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A medieval celebration in the Mediterranean
A medieval celebration in the Mediterranean
That mighty fortress at the top of the hill is called the Cittadella—it"s a medieval fortified city at the geographical center of the island of Gozo. Gozo is the second-largest island in the Maltese archipelago (after the island of Malta itself), and despite all appearances it"s the less densely populated of the two.Desktop Version
Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, China
Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, China
The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, in China"s Heilongjiang province, begins today with all the spectacle and fanfare you"d expect from the world"s largest festival of its kind. Big, bold, and beautiful, the event features more than 2,000 ice sculptures made from 240,000 cubic yards of ice collected by nearly a thousand workers from the nearby Songhua River. Many of the sculptures are illuminated with colored lights, creating a vibrant, glowing world of ice. It"s estimated the colorful sights attract more than 18 million visitors each year. The event, which runs through late February, also features alpine skiing, cold water swimming in the aforementioned Songhua, as well as a festive ice lantern show.Desktop Version
The perfect canvas for an ancient text
The perfect canvas for an ancient text
Since 2009, the city of Durham has served as a grand stage for the biennial Lumiere Durham festival. During four days in November, works of "son et lumière"—a French phrase that means "sound and light"—provide spectators with new ways of viewing public spaces and buildings. Artists from around the world design large-scale light shows paired with narratives and sound effects. It"s become the UK"s largest light festival, and Lumiere Durham"s 10th anniversary, which begins today, promises to attract more than 200,000 people to enjoy the illuminated artworks along cobbled streets.Desktop Version
Llama Day
Llama Day
Prick up your ears and crane your neck—it"s National Llama Day. Part of a family that includes camels, alpacas, and guanacos, llamas have long been domesticated in South America because of their hardiness and ability to thrive on the bleak vegetation in the mountains and plateaus of the Andes. At up to 6 feet tall and weighing up to 400 pounds, they were used primarily as pack animals for about 6,500 years. They were also bred as a source of food, hides, tallow for candles, dung for fuel, and fabric. While inferior to alpaca and guanaco wool, llama fleece is soft, warm, durable, and fairly lightweight. It"s used for clothing, rugs, and rope.Desktop Version
Kagami-ike, Nagano, Japan
Kagami-ike, Nagano, Japan
This serene Japanese landscape is reflected in the still waters of an artificial reservoir known as Kagami-ike, meaning ‘mirror pond." Surrounded by lush greenery and the Togakushi Mountain Range in Nagano Prefecture, Kagami-ike emerges from the morning mists to create an enchanting spectacle. During the cherry blossom season, visitors walk among sakura petals that float along the breeze while, in autumn, they can enjoy its surrounding orange and yellow foliage. This secluded spot is a wonderfully peaceful place for mindful meditation and self-reflection.Desktop Version
Siblings Day
Siblings Day
We"re in Kenya"s Amboseli National Park today to celebrate Siblings Day with these baby African elephant twins and their mom. Siblings Day is celebrated every April 10 in parts of the US and other areas of the world. In 1995, Claudia Evart, who lost her siblings at a young age, created this holiday and established the Siblings Day Foundation, which is working to get the holiday officially recognized in the US alongside Mother"s Day and Father"s Day. India"s Raksha Bandhan is the oldest sibling holiday that is still widely observed today, usually falling in August. Hindu women commemorate this day by wrapping a band around their brothers" wrists as a sign of mutual care and respect. If this seems like too much, maybe just pick up the phone and give a loved one a call.Desktop Version
Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead
If you"ve ever been in Mexico during Day of the Dead festivities, then you"ve no doubt come across the beautiful orange flowers you see here. Marigolds are one of the main symbols of this festive, two-day celebration. The flowers are native to North America, and were deemed sacred by the Aztecs, who likened their bright colors to the sun. According to legend, those colors and the flowers" sweet aroma have the power to lure the souls of the dead back to this world from beyond.Desktop Version
World Sea Turtle Day
World Sea Turtle Day
Happy World Sea Turtle Day! Today people around the world gather to clean beaches and help animals like this hawksbill sea turtle thrive. The largest populations of hawksbill sea turtles are found in the Caribbean, Indian, and Indo-Pacific Oceans but you"ll find sea turtles in every ocean, except the Arctic and Antarctic.Desktop Version
Guanahacabibes National Park, Cuba
Guanahacabibes National Park, Cuba
Today we"re admiring red mangrove seedlings at Guanahacabibes National Park in Cuba. Mangrove forests not only protect coastlines but are a crucial component of tropical coastal ecosystems and are uniquely suited to thrive in brackish or salty water. These hardy trees can withstand the force of tremendous waves and ferocious winds, fending off the damaging effects of storms and erosion.Desktop Version
Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park, Washington
Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park, Washington
Imagine spending the day hiking amid these moss-covered trees instead of frantically checking items off your holiday shopping list. Welcome to Green Friday, the environmental alternative to Black Friday. The aim is to encourage people to make ethical shopping choices—or to refrain from shopping altogether and embrace nature instead.Desktop Version
Zion National Park, Utah
Zion National Park, Utah
Today, we"re celebrating the 102nd anniversary of southwest Utah"s Zion National Park with a visit to its Subway slot canyon. Zion is defined by its breathtakingly steep red cliffs, its maze of sandstone canyons, and its waterfalls with colorful hanging gardens. Visitors here can trek for miles, ducking into crevices and resting in canyons once occupied by the Ancestral Puebloans.Desktop Version
Bournemouth beach huts
Bournemouth beach huts
Today we"re taking our bucket and spade to the seaside resort of Bournemouth on the south coast of England. OK, it might be a bit chilly to build sandcastles this time of year, but the festive glow of these cozy beach huts will warm us up as we enjoy a stroll along the seafront for the town"s annual Christmas Tree Wonderland—a trail featuring more than 100 glittering trees and illuminations. The huts in our photo have been decked out for the holidays, providing visitors with the perfect scene for a seasonal selfie—or should that be elfie?Desktop Version
Maybe we should be looking up
Maybe we should be looking up
When it first flicked on the projector lights in 1930, the Adler Planetarium in Chicago was the only one in the Western Hemisphere, and it featured an innovative new lens imported from Germany. But the American public"s fascination with stars and distant worlds, it turned out, was skyrocketing. By 1934, the Adler had welcomed over a million visitors.Desktop Version
Birds of a feather
Birds of a feather
For World Migratory Bird Day, we"ve journeyed down to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in southern New Mexico to join a group of sandhill cranes and their mallard duck friends as they feed in shallow water. Each year beginning in late October, this 57,000-acre refuge becomes the winter home to tens of thousands of migratory birds including sandhill cranes and various species of geese and ducks who travel from as far away as Alaska and Siberia to hunker down in warmer climes. They stay until late February when they begin their journey back north to their summer homes.Desktop Version
A desert arts pop-up, just popped up
A desert arts pop-up, just popped up
Today we’re viewing North America’s largest arts and music festival—dust free—from a satellite lens. Welcome to Black Rock City, the pop-up home of Burning Man, a raucous event that takes place in late summer each year on the sun-scorched alkali flats of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. It’s an unusual set-up, a counterculture mecca where gifts reign supreme and money has no value.Desktop Version
Freeloaders of the avian world
Freeloaders of the avian world
Ever felt like some folks are just born jerks? Birds can relate. Take for example the uninvited speckly-white visitor to this robin"s nest: That smaller egg belongs to a baby cowbird whose mother sneakily laid it among the blue robin eggs when no one was looking. Once the baby birds all hatch, the cowbird will grow much faster and larger than its robin "siblings," soon becoming an only chick by muscling them right out of the nest. And if mama robin ejects the cowbird egg before it hatches, the cowbird mom may take notice and chuck the remaining robin eggs from the nest out of spite.Desktop Version
Sandhill cranes, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Sandhill cranes, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Hey, don"t judge. Migrating takes it out of you! Yes, these sandhill cranes are sleeping on their feet in the waters of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in southern New Mexico. The birds start arriving around Halloween each year, and as many as 10,000 of them will stay to rest and feed in local fields until February. What"s on the menu? Well, sandhill cranes aren"t picky; they"ll eat whatever"s available, from plants and grains, to insects, snails, and even snakes. And they have plenty of avian company at this beautiful refuge each winter—whooping cranes, ducks, and snow geese from as far away as Alaska and Siberia also count Bosque del Apache as a favorite resting spot before heading north to their breeding grounds when the days get warmer. Thankfully, there"s plenty of room to spread their wings at the 57,000-acre refuge.Desktop Version
Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia
Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia
More than 2 miles above sea level, near the crest of the Andes, is an anomaly of the natural world, a salt flat bigger than many countries. The Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia is the largest salt flat in the world at about 4,000 square miles. The salt flat is the remains of an ancient lake that evaporated long ago leaving behind a thick mineral crust that is both a source of edible salt and a critical breeding ground for, of all things, flamingos. But for a battery-hungry world, the greatest riches might lie below the crust—a vast brine rich in lithium.Desktop Version
Lunar eclipse
Lunar eclipse
If you"re lucky enough to find yourself under a cloudless sky tonight, you"ll be able to see one of our solar system"s great wonders, a full lunar eclipse, also known as a "blood moon." The spooky nickname derives from the reddish hue the moon takes on when Earth casts its shadow upon it. Featured here is a blood moon over the Swiss Alps. A full lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth and moon align perfectly with the sun, and the moon falls directly behind Earth"s shadow. When Earth falls behind the moon"s shadow, a solar eclipse occurs.Desktop Version
Blue Lagoon spa, Grindavík, Iceland
Blue Lagoon spa, Grindavík, Iceland
Let"s be frank here, the origin of today"s beautiful picture is a pool of wastewater from a nearby geothermal plant. While that may not sound enticing, Iceland"s Blue Lagoon is one of the country"s most-visited attractions. The trick is to not get stuck on the "waste" part of wastewater. The water here is clean, always hovers around 100° F, and is enriched with tons of silica—which is what makes it blue—and sulfur, thanks to the plant"s processes. Those minerals, along with a little algae, are believed to combine into a highly beneficial tonic for skin and overall well-being.Desktop Version
Old Fortress, Corfu, Greece
Old Fortress, Corfu, Greece
This imposing structure is the Old Fortress on the Greek island of Corfu, off the western coasts of Greece and Albania. Situated in a strategic location between the Ionian and Adriatic seas, Corfu became one of the most fortified places in Europe amid successive sieges by the Ottoman Empire. The island was ruled by the Republic of Venice for 400 years until the late 18th century, which built forts in Corfu"s Old Town to defend its maritime trading interests. They held off three Ottoman sieges in 1537, 1571, and 1716 but have been repaired, rebuilt, and added to over the centuries. The Old Fortress has witnessed the rise and fall of mighty empires for hundreds of years, from the tip of a rocky peninsula jutting into the sea. These days, however, it is home to the public library and Corfu"s archives.Desktop Version
First day of summer
First day of summer
After long—very long—winter nights, it"s not surprising that the First Day of Summer is cause for a big celebration in Iceland. The public holiday falls on the first Thursday after April 18, and launches Harpa, the first summer month of the old Norse calendar that was followed by the country"s first inhabitants. The year was split into just two seasons back then—summer and winter—which explains why Sumardagurinn Fyrsti, the First Day of Summer, falls in chilly April. Indeed, folklore has it that if you put a dish of water outside the night before the holiday and it freezes, you"ll have a good summer. Regardless of temperature, the holiday does herald the arrival of those famously long days with little darkness, a welcome relief after the light-deprived winter months.Desktop Version
Val Gardena, South Tyrol, Dolomites, Italy
Val Gardena, South Tyrol, Dolomites, Italy
Val Gardena in Northern Italy is a popular destination for skiing, rock climbing, and woodcarving enthusiasts, which transforms into Christmas Valley at this time of year. Wooden huts open their doors to visitors, and a nostalgic cable car ride, each cabin adorned with twinkling fairy lights, travels above snow-covered slopes. During the 18th century, the valley became famous for its production of intricately carved wooden figurines, initially made to decorate Catholic churches. Among those creations, the peg wooden doll emerged as one of Val Gardena"s best-known products and is still being produced today.Desktop Version
Carnival comes to Olinda
Carnival comes to Olinda
It"s the first official day of Carnival in Olinda and the streets in the historic part of town will be alive with revelers who come out to see dozens of giant puppets parade through the town. The larger-than-life "bonecos de Olinda" kick off the festivities each year and have been part of the celebrations here for over a century. They can be up to 20 feet tall and weigh around 45 pounds each. But Carnival in Olinda is not only about these incredible puppets. Like other Carnival celebrations in Brazil, Olinda"s features music, dancing, costumes, and fun.Desktop Version
Go climb a tree
Go climb a tree
This egg-shaped observation tower in Germany’s Bavarian Forest National Park is part of one of the world’s longest canopy trails—and one of the most distinctive. Visitors reach the tower via a nearly 1-mile-long elevated walkway that winds around the tops of firs, beeches, spruces, and more at eye-level. From the 144-foot tower, built over three ancient fir trees, they can see the vast expanse of Bavaria’s forests and countryside. Not only do canopy walkways like this one give visitors a bird’s-eye view of the forest, they also allow people to experience nature without harming it.Desktop Version