Phone Wallpaper - Bing Wallpaper Gallery

Jul 18, 2022Marine Day in Japan

The striking coastline of Omijima Island has earned it the nickname the Alps of the Sea. Its sheer cliffs and dramatic angles certainly echo the skyscraping peaks in that European mountain range. But a visit to Omijima Island will take you to the other side of the world, to Kita-Nagato Kaigan Quasi-National Park, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. Year-round scuba diving adventures reveal a world under the waves just as beautiful as the one above the surface.Desktop Version

Jul 17, 2022The Wave at Coyote Buttes

By showing you this coveted sight, we"re saving you a bit of an ordeal. To get a close-up view of the Wave, a whorled sandstone formation in the northern Arizona wilderness, you"d have to navigate a rugged and mostly trail-free hiking route in typically scorching temperatures. You"d also need to have a permit in your pocket. To protect the landscape, only a small number of permits are available, offered through a daily lottery. But maybe for you the journey is at least as important as the destination? If so, this is just one hike of many in the expansive Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, which protects more than 100,000 acres of Arizona and Utah canyonland.Desktop Version

Jul 16, 2022American goldfinch

Birds, bees, and flowers grace today"s photo, but we"re going to bet that potato chips will be what you remember tomorrow. First the basics: We"re in South Carolina looking at a beautiful American goldfinch perched atop a sunflower. While the matching color scheme makes for a great photo, it"s likely this little bird has stopped for a meal. American goldfinches are among the strictest vegetarians in the bird world, preferring grains and seeds, especially sunflower seeds. That"s why it"s not uncommon to see them in neighborhoods with well-stocked bird feeders. In fact, human activity has generally benefited American goldfinches overall. The birds thrive in areas where forests have been removed—they prefer open meadows or fields covered in weeds.Desktop Version

Jul 15, 2022Arrone in Umbria, Italy

Close your eyes and picture a charming medieval Italian village, perched on a hill, church bells marking the hours, a hazy spread of patchwork fields fading into the distance. Well, that"s the ancient village of Arrone. (On second thought, we probably didn"t need the photo.) Arrone looks over the Valnerina, a valley carved by the River Nera, which twists its way through Italy"s scenic Umbria region, known as the Green Heart of Italy.Desktop Version

Jul 14, 2022Shark Awareness Day

For Shark Awareness Day, let"s consider things from the shark"s point of view. Sharks get a bad rap. They may be apex predators of the oceans, but we"re the ones most responsible for reducing their populations by more than 70% in the past half-century. Rather than perpetuate the stereotype of sharks being dangerous, let"s think of them as they are—amazing sea creatures with hundreds of millions of years of history in their genes. We may not always want to encounter them face to face, but they deserve our respect and for the health of our oceans as whole, sharks deserve protection.Desktop Version

Jul 13, 2022International Rock Day

Today is International Rock Day and we"re giving due respect to these geologic wonders. It might seem odd to sing the praises of rock, but think about it. Rocks have been with humankind since the beginning. From tools to housing to weapons, they"ve been key to our survival. A period of our history was so reliant on rocks that it will be forever known as the Stone Age. We would not be where we are today without the many minerals found on our planet, so rock on!Desktop Version

Jul 12, 2022Bay Marker Lookout, Sydney Olympic Park, Australia

It"s an easy, circular trail to the Bay Marker Lookout, but you have to make it under your own steam—sorry, no cars allowed. This is one of the five Sydney Olympic Park Markers, cone-shaped earth mounds installed for the 2000 Olympics in Australia. They are cleverly placed to look from the air like the Australian flag"s Southern Cross. From the ground, the Bay Marker gives a stunning full-360-degree view of Wentworth Common—a large grassy park—and the larger Olympic Park and stadium. You can also look over Homebush Bay (the community and the body of water) to the north. It"s a dramatic melding of urban landscape, the city skyline, the wetlands and greenery, rivers, and beaches.Desktop Version

Jul 11, 2022World Population Day

The bustling city streets of Barcelona seem as good a place as any to mark World Population Day. More and more of us are heading to the city. It"s estimated that 2007 was the first year in which more people lived in cities than in rural areas. If current trends continue, by 2050 about two-thirds of the world population will be living in cities. City planners and government officials will need to account for this rapid increase as power grids, water supplies, public transit, and emergency services will all be stretched.Desktop Version

Jul 10, 2022Ölüdeniz, Turkey

Whether you love snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming, paragliding, or simply soaking up some sun, Ölüdeniz on Turkey"s Turquoise Coast will fit the bill. The name of the village and beach—Ölüdeniz—literally means "Dead Sea," a reference to the calm water, but it"s better known as Turkey"s Blue Lagoon for the stretch of tranquil waters set off from the ocean by a long sandbar. Much of the area is protected inside a national park, and the Ölüdeniz beach proudly holds the Blue Flag certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education, which recognizes high environmental and quality standards.Desktop Version

Jul 9, 2022Dolomites

Few places in Europe offer the opportunity to take in the Milky Way like the Dolomites. Far from cities and light pollution, and thousands of feet above sea level, the Dolomites offer a stunning, vibrant night sky above sheer, jagged peaks that cut the dark. Also known as the "Pale Mountains," the Dolomites are named for the sedimentary carbonate rock called dolomite that was first identified in this range.Desktop Version

Jul 8, 2022Preveli Gorge

Trojan War-era rest stop? Local legend has it that this striking and historic location in southern Crete was a stopover on Odysseus" long return to Ithaca. Whatever credence you give to Homeric tales of island hopping, there"s no denying the appeal of the palm-lined Preveli Gorge or the enchanting beach it pours out to. Preveli Beach, just out of the frame of this image, was a favorite spot for hippie travelers in the "60s and "70s and remains an idyllic tourist destination today.Desktop Version

Jul 7, 2022Heceta Head Light, Florence, Oregon

Heceta Head Light is perched 205 feet above the Pacific Ocean on Oregon"s central coast. The headland is named for Spanish Basque explorer Don Bruno de Heceta, who led a secret expedition in 1775 to bolster Spain"s claim to the Pacific Coast of North America. Having sailed from Mexico, by the time the voyage reached these shores, the crew was ravaged by scurvy and Heceta made the call to turn back—but not before he became the first to map and record a written description of the mouth of the Columbia River as well as this rocky 1,000-foot-high headland that would eventually bear his name. By the 19th century, seafarers making their way up and down the coast made the call for a lighthouse to guide their way. Construction of the 56-foot-tall lighthouse was complicated by the steep bluffs and remote location, but the first light beam pierced through the darkness on March 30, 1894.Desktop Version

Jul 6, 2022Kissing Day

This affectionate pair of Atlantic puffins know a thing or two about the restorative pleasures of kissing, which we are celebrating today on International Kissing Day. Started in the United Kingdom, the holiday went global about 20 years ago as a yearly reminder that kissing isn"t reserved just for greetings or social formalities. Puffins engage in an endearing form of courtship behavior seen here called billing, in which they playfully tap each other"s beaks by swinging their heads from side to side.Desktop Version

Jul 5, 2022Fannette Island, Lake Tahoe

Tucked into a tiny bay of a grand alpine lake is this granite bump called Fannette Island, the only island in Lake Tahoe. The massive lake lies in the Sierra Nevada at an altitude of 6,225 feet, straddling the state line between California to the west and Nevada to the east with near perfect symmetry. Fannette Island is in Emerald Bay, on the California side of Tahoe"s southwest shore. A narrow inlet, seen here at the top center of this image, connects Emerald Bay to the rest of the lake, whose natural beauty draws visitors in all seasons of the year.Desktop Version

Jul 4, 2022Independence Day

Americans will spend this day in a myriad of ways, likely with others and likely outdoors. Many will be at carnivals and picnics, watching parades and listening to concerts. It"s all in honor of the moment that the people of 13 far-flung colonies collectively declared they would become a united and independent nation, free of the rule of Great Britain and its monarch King George III across the Atlantic Ocean. For millions of Americans, Independence Day, or the Fourth of July, will end with the launching of fireworks over towns and cities, including the nation"s capital of Washington, DC, shown here with the White House and the Washington Monument illuminated.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

Jul 2, 2022Halfway Day

Congratulations! It"s Halfway Day, the midpoint of the year. We"ve lived through 182 days of 2022, and today is the first of 182 days left—we"re halfway there. It"s up to us whether we see this as a glass-half-full or a glass-half-empty day… But the past is gone, so we"re all for making the most of the remainder of the year.Desktop Version

Jul 1, 2022Tour de France

Presiding over City Hall Square on the Richshuset building in Copenhagen, "The Weather Girls" sculpture will help launch this year"s Tour de France. The race will see riders in Stage 1 today cycling past iconic landmarks of the Danish capital like Tivoli Gardens and the Little Mermaid statue. From here, the racers will ride through other parts of Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, and of course France before ending with the final stage on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on July 24.Desktop Version

Jun 30, 2022Asteroid Day

Today is Asteroid Day, and it"s a reminder that as our planet follows its path around the sun, it encounters a lot of stuff. Science tells us that every day, Earth"s atmosphere is hit with roughly 100 tons of dust and particles the size of a grain of sand. And every year, at least 30 small asteroids enter the atmosphere, only to burn up before touching the ground. NASA says it"s pretty much guaranteed that at least one of them will be about the size of a car. As time progresses, the likelihood increases that even larger celestial rocks will hit the ground and cause significant damage.Desktop Version

Jun 29, 2022International Day of the Tropics

Only in the tropics do forests grow in salt water. Take this forest of mangrove trees in Phang Nga Bay in southern Thailand, one of the largest and best-preserved mangrove forests in the country. Adapted to thrive in coastal marshes and swamps, mangroves can filter salt water and withstand strong coastal storms. Virtually all mangrove forests and all species of mangrove grow only in the tropical regions of the world. They are protectors of the coastlines, acting as a buffer against storms and floods.Desktop Version

Jun 28, 2022Tafilalet oasis in Morocco

Today we"ve arrived at the walls of a kasbah in Tafilalet, home to the largest oasis in Morocco. Meaning "jug" in the language of the ancient Amazigh people (aka Berbers), Tafilalet was named for the pottery jars they filled with water from underground springs. After the first permanent settlement of the region, Sijilmassa, was founded in 757 CE, Tafilalet became a stopping point for caravans traveling from the Niger River to Tangier on the northern tip of Morocco and the gateway to Europe.Desktop Version

Jun 27, 2022Lavender fields on the Valensole Plateau in Provence, France

We"re sorry. The scratch "n" sniff option was not ready in time for this photo, so you"ll have to imagine the intoxicating fragrance wafting over you... Today we"re in the lavender fields that carpet the Valensole Plateau in Provence, France. A rolling 300 square miles of flowers color the landscape as far as the eye can see. Vincent van Gogh spent time here, and featured lavender in some of his paintings. June is the start of the lavender season, and though it runs till August, peak viewing (and smelling) time varies a little with fluctuations in temperature and rainfall. There are lovely villages that you can meander while visiting the lavender fields, stopping for a pastry or crunchy-soft baguette at an outdoor cafe.Desktop Version

Jun 26, 2022Pride 2022

We"re commemorating Pride Weekend, a time when the focus turns to the LGBTQI+ community and a celebration of gay rights. The first pride parades took to the streets in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in June 1970, in remembrance of the Stonewall Uprising in Greenwich Village, New York City, the previous year. In the early hours of June 28, 1969, police dragged staff and patrons from the Stonewall Inn bar, a gay venue, sparking six days of protests. Now pride parades and events are celebrated each June in most parts of the world—New York City"s is still one of the largest pride celebrations. In 1999, President Bill Clinton gave Pride Month national recognition by declaring June "Gay & Lesbian Pride Month."Desktop Version

Jun 25, 2022Brown bears, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Summer up north belongs to the bears. When the sun reigns, so do the brown bears of Alaska—like this mother and cub in Katmai National Park and Preserve, about 260 miles southwest of Anchorage. Also known as grizzly bears in Alaska, the brown bears pack a year of living into the summer months, foraging, feasting, frolicking, fighting, and mating under skies of nearly perpetual daylight.Desktop Version

Jun 24, 2022Cenote near Puerto Aventuras, Mexico

Like a giant block of Swiss cheese, Mexico"s Yucatán Peninsula is riddled with holes called cenotes. Cenotes form when subterranean limestone dissolves, allowing underground water to penetrate. The rock above may cave in, forming a sinkhole that reveals the cool, often crystal-clear water. Other cenotes may remain below the surface, hidden and often unexplored. Cenotes vary in size from very small to several dozen yards across, and recent discoveries have shown that some cenotes lead to a series of underground cave systems that can span several miles in length.Desktop Version

Bing wallpaper for mobile