If these frozen formations were named by more literal minds, we might know them as simply "reverse icicles." But the Andes, including this mountain pass rising above Chile"s Atacama Desert, were mapped by poetically inclined Spanish explorers. They likened formations like these to a congregation of penitent parishioners kneeling at mass: hence the common name "penitentes" for such packed-snow pinnacles.
A throng of ice and spires
Today in History
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Labor Day
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Sitting down and taking a stand
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National Hispanic Heritage Month
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We have liftoff!
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Summer winds down in the Southern Hemisphere
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Great Backyard Bird Count
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On this shore, history was made
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Halloween
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Skógafoss waterfall, Iceland
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It s Independence Day
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Happy Easter!
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Flamenco dancers
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Happy Presidents Day
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Keyholes to the kingdom
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Happy World Meteorological Day
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Bryce Canyon National Park turns 100
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National Mushroom Month
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Jackie Robinson Day
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Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa, Canada
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Sleep tight, little hedgehog
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Milford Sound/Piopiotahi rainforest in New Zealand
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Día de los Muertos celebrations in Mexico
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Toledo, Spain
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King of the dinosaurs
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Birds of a feather flocking together
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A seabird gets schooled
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Colorful cows of the reef
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Belted Galloway cows
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A polar bear near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
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World Olive Tree Day