Re: 'magnificent desolation'
In a strange way, "Paradise" is generally depicted as grassy, with lots of water, flowers, several trees, etc....(well, at least in the European culture) but that means a lot of rain! Rain doesn't quite match with paradise.
So, it could indeed be subjective.
I think the broader the view, the better it is: either the Earth from orbit or deep space, the huge ocean for navigators, the mountains for mountain climbers, the earth for flyers.
It has to do with the reassurance of seeing a calm landscape in a broad area.
What speleologists or divers are looking for, are places (like huge caves) that can be contemplated for a time. A narrow tunnel is just a passage, a necessary passage, but just a transit to another wider volume.
Raoul