructions ("Turn left at the big church and then right over the bridge.") ## Types Landmarks are usually classified as either natural landmarks or human-made landmarks, both are originally used to support navigation on finding directions. A variant is a *[seamark](/source/Seamark)* or *[daymark](/source/Daymark)*, a structure usually built intentionally to aid sailors navigating featureless coasts. [Mount Fitz Roy](/source/Fitz_Roy) in [Argentina](/source/Argentina) ### Natural Natural landmarks can be characteristic features, such as [mountains](/source/Mountain) or [plateaus](/source/Plateau). Examples of natural landmarks are [Mount Everest](/source/Mount_Everest) in the [Himalayas](/source/Himalayas), [Table Mountain](/source/Table_Mountain) in South Africa, [Mount Ararat](/source/Mount_Ararat) in Turkey, [Uluru](/source/Uluru) in Australia, [Mount Fuji](/source/Mount_Fuji) in Japan and the [Grand Canyon](/source/Grand_Canyon) in the United States. Trees might also serve as local landmarks, such as jubilee oaks or [conifers](/source/Conifer). Some landmark trees may be named, such as *Queen's Oak*, *Hanging Oak* and *Centennial Tree*. Bases of fallen trees, known in this context as **rootstocks**, are used as navigational aids on high-resolution maps and in the sport of [orienteering](/source/Orienteering).[5] Because most woods have many fallen trees, generally only very large rootstocks are mapped. The [Eiffel Tower](/source/Eiffel_Tower) – tallest in the world from 1889 to 1930 and a famous Paris landmark ### Human made In the modern sense, landmarks are usually referred to as [monuments](/source/Monument) or prominent distinctive buildings, used as the symbol of a certain area, city, or [nation](/source/National_symbol). Examples include: - [Tokyo Tower](/source/Tokyo_Tower) in Tokyo - the [White House](/source/White_House) in Washington, D.C. - the [Statue of Liberty](/source/Statue_of_Liberty) and [Empire State Building](/source/Empire_State_Building) in New York City - the [Eiffel Tower](/source/Eiffel_Tower) in Paris - [Saint Basil's Cathedral](/source/Saint_Basil's_Cathedral) in Moscow - the [Lotte World Tower](/source/Lotte_World_Tower) in Seoul - the [Colosseum](/source/Colosseum) in Rome - the [Umayyad Mosque](/source/Umayyad_Mosque) in Damascus - [Big Ben](/source/Big_Ben) in London - the [Tsūtenkaku](/source/Ts%C5%ABtenkaku) in Osaka - the [Forbidden City](/source/Forbidden_City) in Beijing - the [Great Pyramid](/source/Great_Pyramid) in [Giza](/source/Giza) - *[Christ the Redeemer](/source/Christ_the_Redeemer_(statue))* in Rio de Janeiro - *[Statue of Unity](/source/Statue_of_Unity)* in [Narmada](/source/Narmada_District) - [Bratislava Castle](/source/Bratislava_Castle) in [Bratislava](/source/Bratislava) - [Helsinki Cathedral](/source/Helsinki_Cathedral) in Helsinki - the [Space Needle](/source/Space_Needle) in Seattle - the [Marina Bay Sands](/source/Marina_Bay_Sands) in Singapore - the [Sydney Opera House](/source/Sydney_Opera_House) in Sydney - the [Brandenburg Gate](/source/Brandenburg_Gate) in Berlin - the [Prophet's Mosque](/source/Prophet's_Mosque) in [Medina](/source/Medina) - the [Château Frontenac](/source/Ch%C3%A2teau_Frontenac) in [Quebec (city)](/source/Quebec_(city)) - [Place Stanislas](/source/Place_Stanislas) in [Nancy](/source/Nancy%2C_France) - the [CN Tower](/source/CN_Tower) in Toronto - the [Palace of Culture and Science](/source/Palace_of_Culture_and_Science) in Warsaw - the [Atomium](/source/Atomium) in Brussels - [Gateway Arch](/source/Gateway_Arch) in [St Louis](/source/St_Louis) - the [Moai](/source/Moai) of [Easter Island](/source/Easter_Island) - the [Great Mosque of Samarra](/source/Great_Mosque_of_Samarra) in [Samarra](/source/Samarra) [Church](/source/Church_(building)) [spires](/source/Spire) and [mosque](/source/Mosque) [minarets](/source/Minaret) are often very tall and visible from many miles around and thus often serve as built landmarks. Also [town hall](/source/Town_hall) towers and [belfries](/source/Belfry_(architecture)) often have a landmark character. ## See also - [Boundary marker](/source/Boundary_marker) – Physical marker that identifies a land boundary - [Contemporary history](/source/Contemporary_history) – Era from 1945–present - [Cultural heritage management](/source/Cultural_heritage_management) – Vocation and practice of managing cultural heritage - [Daymark](/source/Daymark) – Daytime aid to navigation - [Heritage tourism](/source/Heritage_tourism) – Tourism based on cultural heritage sites - [National landmark (disambiguation)](/source/National_landmark_(disambiguation)) - [National symbol](/source/National_symbol) – Symbol of a national community ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["LANDMARK | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary"](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/landmark). *dictionary.cambridge.org*. Retrieved 2 August 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Online Etymology Dictionary"](https://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=landmark). *Etymonline.com*. Retrieved 25 January 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Landmarker"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110726181145/http://landmarker.org/). Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Lynch, Kevin. "The image of the city". [MIT Press](/source/MIT_Press), 1960, p. 48 1. **[^](#cite_ref-IOF_5-0)** [*International Specification for Control Descriptions*](https://www.orienteering.org). International Orienteering Federation. 2018. ## External links Look up ***[landmark](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/landmark)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Authority control databases International GND Other Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Landmark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landmark) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landmark?action=history)). 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