once i walked to the destroyed bastion in velen, walked around the backside of it and was greeted by a popup saying i'm at the edge of the world, then it forced the ingame map to pop up. once i closed the map i found myself teleported about 40 feet in the air directly above where i was standing...

Yep, definitely a glitch. Probably best reported to CD Project Red.

Was there supposed to be a question?

Not in that particular place, but I have been flung into the air when trying to get in a boat. Luckily I landed in water. I think the physics sometimes glitch out a bit and the teleporting doesn't always work. Roach gets spawned is some really random spots sometimes.