Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering, Nebraska, United States Aug. 31, 2025

Long before GPS, natural landmarks like Scotts Bluff rose high above the prairie, signalling to travellers that they were on the right path heading west. Before Gering became a town in 1887—and decades before Nebraska achieved statehood in 1867—these sandstone and siltstone formations were already serving a purpose. They had long guided thousands along the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails. Scotts Bluff National Monument is named after Hiram Scott, a fur trader with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company who died under mysterious circumstances nearby in the 1820s.

© Hawk Buckman/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Aug. 31, 2023Saguaro cacti, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona
How sweet to be a star, floating in the blue.
Aug. 31, 2024Rocks and sand in the Sahara, Algeria

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Peek-a-boo, I see you!
Dec. 4, 2024Wildlife Conservation Day
Zebras enjoying their day
Jul. 9, 2024Talampaya National Park, Argentina
Hop into Lunar New Year
Floating mailboxes
Apr. 26, 2025Bruce Peninsula National Park, Ontario
Nov. 1, 2024Vineyards in Varnhalt, Black Forest, Germany
Boardwalk nostalgia
A chocolate lovers favourite fruit
Flying the flag for Pride
Aug. 20, 2023International Lighthouse Weekend
May 4, 2024Star Wars Day
A postcard-perfect landscape
Mar. 11, 2025Broken Beach in Nusa Penida, Bali, Indonesia
A bevy of buzzers
See-through cephalopod
Feb. 6, 2024Lake Tahoe
The rivers run through us
Oct. 4, 2023World Space Week
Jan. 8, 2025The Great Wall of China
Straight out of a fairytale
Scenic Mount Michener
Jul. 23, 2024Methoni Castle, Messinia, Greece
Jul. 5, 2024Daintree Rainforest and Noah Beach, Queensland, Australia
On a dark and stormy night...
Oct. 7, 2025Fall colours below Mount Sneffels near Ridgway, Colorado, United States
Oct. 31, 2023Halloween
A life-sized snow globe
Nov. 10, 2024Caribbean flamingos, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico