10 Leaning Towers of the World (PHOTOS)

Stephanie Valera and Camille Mann

Yunyan Pagoda, China

Nicknamed the 'Leaning Tower of China,' the Yunyan Pagoda (also known as the Tiger Hill Pagoda) is located on Tiger Hill in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. Completed in 961 A.D., the pagoda has gradually slanted due to forces of nature. (Flickr/RussBowling)

Many consider the Leaning Tower of Pisa one of the world's architectural wonders, but it's not the only famously tilting structure in the world. Around the globe, there are other stunning slanted spires and tottering towers. Many of these famous inclines were Mother Nature's doing --  a result of an earthquake or a nearby sinkhole -- and while officials have taken measures to stabilize some of their leaning monuments, all of them are still vulnerable to weather's effects. The Tower of Pisa underwent a decade-long stabilization project (recently declared successful), and even London's Big Ben has been found to have developed a tilt, gradually settling into the land on which it is built, according to the Telegraph.

"Foundations for structures built on unstable soils can be susceptible to wet or dry extremes, which can lead to additional sinking," says meteorologist Chris Dolce. In the following pages, we take a look at the world's leaning towers, and how nature (and in some case, man) was responsible for their precarious positions.

Located in Suzhou, China, Yunyan Pagoda, also known as the Tiger Hill Pagoda, has been referred to as the "Leaning Tower of China" due to its famous tilt. The 154-ft , seven-story pagoda has balconies at every level and was built to resemble the wooden-structured pagodas of the time. Due to the forces of nature and because the foundation was built from rock and soil, the Yunyan Pagoda has been tilting since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It now leans roughly three degrees due to the cracks in two supporting columns, according to an article by O.G. Ingles in the Australia Journal of Chinese Affairs. In the 50s, the base of the pagoda was reinforced and concrete was pumped into the soil to form a more stable foundation. During the process, a stone container holding Buddhist scriptures was uncovered and dated the tower's construction to 961 A.D., according to Andrew Forbes' "National Geographic Traveler: Shanghai."

NEXT: Russia's own leaning tower

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