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Ancient art in the Amazon
Ancient art in the Amazon
The stone walls of the tepuis (table-top mountains) in Chiribiquete National Natural Park are decorated with more than 75,000 paintings, some created as long as 20,000 years ago, others in the present day.The jaguar is a recurring motif in the images. Historians think the images of the big cat are expressions of jaguar worship by the indigenous tribes who have lived in the broader area for millennia. This park protects and preserves a 17,000-square-mile expanse of the Colombian Amazon, with a diverse ecosystem supporting many endemic species. In addition, officials believe that Chiribiquete could be home for various indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation, the descendants of those who painted the ancient rock art. Both the human cultural history of this place and the extraordinarily pristine natural beauty of the landscape are what earned Chiribiquete UNESCO World Heritage status this year—the rare location to meet both cultural and natural criteria for inclusion on the UN’s list.Desktop Version
‘Ocian in view! O! The joy.’
‘Ocian in view! O! The joy.’
At Ecola State Park, a part of the Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks, you can walk in the steps of Meriweather Lewis and William Clark, who arrived at the Pacific in mid-November in 1805. It was 1 year, 6 months, and a day after leaving St. Louis, Missouri, with the Corps of Discovery on their mission to explore the Pacific Northwest. Upon seeing the ocean, Clark wrote in his journal: ‘Ocian in view! O! The joy.’ Shortly after arriving on the west coast, the expedition voted to spend the winter near present day Astoria, where they constructed Fort Clatsop. These historic locations remain popular attractions for visitors to the scenic Oregon coast.Desktop Version
Monet still makes an impression
Monet still makes an impression
Was there frost in your neighborhood this morning? More than 100 years ago, impressionist painter Claude Monet painted this wintry scene, called ‘The Frost,’ in the French commune of Vétheuil, where he lived from 1878 to 1881. We’re showing it today in honor of his birthday. Monet is considered a father of impressionism, the artistic movement characterized by thin brushstrokes and depicting the visual impression of the moment–especially in terms of light and color. The term impressionism derives from a review of Monet’s painting ‘Impression, Sunrise,’ which he exhibited in 1874. Happy birthday, Claude!Desktop Version
Autumn’s swan song
Autumn’s swan song
Each fall thousands of tundra swans can be seen in the Mississippi River Valley—a migration corridor for many species of waterfowl. Birders in Minnesota may spot the tundra swans as they make their way to favored wintering grounds in coastal regions of the US. They travel in family groups of about a hundred, and if you can’t see them, you’re bound to hear them. Tundra swans are a noisy bunch—they have a high-pitched honking call and are especially vocal while foraging.Desktop Version
Honoring those who served
Honoring those who served
Located near the Lincoln Memorial in West Potomac Park, the DC War Memorial honors citizens of the District of Columbia who served in World War I. It was dedicated in 1931 on Armistice Day, the observance now known as Veterans Day in the US, and is inscribed with the names of the 499 DC residents who died in the war. Built entirely of marble, it was designed to be large enough to accommodate the entire US Marine Band. That way, the structure could be both a memorial and a bandstand, with concerts that would pay tribute to those who served and sacrificed in the war. While Veterans Day was officially observed yesterday, many Americans have today off from work or school. How are you spending the day?Desktop Version
Poppies for Armistice Day
Poppies for Armistice Day
This is part of ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red,’ an art installation created by Paul Cummins and Tom Piper to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of World War I. Crafted of thousands of ceramic poppies, the touring exhibit has been seen by more than 4 million people in 16 locations around the United Kingdom. One large section of the installation, ‘Wave,’ is currently at the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, England, which is where our image was photographed. We’re showing it today to honor Armistice Day, the day exactly 100 years ago when the Allied Forces and Germany signed an armistice that ended the war. The US renamed the holiday Veterans Day in 1954 to honor veterans of all its wars. To the roughly 20 million veterans in the US today–thank you.Desktop Version
The Badlands celebrates a milestone
The Badlands celebrates a milestone
Badlands National Park was officially designated a national park on this day in 1978, ensuring 244,000 acres of picturesque landscape are protected for all to enjoy. The region first gained the nickname ‘badlands’ from the Lakota people, a nod to the extreme temperatures, lack of water, and rocky terrain. But it’s not all rugged land here. The national park includes prairie as well—home to bison, deer, and the endangered black-footed ferret, nicknamed ‘prairie bandit.’Desktop Version
Let’s go foraging
Let’s go foraging
It’s peak season for many kinds of mushroom, but to find this unique species you’ll have to travel someplace tropical. This cup fungus, cookeina, was photographed growing on the rainforest floor in Costa Rica. Like other fungi, it serves as a decomposer, helping to break down dead plants and animals in the ecosystem. Their unique cup shape aids in spore dispersal; it helps raindrops to splash spores out into the forest where the fungi can spread.Desktop Version
Manatees rebound
Manatees rebound
We’re in Florida’s Blue Spring State Park for Manatee Awareness Month. As winter approaches, Blue Spring becomes a safe harbor for manatees, aka sea cows, looking for warmer inland waters. It’s also a protected area for the manatees, where they can eat and swim without fear of injury from boats. In fact, researchers identify many of the manatees in Blue Spring by the scars they bear from accidental boat collisions and motor blade cuts. Identifying individual manatees has been crucial to tracking the population rebound of this once endangered species. A 2016 census of manatees in Florida’s springs counted 6,250 of the large, surprisingly graceful beasts.Desktop Version
A triumph of light
A triumph of light
These students in Guwahati, India, are lighting oil lamps called diya, and placing them around a floor decoration called rangoli. They’re preparing for Diwali, a five-day celebration symbolizing the victory of light over darkness. It’s a Hindu festival, but Sikhs, Jains, and Newar Buddhists also observe variations of Diwali. Many homes, temples, and commercial spaces decorate with lights, especially diya. The rangoli decoration is thought to bring good luck, and is created by hand using colored rice, flours, sand, or sometimes flower petals. Diwali lasts until November 11, so there’s still time to embrace the light.Desktop Version
A truly American monument
A truly American monument
Sunlight on the Lincoln Memorial highlights not just the ornate detail of the monument, but the variety of material used to construct it. Architect Henry Bacon made sure to use granite, marble, and limestone sourced from states throughout the country. At the time of Lincoln’s presidency, there were only 36 states in the Union, so all 36 of those states’ names are what’s carved into the frieze directly above the columns. Now that we’ve given you a little bump of patriotic pride, remember that it’s Election Day. Did you vote?Desktop Version
Ludwig’s palace
Ludwig’s palace
Get to southwestern Bavaria, near Germany’s border with Austria, to see this magnificent castle. It was built not as a stronghold against invaders, but as a fancy getaway for Ludwig II, the Bavarian king who commissioned the construction in 1869. Ludwig sunk most of his personal fortune into Neuschwanstein Castle and a couple of other estates, and even borrowed heavily to pay for the castle. Part of his inspiration for Neuschwanstein was the composer Richard Wagner, whose operas appealed to Ludwig’s romantic sensibilities. After Ludwig’s death, the castle was opened to the public for tours, and it continues to be a popular attraction today.Desktop Version
And they’re off!
And they’re off!
The route for the 2018 New York City Marathon starts right here at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, crossing from Staten Island into Brooklyn, before eventually coursing through all five boroughs of New York. This photo—taken by a camera drone—shows just how many people will be running in today’s race. Because the race starts early on a typically cold November morning, many runners show up in layered clothing. But once they heat up from running, those layers come off and are often discarded on sidewalks. Race organizers collect tons of items left behind and work with charities to donate the activewear.Desktop Version
A bison preserve
A bison preserve
Once 60 million strong, bison were nearly wiped out from the North American plains in the 1800s. Then, in 1893, the owner of Antelope Island in Utah’s Great Salt Lake reintroduced 12 bison to the island as the foundation herd for a hunting operation. But the project failed, and without wolves on the island, the bison had no natural predators, so they thrived. (Incidentally, antelope brought to the island did not survive a similar effort.) Today, a herd of 550 to 700 bison roams here, protected as one of the attractions at Antelope Island State Park. Happy Bison Day!Desktop Version
Celebrating Native American Heritage Month
Celebrating Native American Heritage Month
These dancers from the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma are preforming a ceremonial Gourd Dance at the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial in New Mexico, an annual gathering that also includes art, demonstrations, a rodeo, parades, and other events. We’re featuring the image in honor of Native American Indian Heritage Month, which is observed each November. The commemorative month celebrates the contributions of Native Americans to our national culture. In honor of this event, we invite you to learn more about Native people in your region.Desktop Version
Celebrating the Day of the Dead
Celebrating the Day of the Dead
Whether made of wood, clay, or even candy, Day of the Dead skeleton figures, called calacas, share one common trait: They’re having fun. The reason for the whimsical portrayal of death is a holdover from the Aztec influence on Mexican culture. According to traditional beliefs, the dead don’t want to be remembered with sadness, but rather with the joy they brought to the world when they were alive. Today is the height of the three-day celebration, which begins with All Saints Eve on October 31, continues with All Saints Day (today), and ends with All Souls Day on November 2.Desktop Version
Shhh, the movie is about to start
Shhh, the movie is about to start
Halloween is the perfect time to ponder the paranormal. For example, you might ask yourself, do ghosts exist? If so, how exactly do they spend their Halloween? Perhaps there’s a haunted theater out there in another dimension (cue the theme to ‘The Twilight Zone’). Maybe while we’re home watching scary movies about ghosts, these spirits are watching movies about us, the real undead. Spooky! We hope you consider our homepage to be a treat—not a trick—as it’s all in good fun. Happy Halloween!Desktop Version
A species worth defending
A species worth defending
Some folks are quick to dismiss bats as simply ‘scary’ (and the association with Halloween doesn’t help things). But during Bat Appreciation Month, consider their valuable contributions to the ecosystem. Bats around the world help to control bug populations (including agricultural pests), pollinate important plants, and disperse seeds–helping to regenerate lands that have been overharvested or otherwise damaged. In fact, what’s truly scary is how much we’d miss bats if they were gone. In North America, a disease called white-nose syndrome has killed millions of bats since it was identified in 2006–and scientists are working hard to find a way to help bats recover. One easy way to help bats is to build or buy a bat box for your property, and provide them with a safe space to roost.Desktop Version
In search of a ‘great’ pumpkin
In search of a ‘great’ pumpkin
It’s not too late to visit a pumpkin patch like the one in our homepage image and pick an orange orb to carve up this Halloween. Or, if you’re like a certain Peanuts character, you still have time to search for the Great Pumpkin. Linus’ quest to glimpse this unseen character is of course featured in ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,’ the animated Halloween special that first premiered in 1966. Linus believed the Great Pumpkin delivered toys to children on Halloween night. Some have interpreted the Great Pumpkin as a symbol of faith, and others see Linus’ quest to see the Great Pumpkin as a metaphor for humankind’s existential crisis. Whatever the case, the film is a classic and worth rewatching.Desktop Version
Do spirits haunt the Gardens of Versailles?
Do spirits haunt the Gardens of Versailles?
That’s not a ghost in our homepage picture; it’s just a statue (at least, we think it is). But it’s easy to imagine ghosts wandering the vast gardens here at the Palace of Versailles, about 12 miles outside of Paris. One ghost in particular has a reputation for showing herself. In 1901, on a sultry August afternoon, two visitors to the Gardens of Versailles claimed to have witnessed the gardens magically transform to their 18-century grandeur. Then, they said, they encountered the ghost of Marie Antoinette, whom they spotted calmly lounging and drawing in her sketchbook. The queen of course had been guillotined a century earlier. The story was later adapted as an opera, which debuted in 1991.Desktop Version
Don’t get lost in there
Don’t get lost in there
Look closely at today’s homepage picture and you might spot some adventurous folks searching for the way out of this elaborate corn maze in Northern California. Corn mazes—known as ‘maize mazes’ in the UK—are a popular fall-time tradition that allows for much creativity. A Massachusetts farm draws visitors to its Tom Brady tribute maze, designed to look like the Patriots quarterback throwing a football. And a farmer in Illinois built a 6.5-acre maze shaped like a vintage Indy 500 race car. We’re still holding out for a corn maze inspired by search engines. Anyone game?Desktop Version
A notorious gunfight that was incorrectly named
A notorious gunfight that was incorrectly named
The gunfight that occurred here in Tombstone, Arizona, on this day in 1881 has become the stuff of legend. In a 30-second shootout known as the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, lawmen Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp, Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday faced off against a band of outlaws known as the Cochise County Cowboys. Justice was harsh in the Old West. When the dust had settled, three were dead and several others wounded. But most accounts of the event are wrong about one key detail—the location. The shootout actually took place near C. S. Fly’s Photographic Studio, about six doors west of the corral"s rear entrance. We suppose ‘Gunfight near C. S. Fly’s’ doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.Desktop Version
A silent witness to history
A silent witness to history
About 25 miles southwest of Rouen, on the way to Paris, the ruins of Château Gaillard still stand over the Seine River. King Richard I commissioned the castle in 1196, when England occupied portions of modern-day France. The English and French fought for control of the castle for roughly 400 years—a span including the Hundred Years War—before Henry IV of France ordered it demolished. Today, the outer walls—called baileys—are open to the public year-round, while the inner baileys are open during summer months.Desktop Version
Art over Amalfi
Art over Amalfi
For centuries, Amalfi was the capital of a busy maritime republic in the Mediterranean basin. Over time, its importance as a port diminished and Amalfi became a popular Italian tourist destination. But the city’s history from at least the 7th century to the present got the attention of the United Nations, which gave the Amalfi Coast UNESCO Heritage Site status in 1997. So, if you’re observing United Nations Day today, we’re celebrating with you. This art installation depicting a flock of doves was suspended over the Piazza del Duomo, just outside Saint Andrew’s Cathedral in Amalfi.Desktop Version
Of moles and liquid nitrogen
Of moles and liquid nitrogen
What a coincidence! Three days into National Chemistry Week, we dive further into STEM education to celebrate Mole Day. We’re not toasting the burrowing animal, but the unit of measurement (mole) used primarily in chemistry and molecular science studies. We don’t know how many moles of liquid nitrogen are in this photo, but we do like the dynamic look of the super-cooled element, which in liquid form can resemble boiling water. We hope this photo doesn’t depict liquid nitrogen after somebody in the lab dropped their keys into the vat. At minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit, liquid nitrogen tends to flash-freeze anything immersed in it.Desktop Version