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Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
Ever wonder how some of our rivers stay unspoiled? It"s thanks to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, which was signed into law on this day in 1968. This legislation created the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System which preserves rivers with exceptional natural, cultural, and recreational qualities.Desktop Version
Coral Reef Awareness Week
Coral Reef Awareness Week
Blooming pillar corals, green sea turtles, and colorful reef fishes—welcome to the underwater universe of coral reefs. They are formed by tiny marine organisms called coral polyps, which create vast colonies housing many species. As we celebrate their beauty and benefits, it"s vital to recognize the lurking threats of climate change, pollution, and harmful human activities.Desktop Version
Fish River Canyon, Namibia
Fish River Canyon, Namibia
The longest river in Namibia—the Fish River—has carved out Africa"s largest canyon over millions of years. Winding through weathered layers of gneiss and dolomite rocks, the Fish River Canyon is around 100 miles long and about 1,800 feet deep. Its hiking trail stretches for more than 50 miles, attracting adventure seekers and ultramarathon runners. Moreover, with Hartmann"s mountain zebras, klipspringers, and eastern rock elephant shrews, the canyon is teeming with creatures big and small. So, whether you are there for hiking, trekking, camping, or just soaking in the scenery, one thing"s for sure: Fish River Canyon is a catch you won"t soon forget.Desktop Version
Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, Italy
Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, Italy
The Santa Maria della Salute church in Venice is steeped in history. As a plague devastated the city in 1630, its leader, Doge Nicolò Contarini, vowed to build a majestic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary if the city was spared. In 1631 the epidemic ended, and construction began. The church, built in the Baroque style, was completed around 50 years later, a lifelong project for architect Baldassare Longhena.Desktop Version
Tolkien Reading Day
Tolkien Reading Day
Today is Tolkien Reading Day. It"s a time to dust off well-worn copies of "The Lord of the Rings" or "The Hobbit," and journey once more into the lands of elves, dwarves, and one particularly famous ring. But why this date? March 25 is the day the One Ring was destroyed, bringing down Sauron and ending his dark reign. The observation was launched in 2003 to encourage people to explore J.R.R. Tolkien"s works. Schools, libraries, and fans worldwide take part, reading passages aloud, discussing favorite moments, and diving into the rich lore of Middle-earth. Some go all out with themed events, cosplay, and even second breakfasts—because what better way to honor Tolkien than by feasting like a hobbit?Desktop Version
Frankenstein Friday
Frankenstein Friday
Picture yourself at the highest peak in the Alps, where the air is crisp and the views are breathtaking. The towering presence of Mont Blanc has left an indelible mark on literature, most notably on Mary Shelley"s "Frankenstein." The last Friday of October is Frankenstein Friday, honoring Shelley"s literary genius and the fascinating creature born from her imagination. "Frankenstein" was conceived during a ghost story challenge. In 1816, an 18-year-old Shelley, along with fellow writers Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Polidori, and Lord Byron, spent a stormy summer in Switzerland. Forced inside by incessant rain, she penned the tale of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature. A pivotal scene in the novel takes place on a glacier near Mont Blanc, where Victor is confronted by his monstrous creation. This setting, with its surreal beauty and treacherous terrain, perfectly captures a sense of awe and terror.Desktop Version
Cheetah in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania
Cheetah in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania
Blink and you"ll miss it! The fastest mammal in the world, the cheetah, is one of Tanzania"s iconic big cats. Pictured here in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, cheetahs inhabit diverse landscapes from the Serengeti grasslands to the arid expanses of the Sahara. They have long tails, elongated legs, and a slender build that helps them move quickly.Desktop Version
European river otter, Netherlands
European river otter, Netherlands
The European river otter is more than just an adorable face in the wild. Found across Europe, Asia, and parts of northern Africa, these otters thrive in clean rivers, lakes, and wetlands, serving as an important indicator of environmental health. They are built for agility, with streamlined bodies, webbed feet, and dense fur that keeps them warm even in icy waters. A single square inch of their fur can hold more than 400,000 hairs, making it one of nature"s most effective insulators. River otters were once endangered due to pollution and habitat loss. Thanks to conservation efforts, their populations are rebounding in many regions across Europe.Desktop Version
World Penguin Day
World Penguin Day
Why fly when you can slide? Happy World Penguin Day! There are 18 species of these flightless birds, 17 of which live in the Southern Hemisphere. Today"s Antarctic image stars Adélie penguins, discovered in 1840 by French adventurer Jules Dumont d"Urville, who named them after his wife, Adèle. Despite their small size, Adélie penguins are sleek swimmers and can dive as deep as 575 feet in search of shrimp-like krill or fish. They are social animals that gather in small colonies for foraging, hunting, and protection. While it may seem mischievous, Adélies steal pebbles from nearby nests to strengthen their own, safeguarding their eggs and chicks from Antarctica"s harsh conditions and predators.Desktop Version
Earth Day
Earth Day
Today is Earth Day—a day dedicated to celebrating the planet we call home and raising awareness of environmental problems. The seeds of this day were planted back in 1969 when Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin witnessed events like the Cuyahoga River catching fire and the Santa Barbara oil spill and decided that the world needed an environmental initiative. A year later, the first Earth Day event was held. Now, it has grown into an annual event with more than a billion people in over 193 countries taking part.Desktop Version
Anniversary of Pinnacles National Park, California
Anniversary of Pinnacles National Park, California
Jagged pinnacles and spires, monoliths, and unusual caves—welcome to Pinnacles National Park in central California. President Theodore Roosevelt designated the area as a national monument in 1908, and Pinnacles would earn its status as a national park in 2013. As we celebrate the park"s anniversary today, let"s take a moment to appreciate this landscape. Pinnacles owes its formations to an ancient volcanic eruption that occurred 23 million years ago. The fiery beginnings made towering spires, cliffs, and talus caves, which are created by falling boulders wedged into narrow canyons. Over millennia, tectonic forces shifted the landmass northward, leaving the park far from its volcanic birthplace. Talk about a journey!Desktop Version
Tulips at Emirgan Park in Istanbul, Türkiye
Tulips at Emirgan Park in Istanbul, Türkiye
There"s something to be said about the allure of a bed of colorful tulips. Originating from Central Asia, these bulbous plants are beloved worldwide, from the gardens of Mount Vernon, Washington, to the parks and avenues of Istanbul, Türkiye. But tulips are more than just decorative flowers. They represent love, life, beauty, and passion in various traditions and are often depicted in art as a symbol of rebirth or youth.Desktop Version
Patriot Day
Patriot Day
On Patriot Day, we are at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City, where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center once stood. The museum is 70 feet underground, beneath the memorial"s waterfall pools in the footprints of the fallen towers. The names of those who died in the 2001 terrorist attacks and in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing are listed on bronze parapets surrounding these huge reflecting pools. Seven stories below the memorial, the museum tells the story of 9/11 through exhibits, artifacts, historical records, and personal accounts, remembering the victims and those who risked their lives to save others.Desktop Version
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year
The streets come alive today with a symphony of firecrackers, red lanterns, and cheerful chatter—it"s Chinese New Year. Steeped in thousands of years of tradition, this holiday marks the start of the lunisolar Chinese calendar. One of the most captivating images associated with this festival is the dragon dance, pictured here. Skilled dancers manipulate a long, flexible dragon puppet, bringing it to life with sinuous, undulating movements. The dragon, a symbol of power, dignity, and good fortune, is believed to bring luck to the community, with longer dragons bringing even more prosperity.Desktop Version
Red lechwe, Okavango Delta, Botswana
Red lechwe, Okavango Delta, Botswana
With their elegant leaps and graceful movements, lechwe are the epitome of agility and poise on the African savanna. These antelopes, known for their distinctive reddish-brown coats and lyre-shaped horns, are native to the wetlands and floodplains of south-central Africa, including the Okavango Delta in Botswana, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lechwe are social animals, often found in herds of thousands. In the heart of the delta, they are an integral part of the region"s rich biodiversity, coexisting with other species like elephants, lions, rhinos, and hippos, wading through the water. Their presence adds to the delta"s natural allure, which draws in thousands of safari enthusiasts, and is proof of wildlife"s resilience in the face of environmental challenges.Desktop Version
Ancient town of Sorano, Tuscany, Italy
Ancient town of Sorano, Tuscany, Italy
Sorano is a serene medieval village perched atop a cliff in the Italian province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany. Walking through the age-old cobblestone streets, one can explore the Fortezza Orsini, a fortress-turned-museum that dates back to the 11th century. Visitors engage with centuries-old tales of power and defense with each step they take inside the fort. Near Poggio San Rocco and Poggio Croce hills lies a necropolis—a large, ancient burial site—with well-preserved Etruscan tombs that hint at the area"s long history. The Etruscan civilization inhabited this area and flourished in what is now Tuscany and Umbria between the 8th and 3rd centuries BCE.Desktop Version
National Fossil Day
National Fossil Day
For National Fossil Day, we"re looking at the mesmerizing Painted Hills, found in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon. Those stripes of red, tan, orange, and black were formed over tens of millions of years, the different layers in the claystone hills reflecting changes in the climate over that period. The monument itself is divided into three units, Painted Hills, Clarno, and Sheep Rock. In the latter, you"ll find the Thomas Condon Visitor Center with a paleontology lab and a museum displaying hundreds of fossils. In the fossil beds, the remains of more than 100 species of mammals have been found, including saber-toothed tigers, turtles, and opossums, as well as many fossilized plant species. While the landscape might sometimes look otherworldly, it offers us a peek into Earth"s dynamic and fascinating history.Desktop Version
Point Reyes National Seashore, California
Point Reyes National Seashore, California
This stunning 71,028-acre coastal haven on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County is a gem of the California coastline. Filled with scenic trails that wind through forests and along cliffs, it boasts breathtaking views and lots of wildlife. Point Reyes National Seashore also has a reputation as the most wind-swept spot on the Pacific Coast and the second-foggiest area in North America, so dress accordingly.Desktop Version
Hoodoos, Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Hoodoos, Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Let"s take a trip to a forest of stones. Sunset Point, seen in today"s image, offers sweeping views of the hoodoos of Utah"s Bryce Canyon National Park. These rock formations are created by frost weathering and stream erosion, which shape the stone into an otherworldly landscape. Perched at 8,000 to 9,000 feet, this overlook offers a panoramic view of rocky spires in red, orange, and white. The most iconic of them is Thor"s Hammer, a hoodoo that overlooks a part of the park known as the "Silent City." The Queen"s Garden Trail, which leads from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point, offers even more vistas and rock formations, including the Queen Victoria hoodoo. According to the legend told by the Paiute Indigenous people who inhabited this area, hoodoos are people who have been turned to stone for their misdeeds by the trickster Coyote. Whether you"re a hiker, a photographer, or simply a traveler, the hoodoos are waiting.Desktop Version
International Day for Biological Diversity
International Day for Biological Diversity
Today we"re celebrating the biodiversity of our planet. What exactly is biodiversity? It refers to the variety of living things, from animals and plants to fungi and microorganisms, in one area. This delicate but vigorous balance in nature is what keeps us all alive. That"s definitely worth celebrating! May 22 was named International Day for Biological Diversity by the United Nations in 2000. Unfortunately, the biodiversity of Earth is slowly decreasing due to climate change, the draining of natural resources, urbanization, and pollution, among other factors. Campaigners are urging governments, businesses and individuals to take action to boost biodiversity, to protect healthy ecosystems that supply us with water, food, medicines, and more. After all, we are blessed with intriguing species such as the Tasmanian snow gum—the tree seen in today"s image—that takes root in one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet, the Mount Field National Park in Tasmania, Australia.Desktop Version
Sea lion in a kelp forest, Baja California, Mexico
Sea lion in a kelp forest, Baja California, Mexico
Take a stroll along almost any marina from Costa Rica to Alaska, and you"ll likely hear the playful barks of sea lions echo through the air. California sea lions, like the one pictured, are a common sight basking in the sun along the rocky shores of North America"s western coast. These marine mammals, belonging to the pinniped group, are often mistaken for seals. An easy way to distinguish between them is by looking at their ears—sea lions have visible flaps, seals don"t.Desktop Version
Lake Magadi, Kenya
Lake Magadi, Kenya
What an unearthly view! This aerial photograph shows a flamboyance of lesser flamingos against the backdrop of Lake Magadi in Kenya. The lesser flamingo is one of six species of flamingo, a bird known for its vibrant pink plumage and distinctive feeding behavior. They use their specialized beaks to filter algae near the water"s surface and are often found in African soda lakes like Lake Magadi, which are brimming with cyanobacteria and algae for them to eat. The spectacle of thousands of these avian wonders congregating at the lake reveals the importance of these unique ecosystems.Desktop Version
Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
Today is a big day for conservation—it"s the anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. Passed in the US in 1973, this law was a game-changer, ensuring that economic growth wouldn"t steamroll over species at risk of disappearing forever. For the first time, plants were given protection too, and the focus shifted from merely avoiding extinction to actively helping species recover to the point where they could thrive without protection.Desktop Version
Halemaumau Crater, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Halemaumau Crater, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
As National Park Week wraps up today, let"s explore a park in a land sculpted by fire and time—Hawai"i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. The Halema"uma"u Crater is an intermittent lava lake in Kīlauea, one of Earth"s most active volcanoes. Since it was first documented in 1823, volcanic activity has caused the crater to fill with lava, partially collapse, erupt in fountains of lava, expand to twice its size on two occasions, and at times fill with groundwater. All this activity demonstrates the unpredictable raw power that lies below the surface of the Earth. The natural and cultural importance of this site led to the establishment of Hawai"i Volcanoes National Park in 1916, and to it being named a UNESCO International Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site in the 1980s.Desktop Version
Happy International Zebra Day!
Happy International Zebra Day!
Celebrate the beauty of zebras on International Zebra Day! These striking animals, known for their unique black and white patterns, are mostly found in the African savanna, stretching from Kenya to South Africa. Of the three zebra species, Grévy"s zebra, plains zebra, and mountain zebra, the Grévy"s zebra is the most endangered, with more than half its population lost in only three decades. While plains zebras are thriving, mountain zebras face significant threats, such as poaching and habitat encroachment. Zebras play an essential role in the ecosystems they live in, coexisting with predators like lions and hyenas while shaping the grasslands they call home.Desktop Version