BIng Images 2022/06

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  2022-06-01World Reef Day

  Marovo Lagoon in the Solomon Islands is the largest saltwater lagoon in the world. Protected by a double barrier reef, it"s home to unique marine life and coral, making it a bucket-list destination for divers. The beauty and diversity of species contained within its pristine 270 square miles are the perfect inspiration for World Reef Day, observed every year on June 1 to bring awareness to this vital but largely unseen part of our natural world. Reef Day also kicks off World Oceans Month, a time to celebrate and learn more about these indispensable ecosystems.

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  2022-06-02Queen Elizabeth s Platinum Jubilee

  Any royal watcher will tell you that the Brits know how to throw a good party. For Queen Elizabeth II"s Platinum Jubilee—she"s been monarch for an amazing 70 years—a slew of events are planned, hitting all the notes from pomp and ceremony to picnics on the village green. Of course, the Trooping of the Colour will take center stage today as the official birthday parade, with 1,400 soldiers in full military regalia, 200 horses, and 400 military band musicians. The royal family will watch the parade and then turn their gaze to the skies as the Royal Air Force flies past. The rest of the jubilee week will include a service of thanksgiving at St. Paul"s Cathedral in London, a live concert here at Buckingham Palace, and a special pageant featuring people from throughout Britain.

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  2022-06-03World Bicycle Day

  On this World Bicycle Day, we spy a pair of cyclists cruising across Uranium Arch, a natural rock arch in the desert near Moab, Utah. Moab is a hotspot for mountain bikers due to its sprawling, intersecting trail system and stunning views. Popular trails take bicyclists over landscapes of petrified sand dunes and eroded remnants of an ancient seabed.

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  2022-06-04National Trails Day

  Whether you"re a leisurely day walker or a hardcore hiker, there"s a US National Trail with your name on it. Thankfully the trails in the national network are categorized as "Scenic," "Historic," or "Recreational" to simplify things. Probably the most famous pathways are the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail (both designated "Scenic" trails), which were the first to be officially named to the National Trails System when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the system into law in 1968.

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  2022-06-05World Environment Day

  The Swedish wilderness is a fitting place to visit on World Environment Day, for it was in Sweden that the United Nations launched the annual observance 50 years ago, in 1972. This is Rapadalen (Rapa Valley), a 22-mile-long valley in Sarek National Park in the pristine mountains of northern Sweden. Surrounded by steep mountains, the Rapa Valley is considered one of Europe"s most enchanting landscapes. The remote, high-alpine region is beautiful to be sure, but it"s only recommended for experienced and well-equipped hikers. The weather is severe and unpredictable, and there are no accommodations available for tourists.

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  2022-06-06Indigo bunting

  This time of year, from late spring to summer, male adult indigo buntings take it up a notch and turn a brilliant deep blue. They fly up to a perch—like our cheerful fellow atop a branch—and sing from morning to night to defend their territory from other males and to catch the attention of females. Indigo buntings are members of the "blue" clade (subgroup) of the cardinal family.

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  2022-06-07Haaga Rhododendron Park

  In early June, if it"s a "good" year, people in Western Helsinki get treated to bursts of color at the Haaga Rhododendron Park. Started in 1975 as a research location for the University of Helsinki, the plan was to create rhododendron plants that would thrive in Finland"s northern climate. And, boy, did they. Around 3,000 specimens of a Japanese variety of rhododendron were originally planted, then selectively bred to produce eight new varieties of "rhodies" over the years.

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  2022-06-08World Oceans Day

  On World Oceans Day, you"re invited to dinner below the sea, hosted by these long-beaked common dolphins. This pod, off the Eastern Cape in South Africa, is employing an ingenious hunting technique, herding a school of frantic sardines toward the surface of the water so they have no escape, essentially driving them against a wall. Once pinned near the surface, the sardines are easy pickings for the hungry dolphins and any other lucky bystanders, like these dive-bombing Cape gannets who are quick to pounce on the opportunity. The technique requires teamwork of course but that comes easy to dolphins, known for their intelligence and tight familial bonds.

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  2022-06-09Sweetheart Abbey, Scotland

  They say Paris is the City of Love but there"s a lesser-known place where love is the whole reason it even exists. We"re in a Scottish village now known as New Abbey, about 8 miles south of Dumfries. We"ve stepped inside the ruins of Sweetheart Abbey, a 13th-century testament to the love between a husband and wife. Founded in 1273 by "lady of substance" Dervorguilla of Galloway, the abbey was constructed solely to commemorate her love for English nobleman John de Balliol upon his death in 1268.

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  2022-06-10Poppies in bloom

  The soft, rolling hills and ample vineyards of this southeastern part of the Czech Republic have earned it the nickname the Moravian Tuscany. This picturesque area, located in the Hodonín District near the town of Kyjov, is a haven for photographers. Moravia has a rich history, and the long-settled region has been a part of numerous empires. Medieval and Ottoman castles are among the historic highlights for visitors to take in.

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  2022-06-11Misool Island, Indonesia

  You may think finding a tropical paradise that"s still largely untouched by people is merely a pipe dream. You may be wrong. Raja Ampat, an archipelago in the province of West Papua, Indonesia, has a mere 64,000 inhabitants, and they all live on or around its four main islands—Batanta, Misool, Salawati, and Waigeo. (In fact, the name Raja Ampat means "Four Kings" and derives from an ancient legend that says four young kings were hatched from dragon eggs, one ruler for each of those main islands.) The rest of Raja Ampat is made up of about 1,500 smaller islands and cays—and astonishingly, hundreds of these tiny islands have yet to be explored by humans.

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  2022-06-12Big Bend National Park turns 78

  Join us for a hike at one of America"s least-visited national parks. Big Bend National Park may be among the country"s largest national parks with an area of over 800,000 acres (about the size of Rhode Island), but it"s also one of the most remote. Found in West Texas along the Rio Grande at the Mexico border, the park entrance is roughly a two-hour drive from the nearest interstate. The good thing is, even in a "busy" year when half a million people visit, there"s plenty of space to enjoy the great outdoors unhindered by crowds.

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  2022-06-13Okavango Delta, Botswana

  At a glance, this might look like some ordinary swamp, but the Okavango Delta in the African nation of Botswana is a veritable miracle of nature. Unlike most rivers, the Okavango River doesn"t drain into any sea or ocean, but rather empties into the open savanna. Thousands of elephants, and just about every other type of African animal you can name, owe their existence to this annual wetland. "Annual," because the marshland of the delta swells threefold to its full size but once a year, between March and July, when the seasonal rains from the highlands of Angola flow downhill 750 miles until they flood the arid savanna of northwest Botswana. The wildlife drawn to this life-sustaining water includes lions, leopards, cheetahs, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, hippos, wildebeests, hyenas, crocodiles, impalas, and of course elephants, the planet"s largest land animals.

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  2022-06-14Museum Mile Festival

  New York City"s Metropolitan Museum of Art, known informally as the Met, is one of the world"s preeminent museums. The Met anchors Museum Mile, a stretch of Fifth Avenue on Manhattan"s Upper East Side that is home to eight museums. Of these, the Met is the biggest, followed by the Guggenheim. All reside within 22 blocks of one another. Today, the city celebrates these curatorial treasures with the Museum Mile Festival, as museums extend their hours and offer free admission to all visitors. Billed as a mile-long celebration of art and culture, the festival also includes outdoor performances along Fifth Avenue.

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  2022-06-15Nature Photography Day

  If you"re celebrating Nature Photography Day today, then Great Smoky Mountains National Park would be an excellent place to snap your own shots of sylvan splendor like this one. That"s because you"d have two reasons to celebrate—the park turns 88 today. These misty peaks and valleys along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina were established as a national park on this day in 1934. All these years later, it may not be the most famous national park in the US, but it is by far the most popular. With more than 14 million visitors per year, it draws more people than the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite combined.

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  2022-06-16Seonam Temple, South Korea

  The Seonam Temple, or Seonamsa, in Jogyesan Provincial Park, South Korea, is famed for expressing calm serenity. Just downstream, Buddhist monks built this gently arched bridge by hand centuries ago. Stones around the base record the names of visitors for posterity. Called the Seungseon Bridge ("the Ascending Immortals"), it"s fitting to approach the temple itself on foot, at one with nature. The site is hidden away in ancient trees, with tranquil ponds and streams, gentle hiking trails, and gorgeous pagodas. The temple still ekes out its day in the traditional way, with mellow bells and meditation. The monks also cultivate wild tea plants and are happy to share the benefits of the harvest. You are at peace as soon as you arrive at Seonamsa, and there"s little to distract you from the present moment.

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  2022-06-17Grand Teton National Park

  These arrowleaf balsamroot wildflowers, commonly known as Oregon sunflowers, have a grand view of the Grand Tetons from the valley below the towering range. The region"s harsh weather means that only the hardiest of wildflowers can survive, and the bright yellow arrowleaves fit the bill. The plants are drought-tolerant, impervious to winter, tenacious against trampling, and even fire-resistant, with a taproot that regenerates leaves and flowers after the top has burned.

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  2022-06-18International Surfing Day

  Of all the tricks humans have taught themselves, few delight and impress more than surfing. A sport, a pastime, an art, a philosophy of life, surfing is as close to magic as a person can perform on the untamed ocean. Today, the sport of wave riding gets its well-earned due with International Surfing Day, a time each year to honor the sport, the lifestyle of surfing, and the ocean itself, whose good health is vital to the sport and so much else. Surfers have a special connection to the ocean and the waves it produces. A surfable wave is shaped by countless variables: The winds hundreds or thousands of miles away that produced the energy to set the swells in motion, and then the reef or point of land or underwater boulder upon which a swell will break into a perfectly shaped wave. Wind and timing are everything, and devoted surfers know the weather and the shore intimately.

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  2022-06-19Father s Day

  Happy Father"s Day! To celebrate, we"re venturing into a tropical forest in Queensland, Australia, to visit one of nature"s most protective fathers, the southern cassowary, the largest of three species of this flightless bird. The cassowary has earned the title of the "world"s most dangerous bird" because of its sharp, dagger-like claws and aggressive behavior. Cassowaries, like this doting father and his chicks, are notorious for attacking and sometimes killing domestic animals and even humans. In the wild, adult birds are so belligerent that they have no natural predators. Their young, however, need some protection. That"s when dad steps in.

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  2022-06-20Pollinator Week

  We spread our wings and fly into Pollinator Week with these exquisite Old World swallowtail butterflies who are enjoying a sip of nectar. The gorgeous swallowtail is welcome in any garden, both for its beauty and its ability to pass pollen from flower to flower. Far less desired are swallowtails in their caterpillar form, which can take a toll on ornamental plants or citrus crops. There are more than 550 swallowtail butterfly species, and their name comes from the forked appearance of their hindwings, which can be seen when the butterfly is resting with its wings spread.

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  2022-06-21Summer solstice

  What more atmospheric place to celebrate today"s summer solstice than ancient Glastonbury in Somerset, England? Spend the longest day of the year exploring the town, which is swaddled in myth and history. Pagans and Christians alike have worshipped here through the ages, and both groups still do today. Glastonbury Tor is the striking hill on the horizon, and the lonely tower is the last vestige of the 14th-century church of St Michael, which was built to replace a wooden church toppled by an earthquake in 1275.

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  2022-06-22World Rainforest Day

  Perhaps no other place on Earth plays a more crucial role in sustaining life as we know it than the Amazon rainforest, the largest in the world. The Amazon spans nine countries in South America including Ecuador, where this pristine ecoregion is protected by the Yasuní National Park, shown here. Today is set aside as World Rainforest Day, to remember the vital role of this and other rainforests and to champion efforts to protect them. The world"s rainforests are under threat like never before from deforestation driven by agriculture and cattle ranching. Some studies indicate that humans have degraded or destroyed more than half of the world"s rainforests. Fewer trees means warmer temperatures, which increases the risk of drought and wildfire and compounds the damage of deforestation.

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  2022-06-23Stari Most in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

  For 427 years the Mostar Bridge stood strong, despite the belief that its original mortar was composed of egg whites. Truth is, not much is known about the 16th-century construction of this bridge in what is now known as Bosnia and Herzegovina. All that remains in historical records are memories and legends and the name of the bridge"s builder, Mimar Hayruddin. He was charged by Suleiman the Magnificent to build an unprecedentedly wide arch, and threatened with death if the structure failed. Hayruddin is said to have been so unsure of his creation that he made funeral preparations before the scaffolding was removed.

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  2022-06-24Cenote near Puerto Aventuras, Mexico

  Like a giant block of Swiss cheese, Mexico"s Yucatán Peninsula is riddled with holes called cenotes. Cenotes form when subterranean limestone dissolves, allowing underground water to penetrate. The rock above may cave in, forming a sinkhole that reveals the cool, often crystal-clear water. Other cenotes may remain below the surface, hidden and often unexplored. Cenotes vary in size from very small to several dozen yards across, and recent discoveries have shown that some cenotes lead to a series of underground cave systems that can span several miles in length.

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  2022-06-25Brown bears, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska

  Summer up north belongs to the bears. When the sun reigns, so do the brown bears of Alaska—like this mother and cub in Katmai National Park and Preserve, about 260 miles southwest of Anchorage. Also known as grizzly bears in Alaska, the brown bears pack a year of living into the summer months, foraging, feasting, frolicking, fighting, and mating under skies of nearly perpetual daylight.

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  2022-06-26Pride 2022

  We"re commemorating Pride Weekend, a time when the focus turns to the LGBTQI+ community and a celebration of gay rights. The first pride parades took to the streets in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in June 1970, in remembrance of the Stonewall Uprising in Greenwich Village, New York City, the previous year. In the early hours of June 28, 1969, police dragged staff and patrons from the Stonewall Inn bar, a gay venue, sparking six days of protests. Now pride parades and events are celebrated each June in most parts of the world—New York City"s is still one of the largest pride celebrations. In 1999, President Bill Clinton gave Pride Month national recognition by declaring June "Gay & Lesbian Pride Month."

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  2022-06-27Lavender fields on the Valensole Plateau in Provence, France

  We"re sorry. The scratch "n" sniff option was not ready in time for this photo, so you"ll have to imagine the intoxicating fragrance wafting over you... Today we"re in the lavender fields that carpet the Valensole Plateau in Provence, France. A rolling 300 square miles of flowers color the landscape as far as the eye can see. Vincent van Gogh spent time here, and featured lavender in some of his paintings. June is the start of the lavender season, and though it runs till August, peak viewing (and smelling) time varies a little with fluctuations in temperature and rainfall. There are lovely villages that you can meander while visiting the lavender fields, stopping for a pastry or crunchy-soft baguette at an outdoor cafe.

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  2022-06-28Tafilalet oasis in Morocco

  Today we"ve arrived at the walls of a kasbah in Tafilalet, home to the largest oasis in Morocco. Meaning "jug" in the language of the ancient Amazigh people (aka Berbers), Tafilalet was named for the pottery jars they filled with water from underground springs. After the first permanent settlement of the region, Sijilmassa, was founded in 757 CE, Tafilalet became a stopping point for caravans traveling from the Niger River to Tangier on the northern tip of Morocco and the gateway to Europe.

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  2022-06-29International Day of the Tropics

  Only in the tropics do forests grow in salt water. Take this forest of mangrove trees in Phang Nga Bay in southern Thailand, one of the largest and best-preserved mangrove forests in the country. Adapted to thrive in coastal marshes and swamps, mangroves can filter salt water and withstand strong coastal storms. Virtually all mangrove forests and all species of mangrove grow only in the tropical regions of the world. They are protectors of the coastlines, acting as a buffer against storms and floods.

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  2022-06-30Asteroid Day

  Today is Asteroid Day, and it"s a reminder that as our planet follows its path around the sun, it encounters a lot of stuff. Science tells us that every day, Earth"s atmosphere is hit with roughly 100 tons of dust and particles the size of a grain of sand. And every year, at least 30 small asteroids enter the atmosphere, only to burn up before touching the ground. NASA says it"s pretty much guaranteed that at least one of them will be about the size of a car. As time progresses, the likelihood increases that even larger celestial rocks will hit the ground and cause significant damage.