Photograph by Orsolya and Erlend Haarberg
A glacial torrent pours over a 40-foot-high ledge at Gođafoss, "waterfall of the gods." After the Icelandic assembly adopted Christianity in 1000, its leader threw his pagan idols into the falls. The mossy island, notes geographer Guđrún Gísladóttir, "is protected from sheep."
Photograph by Scott McGarvey, Your Shot
Prague's Charles Bridge at night as a dense fog rolls in off the river
(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)
Photograph by Michael Christopher Brown , National Geographic
Alatna River Valley, August 19, 2010 "I paddled across this deep, slow-moving river in my small pack raft," says adventurer Andrew Skurka. The Alatna meanders south from the Gates of the Arctic National Park .
U.S. National Park Week is April 21-29. Download our new National Parks by National Geographic app and get ready to explore.
Photograph by JK Putnam, Your Shot
My wife and I paddled up the west arm of Glacier Bay and back on an eight-day kayak trip in Alaska s Glacier Bay National Park . We were on our own for the majority of the trip. We went days without seeing other people, but we never felt alone. This trip strengthened the already well-founded bond between us. I took this photo so that we would always have something to remind ourselves of this experience and how much closer we grew during it.
(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)
U.S. National Park Week is April 21-29. Download our new National Parks by National Geographic app and get ready to explore.
Photograph by Chris Hill, Your Shot
The life rings of a sequoia tree in Yosemite National Park
(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)
U.S. National Park Week is April 21-29. Download our new National Parks by National Geographic app and get ready to explore.
See classic pictures of Yosemite » Get photo tips for photographing national parks »
Photograph by Brian Kerls , My Shot
Mount Moran is reflected in Snake River at Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park , Wyoming.
(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)
U.S. National Park Week is April 21-29. Download our new National Parks by National Geographic app and get ready to explore.
Photograph by Karin Eibenberger , My Shot
A clear night at Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park . This is a self-portrait, made during a four-day stay hiking, camping, and climbing after being sent to a conference at San Diego by Johns Hopkins it was the perfect combination of work and fun.
(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)
U.S. National Park Week is April 21-29. Download our new National Parks by National Geographic app and get ready to explore.
Photograph by Wai Chee Wong, Your Shot
Most people know about the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park , but only a few are lucky to discover the wonder near Sol Duc.
(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)
U.S. National Park Week is April 21-29. Download our new National Parks by National Geographic app and get ready to explore.
Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak, National Geographic
In winter young whale sharks come to feed on plankton in the nutrient-rich waters of the Gulf of Tadjoura, off the arid coast of Djibouti . The world's largest fish—weighing more than an elephant—is becoming a symbol of Arabia's bountiful, but largely unprotected, marine heritage.
Photograph by Jonas Bendiksen , National Geographic
Villagers along the southern coast of Bangladesh not only have to cope with some of the world's heaviest rainfall; they also live in cyclone-battered communities, on mushy ground just a few feet above a rising sea.
Photograph by Orsolya and Erlend Haarberg
Hraunfossar waterfall in September looks much as it would have in Viking days: birch trees, bog bilberries, and the Hvítá River, white with silt. The waterfall is a series of springs that plunge into the river on the far bank.
Submit your own favorite travel spot in Iceland » Download more pictures of tree patterns » Get tips on photographing nature »
Photograph by Peter Scifres, Your Shot
Inside Zion National Park 's famous Subway slot canyon, my hiking and photography friend, Suzanne, ponders the way ahead.
(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)
U.S. National Park Week begins April 21. Download our new National Parks by National Geographic app and get ready to explore.
Photograph by Robin Loznak, Your Shot
Light shines through the gills of a wild mushroom found growing in a damp, forested area near Elkton, Oregon , on Monday, December 19, 2011.
(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)
Download more pictures of patterns in nature » Get tips on photographing nature » See more pictures of forests »
Photograph by Carsten Peter , National Geographic
Exhaling clouds of gas, a cauldron of lava boils in the mile-wide crater of Nyiragongo, an active volcano in the Congo that threatens two million people. Eruptions have blistered the region for millions of years, since the African tectonic plate began to split apart to create the Albertine Rift.
Photograph by Francisco Companioni, Your Shot
My favorite photograph, captured on my last morning in San Francisco . After two beautiful sunrises with no fog I was treated to this gift on my final day. A truly beautiful experience full of amazing colors, fast-moving fog, and constantly changing light, which made for some dramatic images.
(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)
Photograph by Francisco Companioni, Your Shot
My favorite photograph, captured on my last morning in San Francisco . After two beautiful sunrises with no fog I was treated to this gift on my final day. A truly beautiful experience full of amazing colors, fast-moving fog, and constantly changing light, which made for some dramatic images.
(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)
Photograph by Larry Lynch , My Shot
I made this image at Myakka River State Park in Sarasota, Florida , this past spring. There had been no rain in the river valley for quite a while, and the waters were at drought level. I found this guy in a shallow depression in the riverbed, along with some trapped fish, and knew I had a good chance for an evening shot with flash.
(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)
Photograph by Richard Barnes , National Geographic
Sinuous lines of color swirl through the Wave, the most famous landform at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. Flash floods carved this passage through petrified sand dunes, exposing the iron-rich bands.
See pictures of desert landscapes » Download more wallpapers of rock formations »
Photograph by Joey Yu, Your Shot
At the break of dawn, fishermen from the Phatthalung Province in southern Thailand travel out to sea for their daily catch. Using the fishing net attached to a sturdy structure, the fishermen haul the net up to gather what they have caught.
(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)
Photograph by Angel Di Bilio , My Shot
Tecopa is located a few miles south of Shoshone in California 's Mojave Desert. Tecopa is known for its hot springs. Evaporation of the flooded dry lake in late spring creates cracked-mud patterns loved by photographers. The perspective is produced by the wide-angle lens (12mm) and placement of the camera close to the ground. Photo taken at sunset.
(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)
Photograph by Mark Duffy, Your Shot
A major thunderhead masses near Briercrest, Saskatchewan, in August 2011.
(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)
See pictures of stormy weather » See more pictures of Canada shot by our readers »
Photograph by Cantay Gok, Your Shot
The shoebill is a bizarre bird, named because of its big bill. This shot was taken at Mbamba swamp in Uganda .
(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)
Photograph by Adriana Franco, Your Shot
Rivers forming treelike figures on the desert of Baja California, Mexico
(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)
Photograph by Iza Opala , My Shot
Karkonosze, Poland
(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)
Photograph by Michael Walker , My Shot
Spring is busting out all over southeast Texas. New leaves, flower buds, and a green anole busting out of its old skin and starting over. Shot on February 26, 2012.
(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)
Photograph by Kyle Ueckermann, Your Shot
I took this photo at the edge of a small stream in Lehtimaki, Finland . The ice is beginning to melt, revealing the water beneath.
(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)
Photograph by Jim Moore , My Shot
Washington, D.C., looks like Paris at 17th and H Streets N.W. during rush hour on a rainy February day.
(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)
Photograph by Michael Melford , National Geographic
An underwater camera offers a fish's-eye view of lily pads on Eagle Lake. Sulfur dioxide from power plants made many Adirondack lakes so acidic they became fishless. Thanks to the Clean Air Act and other measures, some now show signs of recovery.
Photograph by Fritz Hoffmann , National Geographic
Looking as if it fell from the sky, a 40-ton erratic stands on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington State. Such boulders are sometimes called rubbing stones because bison scratched up against them.
Photograph by Robert Postma, Your Shot
This great horned owl burst from the window of an abandoned toolshed in southern Saskatchewan. It s nice that it made eye contact with me as it flew away.
(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)
Photograph by David Shields , My Shot
Just after sunrise on the east coast of Scotland (the North Sea is just below the horizon), this preharvest field seemed to stretch forever, and the clouds were amazing.
(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)
