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:

Dec 5, 2021Salzburg, Austria
Oct 27, 2025Thick-billed raven, Simien Mountains, Ethiopia
Jan 29, 2020Staircase of turquoise pools
Dec 1, 2023Antarctica Day
Mar 31, 2021Paradise, found
Oct 23, 2022Mute swan
Sep 28, 2024National Public Lands Day
Nov 8, 2020Languid life on the Lakes
Aug 31, 2025Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering, Nebraska
Jan 18, 2019An opulent backdrop for a historic event
Feb 7, 2022Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa, Canada
Oct 28, 2021Necropolis of Dargavs
Jan 20, 2019It’s Penguin Awareness Day
Sep 6, 2025National Hummingbird Day
Feb 16, 2024Great Backyard Bird Count
Dec 20, 2018Seasonal lights dazzle in Japan
Sep 16, 2020It s Independence Day in Mexico
Aug 15, 2021Swim city
Jul 16, 2021Whatever floats your boat
Jan 16, 2019Up on the glacier
Dec 27, 2022Blue Lagoon spa, Grindavík, Iceland
Jan 21, 2021The tale of squirrels like Nutkin
Aug 20, 2022World Honey Bee Day
Jun 7, 2021Dressed to impress
Apr 10, 2018It’s Siblings Day!
Jun 26, 2023Château de Villandry, France
Mar 16, 2020I ll call for pen and ink
Jul 29, 2022International Tiger Day
Feb 7, 2018The Kelpies statues in Falkirk, Scotland
Aug 6, 2025Kalalau Beach on the Nā Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii