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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A night of art and culture
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The call of the wild in Alaska
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World Teachers Day
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National Mushroom Month
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The moth wonderful time of the year
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High seas commerce
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You re feeling sleepy
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Kelp buddies
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Salt ponds of Maras, Peru
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World Children s Day
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Hooray, hooray, it s Unicorn Day!
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Sea fireflies at the seashore
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Fannette Island, Lake Tahoe
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Listening to the sea
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Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting
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Everyone s watching the Perseids
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World Philosophy Day
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National Park Week: Everglades National Park
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Make your list and check it twice
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What s cuter than nuzzling rhinos?
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Manatee Awareness Month
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Haghartsin Monastery, Armenia
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Maybe we should be looking up
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I am the walrus
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It s Census Day—make it count
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High alpine color in Colorado
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A showcase for future fame
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A hero for the 21st century
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Patriot Day
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A holiday beacon of light