Photograph by Richard Nowitz , National Geographic
Grinning jack-o -lanterns spill across a tree and a porch as a festive welcome to Halloween. The custom of pumpkin carving originated in the British Isles, but people used large turnips or other vegetables instead of pumpkins.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Brian Skerry , National Geographic
A manatee swims in a freshwater spring in Crystal River, Florida . Manatees struggle for survival as the result of a gantlet of threats, from watercraft strikes to toxins in the water. The most serious threat, however, is the loss of warm water due to habitat loss.
(From the National Geographic book Ocean Soul by Brian Skerry )
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Photograph by Michael Melford , National Geographic
The sun sets on northwest Alaska s Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, through which humans passed during the last ice age, 10,000 years ago, according to artifacts found here.
(From the National Geographic book Hidden Alaska by Michael Melford )
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Photograph by Marc Mistersaro , My Shot
Snorkeling under a nightclub in Roat n, Honduras , the photographer caught this ethereal image of a seahorse. Great snorkeling and scuba diving while surrounded by rich coral reefs attracts visitors here to the largest of Honduras s Bay Islands.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Michael Melford , National Geographic
Teklanika River snakes through the raw wilds of Denali National Park. Alaska s many parks and refuges are some of the last holdouts of pristine nature left in the United States.
(From the National Geographic book Hidden Alaska by Michael Melford )
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Photograph by Lynn Johnson , National Geographic
Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory study nuclear explosions by using 3-D simulations. They follow a long tradition of nuclear research that led to the creation of the atomic and hydrogen bombs.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Brian Skerry , National Geographic
A lemon shark pup swims among mangrove roots in the Bahamas. Throughout the more than 700 islands there are mangrove nurseries, coral reefs, and deep oceanic trenches, all perfect habitats for a wide variety of shark species.
(From the National Geographic book Ocean Soul by Brian Skerry )
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Photograph by Roxi Mueller , My Shot
In the blink of this horse s eye, the blue sky becomes a counterpoint to its stare. Early horses arose in North America some five million years ago, only to die out and be introduced, in domesticated form, by Spanish conquistador Hern n Cort s in 1519.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Alex Coppel , My Shot
Kids embody the excitement of summer in Melbourne, Australia, by jumping off a pier. This scene may become more common as Australia keenly feels the effects of climate change, with average temperatures on the rise and rainfall patterns shifting.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Michael Melford , National Geographic
Clouds scrape by the snow-covered Iliamna Volcano, which last erupted before Europeans settled in the area.
(From the National Geographic book Hidden Alaska by Michael Melford )
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Photograph by Brynn Bayman , My Shot
It doesn t take much to get rolling down a Namibian dune. These students on a geographical field trip find the slope irresistible but end up with sand in every nook and cranny.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Brian Skerry , National Geographic
A school of juvenile marine catfish masses over the sandy bottom of Suruga Bay off Japan s Izu Peninsula.
(From the National Geographic book Ocean Soul by Brian Skerry )
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Photograph by Bryan and Cherry Alexander
Eight hundred miles south of the North Pole, stalactite-like stratus clouds churned by 90-mile-an-hour winds and the light of a bruised dawn paint an apocalyptic portrait over Inglefield Bay.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Bryan and Cherry Alexander
Eight hundred miles south of the North Pole, stalactite-like stratus clouds churned by 90-mile-an-hour winds and the light of a bruised dawn paint an apocalyptic portrait over Inglefield Bay.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Brian Skerry , National Geographic
An oceanic whitetip shark and diver swim in the Bahamas .
(From the National Geographic book Ocean Soul by Brian Skerry )
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Photograph by Jim Richardson , National Geographic
On the eve of the Beltane Fire Festival, these costumed participants help celebrate the beginning of summer growing season. The pagan festival, which has roots in Celtic fertility rituals, also features drummers and acrobats.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Joel Sartore , National Geographic
Members of the Ambassador Wolf Pack of the International Wolf Center bite and tussle in the snow. The center aims to educate the public about wolves, confident that as human appreciation of the species grows, so too will the wolf s chances of survival.
(From the National Geographic book Deadly Instinct)
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Photograph by Michael Melford , National Geographic
Untouched wilderness is everywhere in Alaska. Spruce trees on Kodiak Island are almost entirely covered in soft moss.
(From the National Geographic book Hidden Alaska by Michael Melford)
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Photograph by Brian Skerry , National Geographic
A diver explores an ice canopy off Hokkaido, Japan. The frozen seas here are a harsh realm to explore, but they re anything but bleak, sustaining a variety of life above and below.
(From the National Geographic book Ocean Soul by Brian Skerry)
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Photograph by Brian Skerry , National Geographic
A diver explores an ice canopy off Hokkaido, Japan. The frozen seas here are a harsh realm to explore, but they re anything but bleak, sustaining a variety of life above and below.
(From the National Geographic book Ocean Soul by Brian Skerry)
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Photograph by Richard T. Bryant
Though tipped with nightmare claws, the limbs of American alligators this one photographed at a local park are more often used to excavate wallowing holes than to slash at prey.
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Richard T. Bryant
Though tipped with nightmare claws, the limbs of American alligators this one photographed at a local park are more often used to excavate wallowing holes than to slash at prey.
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Richard T. Bryant
Though tipped with nightmare claws, the limbs of American alligators this one photographed at a local park are more often used to excavate wallowing holes than to slash at prey.
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Tim Laman , National Geographic
Clown anemonefish nestle amid the tentacles of a sea anemone off the Tukangbesi Islands in Indonesia . The clear waters surrounding coral reefs have encouraged the evolution of color and pattern among the inhabitants.
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Tim Laman , National Geographic
Clown anemonefish nestle amid the tentacles of a sea anemone off the Tukangbesi Islands in Indonesia . The clear waters surrounding coral reefs have encouraged the evolution of color and pattern among the inhabitants.
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Matt Eich
Stripes and flakes share space at the Wilds, a refuge for rare and endangered species. Here, a three-year-old Grevy s zebra named Elvis stomps in the winter pen, which adjoins heated indoor quarters.
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Matt Eich
Stripes and flakes share space at the Wilds, a refuge for rare and endangered species. Here, a three-year-old Grevy s zebra named Elvis stomps in the winter pen, which adjoins heated indoor quarters.
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Joel Sartore , National Geographic
The Ferris wheel at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson mimics a giant Lite-Brite toy. Long lines can form at popular midway rides, but in this long exposure all the stress melts away.
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Stephanie Lane, National Geographic
Looking like a lemon torte on a plate of petals, a lotus blooms in a Maryland garden pool. The chartreuse circle, three inches (eight centimeters) in diameter, is dotted with 23 seed holders and ringed by immature pollen sacs.
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Gerd Ludwig , National Geographic
In 2007, high levels of bromate a carcinogen formed when bromide and chlorine react with sunlight were found in Los Angeles s Ivanhoe Reservoir. Today three million black plastic balls help deflect UV rays.
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Michael Melford , National Geographic
A walrus skull sits alone in a field of wildflowers. Each spring thousands of walruses return to the Walrus Islands in northern Bristol Bay to feed, rest, and sometimes die.
(From the National Geographic book Hidden Alaska by Michael Melford)
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Photograph by Michael Melford , National Geographic
A walrus skull sits alone in a field of wildflowers. Each spring thousands of walruses return to the Walrus Islands in northern Bristol Bay to feed, rest, and sometimes die.
(From the National Geographic book Hidden Alaska by Michael Melford)
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Photograph by Adam Hanif, Your Shot
Colorful shawls and flowered dresses accentuate these Bruneian girls as they practice for a traditional Malay family gathering. Their hands, folded together, symbolize humility and peace.
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by David Doubilet , National Geographic
Sunlight and shadows highlight a river Bushman in a canoe in the Okavango River. When the river swells and floods, it creates an alluvial fan of more than 10,000 square miles (26,000 square kilometers).
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Tino Soriano , National Geographic
Young people in oversize papier-m ch heads pause in a blooming field on the way to a summer festival in the town of Banyoles. Called capgrossos in Catalan, the big heads are often worn on feast days.
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by Bruce Dale , National Geographic
As colorful as a butterfly wing, this balloon at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta provides a shimmering backdrop for silhouetted visitors. Five hundred balloons from 39 states and 17 countries thrilled visitors at the 2010 festival.
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by David McLain , National Geographic
Maasai men perform a traditional jump dance. The Maasai, nomadic pastoralists of East Africa, divide each year into two: a year of plenty during the rainy season, and a year of hunger.
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Photograph by James L. Stanfield , National Geographic
A coiling serpent of watery fun greets vacationers in Ein Gev, Israel. The waterslide welcomes visitors to this kibbutz on the Sea of Galilee s eastern shore.
(From the upcoming National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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