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Happy Mother s Day!
Happy Mother s Day!
To celebrate Mother"s Day, we"re in California"s Monterey Bay, where a sea otter mom gives her 3-day-old pup a place to snuggle and gives us an amazingly cute picture to boot. These incredibly photogenic animal moms shower their kids with attention, cradling them and grooming them for hours. But all that love is more than a gesture of affection, as newborn sea otter pups can"t swim. A pup is totally dependent for about six months, so mom will carry it around on her stomach like you see here. When the little one does venture into the water on its own, mom will rub the pup to fluff its coat, which causes the fur to retain air bubbles, insulating it from chilly water and causing the youngster to float like a cork.Desktop Version
A narrow passage
A narrow passage
Utah’s Zion National Park, established 99 years ago today, is one of the most visited national parks in the US. It’s full of amazing southwest scenery, including Zion Canyon. Our photo today shows The Narrows, a trail through the tightest gap in the canyon. Roughly one-third of The Narrows is under the waters of the Virgin River. For portions of the hike, the river fills up the passage, from wall to wall, leaving hikers no choice but to wade in and keep walking—not an unwelcome prospect on a hot day, even in November.Desktop Version
In search of roadside attractions on ‘America’s Highway’
In search of roadside attractions on ‘America’s Highway’
The lure of Route 66 isn’t extinct here in Holbrook, Arizona, where you can still spy giant concrete dinosaurs, kitschy truck stops, and teepee-shaped motel rooms that were constructed during the road’s heyday. Route 66 was established in the 1920s and within the next few decades, as millions of Americans acquired their first automobiles, it became a destination unto itself, even inspiring a hit song, ‘(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,’ by Bobby Troup. In 1985 the highway was decommissioned--it had been replaced by the new Interstate Highway System. But for the adventurous road-tripper, there’s still plenty of the old highway to explore.Desktop Version
Celebrating the International Day of Forests
Celebrating the International Day of Forests
The March 21 observance highlights the important role that trees and their forest ecosystems play in creating a healthy environment. Here at the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park in California, giant coastal redwoods—plus a variety of other trees, shrubs, bushes, flowers, ferns, mosses, and lichens—provide a haven for many creatures, even the small and slimy. This is banana slug territory, and visitors are likely to encounter the bright yellow banana slug—the largest slug in North America—as they journey through the park.Desktop Version
A visit to Limerick on Limerick Day
A visit to Limerick on Limerick Day
Today is Limerick Day, and what better place to celebrate this unofficial holiday than in Limerick, Ireland. The connection between the historic city and the humorous, five-line verse is unclear. Several theories have been purported, none of them definitive. But the city of Limerick has embraced its namesake poetry style and in recent years the Limerick Writers" Centre has hosted an annual competition called Bring Your Limericks to Limerick.Desktop Version
Bridge over the River Tara
Bridge over the River Tara
In northern Montenegro, the Đurđevića Tara Bridge is the fastest passage between the villages of Budečevica and Trešnjica. The five-arch concrete bridge was completed in 1940 just as World War II was spreading across Europe. By 1941, Italian forces from the Axis powers had invaded this region. Local guerrilla fighters took an extreme measure to keep the Italian army from crossing the Tara River Valley: They blew up one of the arches, making the bridge unpassable and slowing the advancement of the invading forces. The bridge was rebuilt in 1946, and though it retains its original name, some still call it the anti-fascist bridge. And now you know an awesome story about a bridge in Montenegro.Desktop Version
Struck by Southwestern beauty
Struck by Southwestern beauty
It"s okay if this stormy shot stirs your spirit with holy awe: They call this wind-carved edifice Church Rock for a reason. Surrounded by an enchanting Southwestern landscape, it"s a sight that almost invites you to get lost out here—and if you look at a map of these parts, you"ll see that"s not too hard.Desktop Version
Santorini through the clouds
Santorini through the clouds
With its romantic sunsets, dazzling ocean views, and whitewashed buildings clinging to rocky clifftops, the Greek island of Santorini (aka Thera or Thira) is the very picture of an idyll in the Aegean. But this tranquil scene belies the island"s explosive geologic history, for this is the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history. The Minoan eruption, about 3,600 years ago, caused the center of the Thera volcano to collapse into the ocean, leaving Santorini a jagged, crescent-shaped moon atop the sea.Desktop Version
Aerial view of a heart-shaped field in Trittau, Germany
Aerial view of a heart-shaped field in Trittau, Germany
Happy Valentine’s Day—perhaps unintentionally—from the pastoral fields of Trittau. The small town is less than an hour’s drive east from the industrial port city of Hamburg. An aerial photograph of farm fields here revealed this spot plowed in the shape of a heart. How are you celebrating, or perhaps avoiding, today’s holiday?Desktop Version
A day of service for Dr. King
A day of service for Dr. King
This statue is ‘Stone of Hope,’ part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial that opened in 2011 in West Potomac Park, Washington, DC. The title of the 30-foot granite sculpture comes from a line in King"s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech: ‘Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.’ Across the country today, volunteers will spend their day giving back in honor of Dr. King. His birthday was made a federal holiday in 1983, and in 1994 Congress designated the event as a national day of service, inviting citizens to observe the holiday by improving their communities.Desktop Version
Meandering through Patagonia
Meandering through Patagonia
Squiggling east from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, the mighty Santa Cruz River in Argentina"s Patagonia region flows over some of South America"s sparsest terrain. Over the centuries, some of history"s most notable explorers have been drawn to the winding waterway: Ferdinand Magellan"s 1520 expedition discovered its coastal delta, and Charles Darwin (on the same voyage that took him to the Galápagos Islands) studied the area"s ecosystem during a grueling 1834 side trip up the river. Even now, very few settlements exist along the 240-mile course of the Santa Cruz, considered the last major free-flowing river in Patagonia.Desktop Version
Does it swim in slow motion too?
Does it swim in slow motion too?
This pygmy three-toed sloth isn’t swimming for safety or fun. It’s most likely swimming to see if that sloth it spotted across the surf is available for a long-term relationship. Swimming—a rare sight—is the fastest way to get to a potential mate. These slow-moving vegetarians spend most of their days in the forest canopy of Isla Escudo de Veraguas, a small island off the coast of Panama. It’s the only place the rare creatures are found.Desktop Version
Welcome to the Ring of Fire
Welcome to the Ring of Fire
Today we"re visiting the pair of volcanoes known as Tolbachik—the flat-topped Plosky (Flat) Tolbachik on the left of our image, and the majestic Ostry (Sharp) Tolbachik on the right, which soars 12,080 feet above the Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia. These are just two of roughly 300 volcanoes scattered through the region; 29 of them, including the Tolbachik complex, are still active. In fact, there is so much volcanic activity here that UNESCO calls the peninsula "one of the most outstanding volcanic regions in the world," and has designated it a World Heritage site.Desktop Version
Overlooking the Douro
Overlooking the Douro
Welcome to Porto, the second city of Portugal. Known on some English-language maps as Oporto (the Portuguese call it "o Porto" in conversation, meaning simply "the Port"), this attractive, ancient city is most famous today not for the port itself but for what"s shipped out of it.Desktop Version
It s Star Wars Day
It s Star Wars Day
Does this place look familiar? If you"re a "Star Wars" fan you might recognize it as the planet of Crait, featured in "The Last Jedi." In reality it"s Salar de Uyuni, the world"s largest salt flat, found in southwest Bolivia. This otherworldly landscape is near the crest of the Andes, about 12,000 feet above sea level. The salt flat was formed when prehistoric lakes dried up over centuries, leaving behind a salt crust several feet deep. After a rare rainfall, a thin layer of perfectly still water will transform the salt flat into a giant mirror 80 miles across.Desktop Version
Porcupine
Porcupine
Psycho quiller? Nope, this is no homicidal rodent. Act friendly and keep a tail"s length of distance, and you should be safe from a spiny fate. (That thing about porcupines launching their quills at you like darts? Yeah, total myth.)Desktop Version
An oceanic valentine
An oceanic valentine
Just off the coast of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia, the surf crashes over this cluster of rocks, sending an oceanic Valentine"s Day card to a lucky bird—or photographer—flying overhead. We"ll take nature"s love letters wherever and whenever we can find them. But what makes February 14 the day we celebrate love? Some claim Valentine"s Day has its roots in an ancient Roman fertility festival called Lupercalia that included goat sacrifices and a lottery that paired off eligible men and women. Others argue that the holiday began with early Christians celebrating a martyr named Valentine. Chaucer romanticized the day with a poem about two birds mating for life. No matter its pagan or Christian origins, in the modern world, Valentine"s Day is celebrated most everywhere as a day devoted to love.Desktop Version
Penguins can t fly!
Penguins can t fly!
Unlike most other birds, penguins can"t fly, though this one sure looks like it"s trying—or jumping for joy since today is Penguin Awareness Day. Actually, these gentoo penguins on Danco Island, just off the Antarctic Peninsula, were photographed leaping out of the water as they returned to their nests for breeding season, which starts in November.Desktop Version
Clouds over the River of Grass
Clouds over the River of Grass
It"s the beginning of the wet season in the Florida Everglades, where it"s typically hot and humid from May through November. Afternoon thunderstorms are common, bringing heavy rainfalls that subside quickly. The largest subtropical wilderness in the US, the Everglades is essentially a slow-moving river, 60 miles wide and over 100 miles long. The water flows during the wet season from Lake Okeechobee southward across a limestone shelf to the southern tip of the Florida Peninsula. The complex ecosystem here is not found anywhere else on the planet.Desktop Version
New Zealand s loneliest mountain
New Zealand s loneliest mountain
According to the legends of New Zealand"s Indigenous Māori people, the lonely Mount Taranaki wasn"t always lonely. Taranaki, the story goes, once lived among other mountains in the North Island"s center. But Taranaki feuded with the powerful volcano Tongariro over the love of the pretty peak Pīhanga. In their epic battle, the now flat-topped Tongariro lost his head but emerged victorious. The vanquished Taranaki wandered west, cutting trenches as he trudged to the shore and filling them with lovesick tears to create the region"s rivers.Desktop Version
Belgium celebrates its independence
Belgium celebrates its independence
On July 21, Belgium celebrates its independence from the Netherlands and the anniversary of the establishment of the Kingdom of Belgium in 1831. The holiday brings us to the bank of the River Meuse across from the Collegiate Church of Notre Dame de Dinant, the best-known landmark in the Belgian town of Dinant in Namur province. For such a small city (population about 14,000), Dinant has a rich history. It"s the birthplace of Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone, and has a museum dedicated to his life and instruments. The Charles de Gaulle Bridge, which crosses the Meuse, is lined with 28 saxophone sculptures, each one representing a different country in the European Union. Namur province is also the birthplace of Leffe beer, which was brewed by monks in the abbey of Leffe starting in 1240.Desktop Version
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park turns 103
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park turns 103
Let"s light some candles today—103 of them—for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the island of Hawaii. On this day in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill to establish the park in what was then the US Territory of Hawaii. (Hawaii wouldn"t become a state until 1959.) The park contains a rich array of biodiversity, important historic sites of Native Hawaiians, and the glowing stars of the show—two of the world"s most active volcanos, Mauna Loa and Kīlauea.Desktop Version
Preservation Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana
Preservation Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana
To celebrate Mardi Gras today, we venture into Preservation Hall, the legendary performance space in the French Quarter of New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz. The former art gallery at 726 St. Peter Street isn’t the oldest music venue in New Orleans, but it’s one of the most important. Since it opened in 1961, Preservation Hall has become a premier showcase for traditional New Orleans jazz and a performing space for the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which plays here most nights when it"s not on the road.Desktop Version
Male kori bustard, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Male kori bustard, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
If you were to assemble a football team on the southern African savannah, chances are you’d want the kori bustard on your team. This husky bird is one of the heaviest animals capable of flight and is the largest flying bird native to Africa. Males can weigh up to 40 pounds. Given the heavy load, the kori bustard prefers to travel by foot, and is known to be slow and careful as it forages for food. This bird is so large, in fact, that smaller birds are known to perch on its back and catch a free ride.Desktop Version
Seasonal lights dazzle in Japan
Seasonal lights dazzle in Japan
This is just a glimpse of the elaborate light display at Nabana-no-Sato, a flower park located in the garden of Nagashima Spa Land in Kuwana, Japan. Millions of LED light bulbs are used here to illuminate the grounds and create shimmering pathways, tunnels, and patterns. Winter illuminations like this have grown in popularity at Japan’s parks, and they often stay up long after the holidays, providing a bright distraction from winter’s long nights.Desktop Version