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Apr 13, 2022Mitsumata blossoms

Stress seems to melt away when you gaze at this serene forest protecting the mitsumata blossoms below. While the flowering buds are beautiful in their natural state, the mitsumata shrub (Edgeworthia chrysantha) has so much more to offer. Originally brought from China to Japan by monks, the green plant is now a staple of Japanese papermaking and one of three principal ingredients in washi, traditional Japanese paper. No wonder, then, that it"s also known as the Oriental paperbush. Mitsumata washi is dense and holds ink well—it"s a favorite of artists and calligraphers—and sheets of mitsumata paper are also used in traditional shoji screens.Desktop Version

Nov 20, 2021World Children s Day

For World Children"s Day, we"re featuring an aerial view of a larger-than-life painting on the summit of the Moléson in the Swiss Prealps. The 16,000-square-foot fresco is titled "Un Nouveau Souffle" (A New Breath) and depicts a child blowing clouds toward the horizon. It was created by French-Swiss artist Saype—real name Guillaume Legros—who is known for his grassy graffiti around the world. The eco-friendly artist uses biodegradable paints made from natural pigments such as coal and chalk, so by the time you read this, his land art will have already disappeared into the soil.Desktop Version

Jan 13, 2023Giant kelp in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

All along the Pacific Coast of North America, giant stands of kelp up to 100 feet high, like this one in California"s Channel Islands, provide habitat for a vast number of fish, invertebrates, and sea mammals. Giant kelp, technically a type of brown algae, is the largest of all seaweed and one of the fastest-growing of any organism—as much as 2 feet per day! The gas-filled pods you see in this image help the kelp float. Like the trees in the Amazon, the kelp forests of our oceans are key to the health of marine life.Desktop Version

Jul 31, 2022Noctilucent clouds

It"s around this time of year when some lucky people get to witness these rare, wondrous clouds. Known as noctilucent, or "night-shining," clouds, they"re the highest clouds in our sky and are only visible during summer. They"re made up of icy dust glowing at the edge of space, roughly 50 miles above the planet"s surface. The trick to seeing them is to gaze up into the sky at twilight, when sunlight is not reaching the Earth"s surface, but is still shining through the high-altitude noctilucent clouds. These clouds occur more often at high latitudes but have been seen lower than 50° north and south.Desktop Version

Oct 21, 2019The Guggenheim turns 60

Today"s image shows the Guggenheim on the day before its grand opening, 60 years ago today. Since then, it"s become an iconic building in the New York cityscape. Housed in a white spiral building that emerges from Fifth Avenue, the museum started with several private collections, including that of founder Solomon R. Guggenheim. The collection has grown over the decades to contain some of the world’s most notable examples of impressionist, post-impressionist, early modern, and contemporary art.Desktop Version

Jul 23, 2023Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

Legend has it that tea was first brewed accidentally around 2737 BC in China thanks to a strong wind and some loose leaves. If you find that hard to swallow, there are other origin stories to choose from. However, one thing is certain—the feeling it stirs in tea drinkers worldwide. From gongfu tea practice in China to darye in Korea, there are plenty of fascinating tea cultures to savor. Tea tourism has gained popularity, with visitors to tea plantations and estates learning all about their history. Our homepage image shows one such place, Nuwara Eliya"s Edinburgh Estate in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. Nuwara Eliya"s colonial-era buildings and mist-shrouded tea gardens have earned it the name "Little England." The area is known for producing some of the world"s finest orange pekoe tea. So, for your next trip, are you willing to "chai" something new?Desktop Version

Sep 15, 2021It s National Hispanic Heritage Month

National Hispanic Heritage Month takes us to the Texas border town of El Paso, where artist Jesus "CIMI" Alvarado is pictured applying the final touches to the mural he calls "Fronterizos" (Border People). It was commissioned by the El Paso Museum of Art for one of its outside walls. Alvarado began his painting career as a graffiti artist, tagging the walls of the city"s historic Segundo Barrio, and today his work can be found throughout the city. This mural depicts a local musician, Johnny Barragan, with an unnamed woman, and is described as an ode to a hometown hero of El Paso.Desktop Version

Oct 31, 2021Happy Halloween!

These mask-like monsters of the Minster wish you a hearty "Happy Halloween"! That"s York Minster, by the way, the towering medieval cathedral in the heart of York, England, decorated with these impish figures meant to scare off evil spirits. Just don"t call them gargoyles (for that title to apply, they"d need waterspouts)! Statues like these fellas bear an even more Halloween-appropriate name: grotesques.Desktop Version

Jun 21, 2023Summer solstice

The ancient monument of Stonehenge has fascinated people for centuries. Estimated to have been built between 3000 and 2000 BCE in the English county of Wiltshire, its large standing stones remain an enigma. Exactly why and how this massive stone circle was built are still debated. What we do know, is that it was done without metal tools or the use of wheels—and some of those stones were moved more than 150 miles.Desktop Version

Nov 18, 2021Bohemian Switzerland

Today we rhapsodize about the beautiful region called Bohemian Switzerland, but we"re hundreds of miles from Switzerland. The name for the area originated with Swiss painters visiting the Kingdom of Bohemia, now the western half of the Czech Republic. They were reminded of their homeland by this region"s dramatic sandstone formations. Turns out the acclaimed artist named Mother Nature finds inspiration here, too, turning the Bohemian Switzerland’s pockets of thick forest into a canvas of warm oranges and yellows every autumn.Desktop Version

Apr 25, 2023World Penguin Day

Penguins are pretty amazing. From their social personalities to their impressive talent for swimming and diving, they"re a bird worth celebrating. Today, World Penguin Day, is the perfect time to learn more about these flightless birds, noted for their swimming prowess.Desktop Version

Aug 15, 2022Indian Independence Day

At 8 miles in circumference, the Chittorgarh Fort is one of the largest forts in India, a nation with scores of ancient and medieval fortresses. For starters there are seven massive gates from which to enter. Inside you"ll find four palaces and 19 temples. At one time there were almost 100 bodies of water, most of them ponds fed by natural catchment and rainfall, although now there are only 20. Chittorgarh ("garh" means "fort," so it"s also known as Chittor Fort) is so old, no one is sure exactly when it was built, although reports of its earliest capture go back to the 8th century. It is one of six large forts in the northwestern state of Rajasthan referred to as the Hill Forts of Rajasthan, all of them collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We"re featuring this important and ancient complex on India"s 75th Independence Day, one of India"s three national holidays.Desktop Version

Jul 3, 2022Dog days of summer

Other than our pet dogs, no other canine species has succeeded more at living among humans than the fox. This is despite the fact that people have hunted foxes for sport and for their highly coveted fur, and generally regarded them as pests and nemeses. No matter how we feel about them, foxes seem to have earned our respect. Of all the animals that are arguably clever and crafty, the word we use is "outfoxed," not "outcrowed," or "outbeared," or "outraccooned."Desktop Version

Nov 4, 2024Grasmere, Lake District, Cumbria, England

A place where poetry, history, and nature blend—welcome to Grasmere in England"s Lake District. The village was once the cherished residence of the celebrated poet William Wordsworth, who described Grasmere, with its valley and lake of the same name, as "the loveliest spot that man hath found." Here, visitors are greeted by old cottages and homes built from local bluish-green slate. Dove Cottage, Wordsworth"s humble abode from 1799 to 1808, and the adjacent museum offer a dive into the poet"s life. His later residence, Rydal Mount, continues the story just a short journey away. The heart of the village is St. Oswald"s Church, which dates to the 13th century and is Wordsworth"s final resting place. Not far from the church, the aroma of the renowned Grasmere Gingerbread, made from a secret recipe, will set visitors" mouths watering.Desktop Version

Aug 10, 2023World Lion Day

Lions are known as "the king of the jungle," but on World Lion Day, let"s set the record straight: Lions don"t live in the jungle. Lions lounge in lordly leisure and hunt with ferocious focus on grasslands and plains. When they"re not hunting, these majestic creatures nap, wrestle, and groom each other. But in an instant, they"re chasing down a hapless gazelle or a hippopotamus that"s wandered too far from the safety of its river. Like the opening song of "The Lion King" movie says, it"s the circle of life. World Lion Day is our opportunity to (ahem) lionize these regal beasts and raise awareness of threats to their well-being like poaching, habitat destruction, and other human-lion conflicts.Desktop Version

Jul 20, 2022National Moon Day

Bigger and brighter than anything else you can see from Earth in the night sky, the moon has inspired our calendar, our songs, our art, our stories, and our dreams. Today, on National Moon Day, we remember one dream that came true on this date in 1969: the day humans first set foot on the lunar surface. So far, it"s the only place beyond our planet that humans have visited.Desktop Version

Jun 21, 2022Summer solstice

What more atmospheric place to celebrate today"s summer solstice than ancient Glastonbury in Somerset, England? Spend the longest day of the year exploring the town, which is swaddled in myth and history. Pagans and Christians alike have worshipped here through the ages, and both groups still do today. Glastonbury Tor is the striking hill on the horizon, and the lonely tower is the last vestige of the 14th-century church of St Michael, which was built to replace a wooden church toppled by an earthquake in 1275.Desktop Version

May 17, 2023Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, California

California brown pelicans, cormorants, and gulls enjoy jostling for position on top of this stunning rock formation in Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz. It is the sole surviving natural "bridge" in this state park. Once three bridges stood side-by-side here, carved by waves into cliffs that jutted out into the Pacific. This one stood in the middle, but the outermost bridge collapsed in 1905 and the innermost one disappeared in 1980.Desktop Version

Sep 17, 2019Constitution Day and Citizenship Day

Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is a single celebration that commemorates the formation and signing of the US Constitution while also recognizing both naturalized citizens and those born in the US. It"s a day to learn about these subjects, as well as a day many people become naturalized citizens in group ceremonies. (On average, about 700,000 people become US citizens every year.) To celebrate, we"re looking at an unusual close-up of the Statue of Liberty, a welcoming sight to immigrants and a symbol of freedom since 1886. The statue"s tablet has the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) inscribed in Roman numerals: JULY IV MDCCLXXVI.Desktop Version

Jun 27, 2023Sedona, Arizona

Stunning sandstone cliffs rise from the desert floor amid spectacular scenery here in Sedona, Arizona, also known as Red Rock Country. Adventure enthusiasts come to enjoy the beautiful trails that dot the region, which is also steeped in Native American history. The earliest settlers are believed to have been the Ancestral Puebloans, who inhabited the area around 1,400 years ago. Without any written history, most of the information about these ancient people comes from the archaeological ruins that remain, including cliff dwellings built under overhangs in the area"s red sandstone rocks. Other Native American groups came to the area such as the Hakataya, the Hohokam, the Sinagua, and the modern-day tribes that live in Arizona today, the Tonto Apache and the Yavapai.Desktop Version

Feb 9, 2022Ceremony Hall at Sweden s Icehotel

Rebuilt every winter since 1989 in the northernmost county of Sweden, the Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi is not only one of a kind each year, but the first of its kind established. Other ice hotels can now be found in Norway, Finland, Canada, Romania, and elsewhere, but this one is still the largest: The ice blocks harvested from the nearby Torne River to build the Icehotel weigh 2 tons each.Desktop Version

Apr 26, 2022Landscape Architecture Month

April is World Landscape Architecture Month, and to mark the occasion, we"re hovering above this masterwork, probably the most famous urban park in the world. Central Park is not the oldest, or the biggest, but no city park is more iconic. About 42 million people visit the park every year, and it"s the most filmed location in the world. What American movie is complete without a scene of a stroll through its unmistakable grounds?Desktop Version

Oct 2, 2022Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

October means pumpkin fields, Halloween, leaf-peeping, and the World Series. But in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the beginning of October means a skyful of hot air balloons. The 50th Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is the largest gathering of balloonists in the world, with more than 500 hot air balloons going aloft this week. The now nine-day event got its start by launching 13 balloons from a shopping mall parking lot in 1972 to celebrate the birthday of a local radio station. It has easily become the biggest event of the year in Albuquerque, whose entire populace can view balloons in flight simply by stepping outside their homes and looking up.Desktop Version

Mar 12, 2022The Girl Scouts celebrate 110 years

Today we"re celebrating 110 years of the Girl Scouts! Sure, we enjoy their cookies every year, but with so much history behind the organization, the Girl Scouts deserve merit badges for more than just the Thin Mint. On March 12, 1912, founder Juliette Gordon Low brought an outfit called the Girl Guides stateside from England after befriending the founder of the scouting movement there. The first American troop had 18 girls participating. Low designed activities to allow girls to serve their communities, experience the outdoors, and develop self-reliance and resourcefulness. Those skills would be useful on the camping expedition seen in today"s photo. These girls can be seen along the shore of Todd Lake at the Deschutes National Forest in Oregon in 1960.Desktop Version

Nov 7, 2023Kirkilai lakes, Biržai Regional Park, Lithuania

Curving above the treetops of Biržai Regional Park in northern Lithuania, this unusual structure allows a bird"s-eye view of a unique landscape. Built in 2015, the Kirkilai Observation Tower"s shape is said to resemble a sinking boat, appropriate in an area dotted with water-filled sink holes. About 30 of these small lakes can be seen from the top of the tower, nearly 100 feet in the air. These lakes can be up to 36 feet deep and are just some of the thousands of sinkholes identified in the park. Water-soluble rocks like gypsum lie under the soil in this area, and over time they gradually erode, forming caves, which then collapse. In some cases, they fill with water, creating this mesmerizing landscape. The interconnected lakes mirror the surrounding greenery, creating a scenic haven for nature enthusiasts.Desktop Version

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