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A leafy seadragon in the waters off Wool Bay, Australia
A leafy seadragon in the waters off Wool Bay, Australia
Australia’s southern coast is leafy seadragon territory, so it’s the place to go if you want to see the camouflaged critter in its native habitat. This amazing specimen was photographed near Wool Bay. The leafy seadragon has evolved to resemble seaweed as a way to fool predators. It’s a relative of the seahorse, but isn’t quite the swimmer that its cousin is, so the camouflage gives it a big advantage.Desktop Version
Embracing the cold
Embracing the cold
We’re in St. Paul, Minnesota, for day seven of the Winter Carnival—an 11-day celebration of all the fun you can have during the cold winter months. In 1885, a journalist from New York who had visited St. Paul called it ‘another Siberia, unfit for human habitation.’ This news prompted the people of St. Paul to create the Winter Carnival, which debuted in 1886. When the temperature is cold enough, carnival organizers build a massive ice palace, whose ice-block walls frame the Landmark Center clock tower in our photo today.Desktop Version
Satellite image of sand and seaweed in the Bahamas
Satellite image of sand and seaweed in the Bahamas
We have NASA’s Landsat program to thank for this rare view of the Atlantic Ocean in the Bahamas, as captured by satellite. The patterns you see are sand and seaweed beds that have been sculpted by ocean currents. That dark spot? It’s called the Tongue of the Ocean. The tongue is a deep, dark trench that separates the islands of Andros and New Providence in the Bahamas and connects to a larger geological feature known as the Great Bahama Canyon.Desktop Version
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
Welcome to the largest state park in the golden state of California, Anza-Borrego. Located about 100 miles northeast of San Diego, the park is well known for its spectacular springtime wildflowers, stunning landscapes, and natural marvels. Spring and early summer are the best times to visit. That"s when you"ll find a myriad of magnificent, blooming species of flowers, including dune primrose, desert sunflowers, and desert sand verbena. These hardy wildflowers can survive in extreme heat and with little water–perfect for California"s driest state park, in which some areas get just 2 inches of rain a year.Desktop Version
The rainbow connection
The rainbow connection
April showers bring rainbows, and on April 3, the celebration of Find a Rainbow Day. The rainbow shown here is at Victoria Falls in southern Africa on the Zambezi River, at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Scottish explorer David Livingstone named the falls in honor of Britain"s Queen Victoria, though it"s also still called by its indigenous Lozi language name, Mosi-oa-Tunya, which means "the smoke that thunders." According to some historical records, local villagers described the falls to Livingstone as "Seongo" or "Chongwe," which means "The Place of the Rainbow," since rainbows usually appear in the constant spray. Under a bright moon, the falls will produce a "moonbow."Desktop Version
Celebrating National Dentist Day
Celebrating National Dentist Day
If ever there was a perfect mascot for National Dentist Day, celebrated on March 6, it’s the crab-eating macaque. This individual was photographed cleaning its teeth in Malaysia’s Bako National Park. Crab-eating macaques are native to Southeast Asia and they have a proclivity for using tools to forage, eat, and even practice dental hygiene. Scientists have observed them using blades of grass, fibers, and feathers to floss between their teeth. Give this macaque a gold star!Desktop Version
Take the stairs
Take the stairs
If you want to celebrate Take the Stairs Day in style, look no further than China"s Tianmen Mountain (literally Heaven"s Door). About 5,000 feet above sea level, the hole in the mountain is the highest naturally formed arch in the world. Originally a cave, it became an arch in 263 CE when the back side of the mountain collapsed, creating the dramatic opening we see today. You"ll have to climb 999 steps to make it to the top, but we promise the view is worth it.Desktop Version
Atop the Needle of Chamonix
Atop the Needle of Chamonix
With these dramatic clouds, the shardlike pinnacles of the Aiguille du Midi (Needle of Midday) resemble the spires of a ruined Alpine cathedral. This is just one of the many spectacular peaks of the Mont Blanc massif, the storied Alps range in eastern France that stretches across the border into Italy and Switzerland. It was here in France"s Chamonix valley that mountaineering became a sport in the mid-1700s. This dramatic peak was first summited in 1818, a feat that helped to popularize mountain climbing throughout Europe.Desktop Version
Time to count some birds
Time to count some birds
Before the 20th century, some North Americans organized ‘Christmas side hunts’ in which participants would choose sides, then compete to bag as many birds as possible. In 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman suggested a bird census instead, and the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was born. The annual count is sponsored by the National Audubon Society. This year, the CBC runs from today through January 5, 2019, giving citizen scientists across North America time to join in, get outside, and spot some birds. The data collected is used to gauge the health of various bird populations–this information is then used to focus conservation efforts on particular species and geographical areas.Desktop Version
A crane for good luck in today’s big game
A crane for good luck in today’s big game
It’s Super Bowl Sunday and this Japanese crane looks like it’s getting into the spirit of things. Also known as the red-crowned crane, the species is among the rarest cranes in the world. It’s known in some cultures as a symbol of luck and longevity, making it an ideal football mascot. This particular crane seems to have a pretty good punting leg, to boot. Other animals that have served as good luck symbols around the world include the pig, the mandarin duck, and the albatross. Do you have a good luck charm?Desktop Version
Life in a North African town
Life in a North African town
The nearly hidden valley town called Tafraout (sometimes spelled Tafraoute) and smaller settlement, Aguerd Oudad, are surrounded by the red hills of the Anti-Atlas Mountains, far from the larger cities in Morocco. The area is frequently visited by climbers who come to scale the nearby peaks, like this one, called Napoleon’s Hat (it’s thought to resemble the bicorne hat that Napoleon Bonaparte memorably wore sideways). The town is remote enough that tourists must make an effort to get there, but as many travel writers note, it’s well worth it. The villagers here lead a quieter, slower-paced life than those in Morocco’s bustling urban centers such as Marrakesh.Desktop Version
Groundhog Day arrives—beyond a shadow of a doubt
Groundhog Day arrives—beyond a shadow of a doubt
Do you think this hoary marmot in Alaska’s Denali National Park is wondering whether its relative, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow today? Groundhog Day is an American tradition that originated among the Pennsylvania Dutch, but groundhogs aren’t the only animals believed to predict the weather. It’s said you can predict the severity of an upcoming winter by examining the stripes on a woolly bear caterpillar’s back. And in Germany, folks once looked to the badger to forecast the coming of spring. But no furry prognosticator of the weather has gained as much fame as Punxsutawney Phil. Perhaps we have Bill Murray to thank for that? (Be right back, got to cue up Murray’s film ‘Groundhog Day.’) Say, do you ever have déjà vu? Wait, did we just ask you that?Desktop Version
Bonifacio on the island of Corsica, France
Bonifacio on the island of Corsica, France
South of mainland France and west of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea is the French island of Corsica, famous for food, wine, and scenic coastlines. Visitors here can visit the birthplace of Napoléon Bonaparte, whose family lived in the town of Ajaccio. In the commune of Bonifacio, shown here, the limestone cliffs hosted the 2012 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, where brave competitors from around the world jumped from cliffside platforms up to 92 feet above the water’s surface.Desktop Version
Travels to the Oregon deep
Travels to the Oregon deep
We"re looking out on the deepest lake in the US. Crater Lake, the centerpiece and namesake of the only national park in Oregon, goes down to depths of 1,943 feet—that"s enough room to stack three-and-a-half Washington Monuments on top of each other. Fed mainly by snowfall, this pristine, crystal blue lake came into the world with a bang. Sometime around 5700 BCE, Mount Mazama erupted, losing roughly 3,000 feet of its height. The volcano blew out so much molten rock that it left a giant depression that gradually filled with water, giving us this serene scene today.Desktop Version
Happy holidays!
Happy holidays!
The practice of decorating a home with pine boughs predates the more modern idea of the Christmas tree by centuries. By the 1600s, the Protestant population of Germany embraced the idea of bringing a tree into the home and decorating it, setting in motion the development of a grand Western tradition that has spread beyond Europe and North America, and fuels an entire industry of tree farms and the manufacture of artificial trees. If you’re celebrating Christmas today, we wish you a merry one.Desktop Version
Into the woods
Into the woods
Catching a glimpse of a deer makes the world go suddenly quiet. One clumsy move, even a gasp, could send these two white-tailed deer, with a flash of their namesake tails, deeper into the woods. But if you live between southern Canada and South America, chances are good you"ll get another opportunity to see these native deer. They live throughout the United States, save for parts of the Far West, and thrive in a variety of habitats—forests, grasslands, even city suburbs. This doe and fawn were photographed in Wisconsin, a state that picked this locally abundant and economically important ruminant as its state wildlife animal back in 1957. So, why isn"t Wisconsin called "The White-Tailed Deer State"? Take the quiz to find out.Desktop Version
Sailing across the ice
Sailing across the ice
These snowkiters are competing at a tournament in Novosibirsk, Russia. Like kiteboarding on liquid water, the sport of snowkiting uses a parachute-like foil kite, which catches the wind and pulls the boarder along a frozen, snowy landscape. The sport wasn’t invented here in Siberia, but when January sends the mercury plunging, the freezing temperatures create ideal conditions for the sport.Desktop Version
These laurels are hardy
These laurels are hardy
Go back 15 million years and you"d find most of Southern Europe looking like this fantasy forest: thick, scrubby underbrush canopied by wizened laurel trees. An epoch or two of human agricultural advances cleared those ancient woods, but patches persist on a few temperate Atlantic islands—especially here on Madeira, a Portuguese-held island off northwest Africa.Desktop Version
Celebrate International Women’s Day
Celebrate International Women’s Day
On the day before the 2017 celebration of International Women’s Day, the statue called ‘Fearless Girl’ was unveiled in the Financial District of New York. Staring down the ‘Charging Bull’ statue with resolute defiance, ‘Fearless Girl’ immediately resonated with people around the world as a symbol of women taking positions of leadership. The statue was initially meant as a temporary installation, but many have called for her to become a permanent fixture.Desktop Version
What does the fox dream?
What does the fox dream?
We"re sure you could just squeeze this snoozing Arctic fox like a stuffed animal, but we wouldn"t advise it. These cute little fuzzballs can be ferocious hunters. In fact, the Arctic fox is one of the most prolific predators on the tundra, preying on lemmings, voles, rabbits, birds (often with a side of eggs), and other small critters that cross its adorable path. But right now, our Arctic fox is happy to curl up with its tail and get some shut-eye—by forming a ball with its body, the fox is exposing the least possible surface area to cold air, helping to conserve heat no matter how low the mercury dips.Desktop Version
Once upon a time there was a bridge…
Once upon a time there was a bridge…
Although this stone bridge, known as Saut de Brot, looks right out of a fairy tale, it serves a very practical purpose. It connects walking trails on each side of the Areuse Gorge, offering safe passage to hikers exploring the lush Brot-Dessous area in western Switzerland, a predominantly French-speaking region of this multilingual country. It"s not known when the bridge was built exactly, though it"s thought to be a recent construction. But if that"s true, how do we not know who built it? All this mystery leads us to suspect it"s the work of helpful gnomes and fairies living deep in the Swiss woods. The end.Desktop Version
Opt outside today
Opt outside today
Instead of rushing to the mall today for Black Friday deals, perhaps you could make it a Green Friday and find a treasure in a nearby park or wilderness like the Maroon Bells near Aspen, Colorado, pictured here. A few years ago, outdoor retailer REI made news by closing its doors on the biggest shopping day of the year and encouraging its employees and customers to "Opt Outside" by spending time with their loved ones instead. While there is still no shortage of shopping options available to the intrepid Black Friday deal-hunter, a growing number of organizations have gotten behind this concept of Green Friday. And let"s face it, after all that turkey and pie yesterday, you could probably use a nice walk. You can always shop online at work on Cyber Monday ;)Desktop Version
A red fox on the Swiss side of the Jura Mountain range
A red fox on the Swiss side of the Jura Mountain range
Red foxes are a common sight in this subalpine range that forms a natural border between Switzerland and France. Our photo of a red fox prowling on a snowy winter night was taken with a "camera trap," a remotely activated camera equipped with a motion sensor and a light flash. Images taken with this method reveal the local wildlife going about their business undisturbed by the presence of humans, and give us a glimpse into the lives of our fellow creatures.Desktop Version
Stari Most in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Stari Most in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
To celebrate Independence Day in Bosnia and Herzogovina we’re in Mostar, a city on the banks of the Neretva River. This bridge that joins the two sides of the city is called Stari Most, or ‘Old Bridge.’ The original stone bridge was built in the 16th century but destroyed in 1993 during the Bosnian War. Reconstruction began in 2001, using local materials and even some stones from the original bridge. The new ‘Old Bridge’ was completed in 2004.Desktop Version
Once in a pink moon
Once in a pink moon
We"re seeing a vivid "pink moon" rise above St. Michael"s Mount—a granite-encrusted isle connected to the rugged peninsula of Cornwall, England, by sandy flats and a man-made causeway that submerge at high tide. The same order of monks that established France"s Mont-Saint-Michel built a church and priory here in the 12th century. In ensuing centuries of war, the insular monastic outpost was fortified into the imposing castle we see today. Privately purchased in 1659, the mount was opened to the public in 1954—and is still managed by members of the family that bought it over 350 years ago.Desktop Version