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Apr 28, 2019A good time in the Badlands

At the close of National Park Week, we arrive at Badlands in South Dakota. Our photo today shows a view from Castle Trail—at 10 miles round trip, it’s the longest marked hike in the park. Spring rain has revived the grasses across the prairie as the sun illuminates the pinnacle rock formations in the distance. Soon, grazing animals such as bison and pronghorn will begin feasting on the fresh crop of grasses. This is also a good time of year to spot some of the dozens of different butterfly species that live in the park and provide a delicate contrast to the park’s rugged landscape.Desktop Version

Jun 24, 2021The call of the wild in Alaska

Most visitors to Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska come with a checklist for the "big five" mammals that live here: grizzly bears, moose, wolves, Dall sheep, and caribou like this small group walking along a ridge. These are barren-ground caribou, a migratory subspecies of caribou found across the Arctic band of North America to western Greenland. Barren-ground caribou migrate in large herds, some traveling over 600 miles one way between their summer and winter ranges. But the Denali herd, which numbers around 1,700 animals today, generally stays on the park"s 6 million acres. For good reason, too—it"s the only large herd that isn"t hunted.Desktop Version

Dec 28, 2020Wildcat in a winter wonderland

If you"re lucky, you can catch a glimpse of this wily wildcat species in many places across Alaska and far-northern Canada. But here in Montana, a Canada lynx encounter like this is rare. While lynxes are known to live in cold climates from Washington state to Maine, they"ve been listed for two decades as threatened across the lower 48 states.Desktop Version

Dec 21, 2020Shadows on the solstice

Roughly 5,000 years ago, ancient inhabitants of the British Isles somehow dragged as many as 40 giant stones—the heaviest weighing an estimated 16 tons—onto this grassy plateau in what is now England"s Lake District National Park in Cumbria. They then grouped them into the stone circle at Castlerigg, seen here casting shadows from the low winter sun. Archeologists believe stone circles were arranged to align with solar and lunar positions. They were used in elaborate rituals to celebrate occasions like today"s winter solstice, the shortest day (and longest night) of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.Desktop Version

Sep 23, 2018Ahh-tumn

To celebrate the autumnal equinox, we’re in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The park includes part of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley, and in fall, the forests of Shenandoah offer a kaleidoscope of red, gold, orange, and brown as the leaves turn and begin to drop. Skyline Drive, a highway winding across the mountains, will be crowded for the next few weeks as visitors make the trek to take in the view as the seasons change.Desktop Version

Apr 29, 2019New beginnings

Spring means more than just April showers and May flowers. It"s also the season when many baby animals are born. The rainy, warmer days bring new plant growth, which means nursing and foraging moms can provide their newborns with larger amounts of higher-quality food. It also maximizes the "growing season" for spring babies, giving them time to increase in size and put on fat before winter arrives.Desktop Version

May 23, 2021A palace for the public

May 23, 2021 marks the 110th anniversary of the opening of the New York Public Library"s Main Branch (now known as the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building). Back just before the turn of the 20th century, a group of New York City business leaders decided that if their hometown was ever going to compete with Paris and London as a center of urban culture, it needed a great library.Desktop Version

Dec 31, 2020Goodbye, 2020!

New Year"s Eve celebrations around the world will look a lot different this year, but as we ring in 2021 (and bid good riddance to 2020?) we can still enjoy this view of fireworks from a previous year in Spain. The cathedral in the background is the Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, which was constructed over centuries beginning in 1681, though several churches had been built on the site prior to that. On the left is the Puente de Piedra Bridge, which spans the Ebro River. It"s also known as the Bridge of Lions because statues of lions (symbols of the city) stand at each end of the bridge. Zaragoza is famous for its landmarks and architecture, as well as for local cuisine, and seasonal festivals—which we can only hope return soon.Desktop Version

Nov 12, 2021Beavers Bend

To take in these incredible fall colors, we"ve come to Beavers Bend, a 1,300-acre state park and resort in the southeast corner of Oklahoma. It"s a scene that may confound your expectations for the wilds of the "OK" state. The "bend" referenced in the park"s name is a nearly 180-degree turn in Mountain Fork, the river that runs through the park.Desktop Version

May 5, 2018Happy Cinco de Mayo!

If you’re celebrating Cinco de Mayo today, you may hear a mariachi band playing. The Mexican music style dates to at least the 1700s, but the modern version took shape in the 20th century. It usually features string and brass instruments and one or more singers, often putting a mariachi spin on traditional ballads and folk songs.Desktop Version

Apr 16, 2020Bridges to the past

The story of this sandstone formation in southeastern Utah"s Natural Bridges National Monument begins around 10 million years ago. That"s when tectonic shifts began slowly lifting what is now the 130,000-square-mile Colorado Plateau above the surrounding plains. In ensuing eons, the Colorado River"s many streams eroded the elevated land, threading it with deep canyons. When water broke through one canyon wall into another canyon, sometimes a natural bridge like this one remained above the breach.Desktop Version

Dec 30, 2020Winter in the Wild West

When considering the dramatically eroded canyons of southwestern Utah, snow may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But far-flung Bryce Canyon National Park gets plenty of the white stuff, owing to its elevation of 8,000-plus feet at the massive amphitheater"s rim. The cold not only provides scenic snowy views and great cross-country skiing, it"s responsible for the striking red-rock pinnacles—known as hoodoos—that make the park so unique.Desktop Version

Mar 12, 2021Ringing in the new year at Teotihuacan

If the Aztecs had hot air balloons, they may well have greeted the new year like this—floating above the massive Pyramid of the Sun at sunrise today, the first day of the year according to the Aztec calendar. Also known as Yancuic Xihuitl, the Aztec New Year is still celebrated by some Indigenous Nahua communities here in central Mexico with songs, dances, and the flames of "ocote" (pitch pine) candles. Dancers wear colorful traditional costumes topped by quetzal feather headdresses, and celebrants greet the new year by making loud noises with seashells, just as Aztecs did centuries ago. It"s one of the many expressions of pre-Columbian tradition that managed to survive the Spanish conquest and modern erosion of Indigenous customs.Desktop Version

Sep 5, 2019A lush, green escape

With the tourist season winding down and the rainy season still forthcoming, September is an ideal time to visit Bali. If you’re lucky enough to go, plan a day trip to the Tegallalang farming terraces in Ubud, where visitors can capture gorgeous photos of the landscape and get an unforgettable glimpse into Balinese culture. The island of Bali has a rich tradition of agriculture, with an especially unique method of water management for rice farming. The irrigation system here, known as Subak, is recognized by UNESCO for its cultural significance. Water flows through temples and into the rice paddies, carved into the hillsides like steps. It"s a practice that dates back thousands of years, based on the Balinese philosophical principle of Tri Hita Karana, which refers to a relationship between humans, the Earth, and the gods.Desktop Version

Apr 27, 2020That s quite a schnoz, baby tapir

For World Tapir Day, we"re bringing you nose-to-nose with a baby South American tapir. The creamy stripes and dashes on its coat help keep this endangered calf camouflaged under the filtered light of the Amazon tree canopy. It may look small now, but mature tapirs are the largest native mammals in South America. About that nose: Tapirs use their prehensile nose trunk to grab plants and berries. And if they submerge under the surface of the water, some even use it as a snorkel.Desktop Version

Mar 17, 2021An emerald isle of the Emerald Isle

If you were to find yourself wandering across the tiny island of Inisheer on March 17, you"d almost certainly hear someone greet you with a hearty "Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit!" That"s because nearly all the island"s 260 residents would want to wish you a happy Saint Patrick"s Day in their native Irish tongue. The smallest of the three Aran Islands that are strung across the mouth of Galway Bay in western Ireland, Inisheer has been inhabited from prehistory—artifacts from as early as the Bronze Age have been found scattered around its 1,400 acres. The tiny drystone wall subdivisions of the fields are a result of a long tradition of splitting family farms between all the children. After a few generations, farms were reduced to the garden-size patches you can see here.Desktop Version

Jul 9, 2018Gauchos showcase Argentina’s independent spirit

Gauchos are a national symbol here in Argentina, which celebrates its independence today, 202 years after it broke free from Spanish rule. These gauchos are showcasing their skills in the town of San Antonio de Areco, home to an annual gaucho festival that draws people from all over. The gauchos gather to share traditional food, folklore, and competition. Since the 18th century, gauchos have been known as skilled, brave horsemen and their exploits are celebrated in South American literature and popular culture.Desktop Version

Jul 3, 2018To the 155th on the 155th

There are multiple monuments to the people who fought and died at the Battle of Gettysburg. Our photo shows the statue erected to honor the 155th Pennsylvania Infantry, a volunteer regiment that joined up with the Army of the Potomac, which was led by Union General George Meade. And 155 years ago today, the Confederate forces began to retreat to Virginia after three days of vicious combat. With total casualties on both sides of roughly 50,000 lives, the Battle of Gettysburg remains the most costly conflict in US history in terms of lives lost.Desktop Version

Jul 26, 2018Exploring the wilder side of New York

New York State isn’t all skyscrapers and teeming crowds. The Empire State is home to a diverse geography, including some wild places that were around back on July 26, 1788, when New York officially joined the Union. In honor of New York’s statehood day, we’re at Letchworth State Park, a wilderness near Rochester that follows the Genesee River some 17 miles through a deep gorge that’s known as the "Grand Canyon of the East."Desktop Version

May 26, 2018Honoring the first American woman in space

This far-out image of the Sahara Desert was photographed from space via the Sally Ride EarthKAM, a camera aboard the International Space Station. The EarthKAM is programmed remotely by middle school students as part of an educational program established by Sally Ride, the first American woman to travel to space. Ride’s first trip to space was in 1983. On May 26, her birthday, we remember her legacy.Desktop Version

Jul 13, 2020Welcome to the Hoh

Don"t let this sunny picture fool you. The Hoh, a temperate rainforest on the western side of Olympic National Park in Washington state, sees between 12 and 14 feet of rain each year, making it one of the wettest places in the continental US. But all that moisture creates a lush, even mystical environment. The forest features a mix of conifers and deciduous trees draped heavily with moss, like the arching big leaf maple in our homepage image. A stroll through the forest will also reveal the massive Sitka spruce and western hemlock trees that may reach more than 300 feet up into the dense canopy. Below, the woods teem with ferns, lichen, and other vegetation. It"s an enchanted forest right out of a fairy tale.Desktop Version

Nov 16, 2021Glenfinnan Viaduct

Muggles from around the world flock to this iconic scene at the top of Loch Shiel in the West Highlands of Scotland to marvel at the 21-arched Glenfinnan Viaduct, also known as the "Harry Potter bridge." The curving structure was made famous in the film adaptations of J.K. Rowling"s novels as part of the route taken by the Hogwarts Express, which carries students to and from the wizarding boarding school at the start and end of every term. And today is a reason to celebrate for Potterheads, as we are marking the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter"s big-screen debut.Desktop Version

Jul 11, 2020How Quảng Ngãi got its grove back

Could these humble rows of trees prevent a natural disaster? The Vietnamese government hopes so. Mangrove forests like Bàu Cá Cái in coastal Vietnam"s Quảng Ngãi province are an important shield against destructive typhoons that rock the coast each year. Unfortunately, mangrove trees have been depleted over the years by population growth, climate change, and increased use of waters for fish farming. Plantings at Bàu Cá Cái—outlined by bamboo frames to create the neat patterns seen here—have been part of a major initiative to regenerate nearly 10,000 acres of mangrove forest around the country.Desktop Version

Oct 20, 2020Reflecting on fall

Some of the best things about fall in many parts of the country are the amazing colorful displays across the landscape. While the trees here in Beaver Lake Nature Center, near Syracuse, New York, are already bare, the autumn ferns cast a radiant reflection on the water. This 661-acre natural area contains a 200-acre glacial lake that draws migrating Canada geese to its shores. Visitors may also see more than 200 other species of birds and over 800 varieties of plants. The nature center is a destination for cross-country skiing in the winter, while the summer months are popular for kayaking and canoeing.Desktop Version

Aug 14, 2018Combating extinction with citizen science

Just as every human has a unique set of fingerprints, each zebra has a subtly different pattern of stripes–and that trait is proving valuable in a new conservation effort. A nonprofit conservation project called Wildbook utilizes crowdsourced photos to identify and track individual animals that belong to threatened species. But it doesn’t just identify zebras. The effort extends to whale sharks, manta rays, giraffes and more. This new technology provides a non-invasive way to study the species over time. We’re fans of the project, especially since it helps friends like our Grévy"s zebra, which is endangered.Desktop Version

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