Avatar Mountains, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China Aug 18, 2023

These stunning stone spires, rising from the forest in China"s Hunan province, are said to have inspired the floating mountains of the movie "Avatar." There are more than 3,000 of these quartz-sandstone pillars in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, often swathed in mist, part of a spectacular landscape that has inspired generations of painters. These days, they are popularly known as the "Avatar Mountains" and one, the 3,544-foot-high Southern Sky Pillar, was officially renamed as "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain" in 2010, the year after the blockbuster movie was released.

© Amazing Aerial Premium/Shutterstock

palette

Today in History

Aug 18, 2018Is that a buzzing sound?
Aug 18, 2019A splash by the sea
Aug 18, 2020Women s suffrage at 100
Aug 18, 2021Pearl of the Adriatic
Aug 18, 2022Surströmming Day
Aug 18, 2024Huntington Beach Pier, California, at sunset
Aug 18, 2025Avalanche Lake Trail at Adirondack High Peaks, New York

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Aug 1, 2018Don’t look down
Jul 21, 2019A peek behind the royal curtain
Jul 18, 2019A learning garden
Apr 8, 2025Paro Tsechu Festival in Bhutan
Nov 24, 2018The tortoise and the finch
Jan 31, 2019A bohemian feline
Jul 9, 2025Independence Day of the Argentine Republic
Dec 15, 2024Lake Misurina, Dolomites, Italy
Jan 22, 2018Bird’s-eye view of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
Jul 23, 2022National Moth Week
Oct 13, 2020Where can you find a red fox?
Jun 19, 2024Juneteenth
Apr 3, 2024Find a Rainbow Day
Mar 23, 2018Happy World Meteorological Day
Sep 20, 2024Ocracoke Lighthouse on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
Dec 6, 2024Finnish Independence Day
Apr 16, 2022National Park Week begins
May 29, 2019A ‘circus of chaos’ for Stravinsky
Oct 11, 2023National Fossil Day
Jun 8, 2023World Oceans Day
Nov 22, 2023Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Oct 16, 2018Hey, who’s in charge here?
Jul 30, 2024San Gimignano, Siena Tuscany, Italy
Oct 28, 2024Pumpkin field, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Jun 12, 2023Big Bend National Parks birthday
Jul 31, 2018Honoring the rangers on World Ranger Day
Dec 28, 2021Kjell Henriksen Observatory
Jul 28, 2020Over the boardwalk
Aug 20, 2020Up in the Highlands
Jul 24, 2019Can you see the family resemblance?