Today"s image shows an intrepid surfer riding a wave at Nazaré, Portugal. Nazaré on the west coast of Portugal is a popular tourist destination, with people flocking from all over the world to enjoy its sandy beaches in summer. It is on the Atlantic coast and is known for its giant waves, which can reach over 30 metres in height. Come winter, the surfers take over. Thanks to an underwater canyon, enormous waves form off the coast, making it a surfers" paradise. Several surf records have been broken here, including the biggest wave ever surfed—an incredible 26 metres. Surfing has a long history; around 5,000 years ago in Peru, people used reed watercraft to surf the waves when they were out fishing. It was in pre-colonial Hawaii, however, that modern surfing was born. Here, people started to stand on their boards and to surf for fun. So, wax down your surfboards and go out and catch some waves!
Surfer riding a wave in Nazaré, Portugal
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Cheetah and her cubs
-
Oud-West neighbourhood, Amsterdam, Netherlands
-
Sibiu Christmas Market, Romania
-
SantaPark, Lapland, Finland
-
Adélie penguins, Antarctica
-
Blue lagoon of Pulau Ay, Banda Islands, Indonesia
-
A great egret in the Pantanal
-
Green sea turtle
-
Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho, USA
-
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA
-
Mer de Glace, Chamonix, France
-
Humpback whale
-
Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil
-
Mount Segla, Senja Island, Norway
-
Black-naped monarch
-
St. Michaels Church Tower on Glastonbury Tor, Glastonbury, Somerset, England
-
Pont Alexandre III, Paris, France
-
Young black caiman
-
Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
-
Kirkjufell, Iceland
-
Serra de Tramuntana, Balearic Islands, Majorca, Spain
-
Modica, Sicily, Italy
-
Hoodoos, Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA
-
Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland
-
Deer Valley at dusk, Park City, Utah, United States
-
Walruses in Svalbard, Norway
-
Koala, Australia
-
Pointe du Diable, Saint-Pierre, Réunion Island
-
Tokyo at sunrise, Japan
-
Castle Stalker, Argyll, Scotland