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In Apia Harbor for Samoan Independence Day
In Apia Harbor for Samoan Independence Day
Come ashore in time to celebrate Samoa’s independence today! Ruled by New Zealand since 1914, Samoans eventually came to resent colonial authority, which many considered ineffectual and oppressive. A non-violent independence movement started gaining popular support beginning in the late 1920s. By Jan 1, 1962, Samoa became the first small-island independent nation in the South Pacific. These days, Samoans celebrate their freedom today, June 1. We hope those rowers in the canoes are back in time for the party.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 the rangers on World Ranger Day
Honoring the rangers on World Ranger Day
The wildlife ranger in today’s homepage image is conducting a bird census in the rainforests of a rare ecosystem in Chiapas, a state in southern Mexico. Modern-day park rangers perform a variety of tasks in their jobs, and it can be dangerous work. A ranger in the savannahs of Africa may track and apprehend poachers, while rangers in North America might brave harsh conditions to collect valuable data about the health of our forests, waters, and the critters that inhabit those places. So today, World Ranger Day, we honor the rangers who have died or were injured in the line of duty. The important work they do helps us better understand and appreciate the wild world around us.Desktop Version
Midwinter freeze
Midwinter freeze
Abiqua Falls in Oregon is a beautiful example of a basalt column amphitheater. Over 90 percent of all volcanic rock is basalt, but only a small fraction of it forms into the hexagonal columns that you see here. When molten lava hits the atmosphere, rapid cooling causes it to contract into these characteristic columns. It"s just part of what makes Abiqua Falls so spectacular.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
Victory in Europe, 75 years ago
Victory in Europe, 75 years ago
On May 8, 1945, thousands of people poured into the streets of Paris to celebrate the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II in Europe. This photo of the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées was taken from atop the appropriately named Arc de Triomphe, looking east toward the distant Place de la Concorde and the Louvre. Victory in Europe (VE-Day) had come at last.Desktop Version
Panda Day
Panda Day
There"s just something comforting about giant pandas. They"re stoic but look cuddly, and their unusual black and white markings make them distinctive. Pandas are one of the animals we recognize from an early age. But while we may take them for granted, they"ve been under threat from shrinking habitats and food supply as people harvest bamboo and build roads and train tracks through their forests. National Panda Day on March 16 spreads awareness about these beloved bears and encourages us to safeguard their future.Desktop Version
A step toward freedom
A step toward freedom
This inscription marks the spot on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, where civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. stood while delivering his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. It was August 28, 1963, and King was addressing a quarter-million people spread across the National Mall during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. King referred to written notes for most of the speech, but as he neared the end of his prepared remarks, he heard gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who was standing nearby, shout out, "Tell them about the dream, Martin!" King responded by partly improvising the rest of his message in a soaring, sermon-like delivery, punctuating his ideas repeatedly with that single phrase, "I have a dream." King"s dream for racial justice, so eloquently shared that day, would resonate through the crowd and across the nation, bringing passionate new energy to the civil rights movement. It still resonates today.Desktop Version
A day for the oceans
A day for the oceans
The Galápagos sea lion is found in two places in the world—its namesake locale and the Isla de la Plata just off the coast of Ecuador. The expert swimmers are often spotted playing and surfing in the waves. They"re gregarious on land, too, sometimes even grabbing a snooze on a town bench. Although a common and beloved sight in the islands, Galápagos sea lions are endangered, and their numbers are susceptible to changes in ocean temperatures, which can limit their food supply.Desktop Version
National Mushroom Month
National Mushroom Month
The humble mushroom may grow in some dark, hidden places, but this is its time in the spotlight. National Mushroom Month is celebrated each year in the month of September in the United States. That’s when the Mushroom Council, a group of commercial mushroom producers, takes advantage of the opportunity to educate people on all that fabulous fungi have to offer—especially the nutritional benefits. Mushrooms have long been associated with good health. In fact, early Romans referred to mushrooms as "food of the gods" and hieroglyphics suggest that ancient Egyptians linked the mushroom to immortality. In modern times, we"ve learned that mushrooms are a powerful source of vitamins and antioxidants. Which type of mushroom is your favorite?Desktop Version
The last thing seen by Wile E. Coyote
The last thing seen by Wile E. Coyote
We"d say, "Don"t look down," but that"d kind of be missing the point: Verticality is what put Toroweap Overlook on the map. Situated on the Grand Canyon"s elevated North Rim, it offers an unmatched view down a sheer 3,000-foot drop straight to the Colorado riverbed.Desktop Version
Going head-to-head with winter
Going head-to-head with winter
Muskoxen are built to chill. These animals can endure, even thrive, in some of the harshest conditions on Earth—the Arctic winter. Their long, wiry outer coat covers a soft and thick inner layer, called qiviut, that keeps them toasty even as temperatures plummet. When winter ends, the muskoxen shed this undercoat, which is collected and spun into yarn that"s warmer than sheep"s wool and softer than cashmere—pricier, too.Desktop Version
Hezké svátky
Hezké svátky
Hezké svátky (Happy holidays) from Prague! The Charles Bridge connects Old Town Prague to the rest of the capital of the Czech Republic. It’s a popular experience for tourists to walk the bridge, snapping photos of the many statues on the span. In our photo today, a light snow coats Prague and enhances the city’s old-world charm.Desktop Version
League of Nations, 100 years later
League of Nations, 100 years later
For the anniversary of the League of Nations, we"re in Geneva, Switzerland, at the Palace of Nations. The LN was founded on January 10, 1920, after World War I. It served as an international diplomatic organization until World War II, when it gradually lost support and was eventually replaced by the United Nations. The Palace, built to be the LN"s headquarters, has served as UN headquarters in Geneva and hosts diplomats for thousands of meetings every year.Desktop Version
The island fox’s incredible comeback
The island fox’s incredible comeback
Meet the island fox, a petite resident of California’s Channel Islands National Park and a true comeback kid. The house-cat-sized creature is endemic to the islands, meaning it’s found nowhere else on Earth. In the 1990s, scientists observed the island fox population on Santa Cruz Island had dropped to fewer than 100 animals. The decline was attributed largely to golden eagles, who moved into new territory after bald eagle populations declined and found the island foxes to be easy prey. (Golden eagles are more prodigious hunters than bald eagles.) Environmental groups launched an effort to bring back the island fox, in part by relocating golden eagles, and by 2015, the population on Santa Cruz Island had rebounded to about 1,750. That’s good news for the fox–and for the entire island ecosystem. As the eagle situation demonstrated, most things in nature are interconnected.Desktop Version
Summer winds down in the Southern Hemisphere
Summer winds down in the Southern Hemisphere
As we in the Northern Hemisphere prepare to greet spring, many in Australia are probably looking forward to the end of a punishing summer. Relatively temperate autumn weather must come as a relief to our friends Down Under. Some are likely greeting the change in seasons with a trip to the pool, like the swimmers in today"s image of the Bronte Baths, an ocean pool located in a Sydney suburb. While seaside swimming pools aren"t unique to Australia, this island country is known for its many oceanside pools, which provide sheltered spots for swimming in places where rocky shorelines and occasional shark attacks can make ocean swimming difficult or dangerous.Desktop Version
Fall comes to Pando
Fall comes to Pando
All is not as it appears to be here at Pando, in Utah"s Fishlake National Forest. At first glance, visitors likely see a massive grove of quaking aspen trees, their leaves dancing in the wind. But Pando is not many trees; instead, it"s a single organism. Like many aspen groves, the 40,000 trees in Pando are genetically identical cloned stems that sprouted from the same root system. First discovered in 1968, Pando made waves in the scientific world. It"s become recognized as one of the heaviest known organisms—weighing 6,000 metric tons—and one of the oldest known living organisms. Scientists estimate its root system is upwards of 80,000 years old, having endured the last ice age and countless forest fires. It got to be so old partly because most of the organism is protected underground. So, while an individual stem can die, the organism as a whole survives.Desktop Version
Let’s celebrate
Let’s celebrate
The citizens of Morton, Minnesota, are probably doing a repeat performance of this pyrotechnic display today as they join the rest of the US in a celebration of Independence Day. If you want to blow the minds of your family and friends at the barbecue, steer the conversation toward fireworks and casually drop this truth bomb: Gunpowder, the fuel that makes the fireworks explode, was invented in ancient China by Taoist alchemists who hoped to create an immortality elixir. That’s some dramatic irony, at least in hindsight. Be safe!Desktop Version
Celebrating all things Austen
Celebrating all things Austen
Bath, in southwestern England, was the first home Jane Austen knew away from her tiny village when she moved here at about age 25. Though the author only lived in Bath from 1801 to 1806 and did little writing here, no doubt this spa city on the River Avon gave her inspiration. After all, Bath was a popular resort at the time for Britain"s upper crust—the posh, mannered society types whom Austen satirized so wittily in novels like "Pride and Prejudice."Desktop Version
50 years of Earth Day
50 years of Earth Day
For Mother Earth"s big day, we"re shining the spotlight on a tree known as "Father of the Forest," or Te Matua Ngahere in the Maori language. This giant kauri tree lives in the Waipoua Forest of New Zealand"s North Island. At more than 1,500 years old and more than 52 feet around, it"s one of the oldest trees in New Zealand and one of the largest. It"s long been revered by the Maori, and is protected by Maori elders.Desktop Version
National Park Week: Haleakalā National Park, Hawaii
National Park Week: Haleakalā National Park, Hawaii
Each week hundreds of tourists make the journey to the summit of Haleakalā, a dormant volcano at Haleakalā National Park, to watch the sunrise at 10,000 feet above sea level. Legend says this protected place is the site where demigod Maui lassoed the sun and convinced it to slow down and make our days last longer. Thanks, Maui! Now is there any chance you can make the weekend longer, too?Desktop Version
Hollywood s big night
Hollywood s big night
It"s Oscars night in Tinseltown, and we"re offering you a moment"s escape from the paparazzi to gaze over the glittering megalopolis of Los Angeles—and to get an unfamiliar view of a familiar landmark. The Hollywood Sign originally read "Hollywoodland" when it was erected in 1923 and festooned with light bulbs to advertise a real estate development. But within a few years, as the silent-film era gave way to "talkies," the sign evolved into a popular tourist attraction. Falling into disrepair in ensuing decades—at the peak of its decay, the sign was missing its third "O" altogether—the original was demolished and a sturdier version built in 1978.Desktop Version
Pasadena Chalk Festival supports local arts education
Pasadena Chalk Festival supports local arts education
Since 1993, the Pasadena-based nonprofit Light Bringer Project has supported arts education in the Los Angeles area by helping produce the annual Pasadena Chalk Festival. Hundreds of artists spend the weekend creating unique chalk artworks on the sidewalks of historic downtown Pasadena for this free event. Funds are raised through donations from festival attendees and proceeds from sales of artwork and a silent auction.Desktop Version
Row, row, row your gondola
Row, row, row your gondola
History comes alive on the Grand Canal of Venice for the Regata Storica di Venezia, an annual event marked by pageantry, tradition, and of course—boat races. The 2018 regatta, which occurs today, will include a parade with Venetians in historical dress and plenty of gondolas, which once served as the city’s primary means of transport. (What a way to travel!) Visitors will see the canals packed with boats of all shapes and sizes as the city celebrates its seafaring culture.Desktop Version
Happy 50th for the National Trails System!
Happy 50th for the National Trails System!
Next time somebody tells you ‘take a hike,’ you tell ‘em you did, and it was for a good cause. Today is National Trails Day, and we’re on the South Kaibab Trail in Grand Canyon National Park. The National Trails System in the US turns 50 this year. Want to pay your respects to a trail you love? Take a hike and do your best to leave it better than you found it—pack out any trash you may find or join a trail improvement project—the point is to get out there and give back some of the love you get from hiking trails.Desktop Version