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Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
Here on New Zealand"s rugged South Island, the waters of Lake Tekapo display such striking electric-blue colors because of glacial silt flowing into the lake, carried by the braided Godley and Macauley Rivers, seen at the bottom of our image. These rivers are themselves fed by the melted waters of glaciers in the nearby Southern Alps. As these active glaciers slowly bulldoze the mountainsides, they pulverize rocks along valley floors and walls. All that grinding eventually produces a fine-grained powder of silt, sometimes called glacial flour. Meltwater picks up the silt, carrying it downstream and into lakes like Tekapo. The particles are so light and fine, they"re slow to sink to the bottom, remaining suspended in the water column instead.Desktop Version
Uncommon clouds are gathering
Uncommon clouds are gathering
A satellite view of the Mania River in Madagascar allows us to see a curious cloud pattern. It"s common for cool, moist marine air to rise and form dense clouds over bodies of water, then for the clouds to evaporate as they drift over warmer, drier land. The opposite is happening here: Puffs of clouds are forming over land, but not over water. That"s because Madagascar"s tropical rainforests are warm and wet enough that evaporating moisture rises as the day heats up. When it rises high enough, the moisture encounters cooler air, which condenses the water into clouds. Generally speaking, clouds will form where the air is rising, which in this case is only over the land. Above the river, the air is cooler and descending, so no clouds are forming there.Desktop Version
Everyone s watching the Perseids
Everyone s watching the Perseids
These dinosaurs are (nervously?) looking at the annual Perseid meteor shower, photographed at the Dinosaur Museum of Erenhot in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. Known as Dinosaur City, Erenhot gained attention in the 1920s when dino fossils were found there. It"s believed that more than 20 kinds of dinosaurs lived in the area during the Cretaceous Period around 70 million years ago.Desktop Version
A peek behind the royal curtain
A peek behind the royal curtain
In today"s image, we"re featuring a view of the East Front of Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial to highlight a seasonal event and a historic one. On Friday Buckingham Palace began its official summer tourist season, offering visitors a chance to tour the magnificent state rooms used for official and ceremonial events in this working royal residence. This year, to mark the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria"s birth, visitors can also see artifacts from her reign and artwork depicting her life at Buckingham Palace in a special collection called Queen Victoria"s Palace.Desktop Version
A long, erratic commute
A long, erratic commute
Don’t set your watch to the migration timetable of the Galápagos giant tortoise—it doesn’t follow a predictable schedule the way so many other animal migrations do. Scientists first tracked the migration of giant tortoises in the Galápagos Islands in 2013, and they’ve discovered that not only is it marvelously slow, it’s kind of erratic, and flies in the face of human understanding as to why and how most animals migrate. Only the older tortoises make the roughly 6-mile climb out of the soggy jungle up into the hills—in this case, the slopes of Alcedo Volcano on Isabela Island. The journey is loosely related to mating, but researchers think there may be many other unknown variables at play. Whatever compelled these two lumbering giants up here, in about six months, they’ll start the slow climb back down to the jungle.Desktop Version
Shining like Klondike gold
Shining like Klondike gold
On August 16, 1896, two prospectors had their hopes literally pan out when they found a huge deposit of gold along the banks of the Yukon River in Canada’s Klondike region. And with that, Skookum Jim Mason (aka Keish) and his American brother-in-law George Carmack set in motion the Klondike Gold Rush—the richest gold strike in North American history. Because of the remoteness of the find, it would be over 11 months before the rest of the world found out. And it did so in the most dramatic fashion, when the steamers Portland and Excelsior pulled into the harbors of Seattle and San Francisco respectively carrying over one ton of gold (worth more than $1 billion in today"s dollars).Desktop Version
A notorious advocate for women
A notorious advocate for women
Today is March 8, which means it"s International Women"s Day, the UN-sponsored celebration of women"s achievements and a push for gender equity around the globe. To honor this year"s event, we turn to New York City"s East Village, where Brooklyn-based street artist Elle painted the mural you see here as an homage to one of America"s most notorious advocates for women, the late Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, affectionately called RBG.Desktop Version
Illuminated Uluru
Illuminated Uluru
This landmark of the Land Down Under is usually pictured in sweltering desert sunlight. Now a 21st-century addition near the ancient rock of Uluru has people flocking here even at night.Desktop Version
A temple, preserved
A temple, preserved
The temples at Abu Simbel, commissioned by Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II around 1264 BCE, would not be around for us to photograph if it weren"t for the efforts of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). A couple centuries after the Abu Simbel temples were completed, Ramesses" empire had collapsed and the sands of the Nubian region of North Africa began to consume them. European explorers "discovered" Abu Simbel in the early 1800s, leading to massive efforts to excavate and preserve the ruins of the great pharaoh"s monument to himself.Desktop Version
A whale of a picture
A whale of a picture
The family drama you see playing out here in the Pacific Ocean near Maui, Hawaii, is a humpback whale calf getting a little nudge from its mom. She presumably wants the sleepy youngster to practice surfacing, something these amazing marine mammals are famous for doing in dramatic fashion. Winter is calving season for the Hawaiian population of humpbacks. Thousands arrive from their feeding grounds in the North Pacific to swim and breed in the warm Hawaiian waters, making them a common sight from November until April. Because they"re known to hang around near the ocean"s surface, breaching or slapping the water with their tails, humpbacks are a favorite of whale watchers everywhere.Desktop Version
Indigenous Peoples Day
Indigenous Peoples Day
With this image of totem poles, carved and erected by Haida people in British Columbia, Canada, we"re touching on two important events in North America today, one in the United States and the other in Canada. In the US, an increasing number of Americans observe the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day, a celebration of Native American peoples and an implicit (and sometimes explicit) critique of the Columbus Day holiday. Observations of Indigenous Peoples Day reflect an effort to honor the tribes, nations, and cultures that existed in North America before the arrival of European settlers and have endured since then.Desktop Version
Oh, the places you’ll go
Oh, the places you’ll go
Here on the runway at San Francisco International Airport, the travel possibilities are practically endless, thanks in part to early innovators in aviation, whom we honor today for National Aviation Day (three cheers for the Wright brothers!). Even if you don’t leave the runway, this airport is a destination unto itself. It’s home to its own museum, with a permanent collection on aviation history as well as rotating art, history, and video exhibits. If that’s not your thing, find your inner peace in the airport yoga room, or keep an eye out for the ‘wag brigade,’ a team of airport dogs on hand to boost the moods of travelers.Desktop Version
Wanderin Wawayanda
Wanderin Wawayanda
Preserving more than 35,000 acres of prime New Jersey highland wilderness, Wawayanda State Park brushes up against the state"s border with New York. The park"s name comes from a transliteration of the Indigenous Lenape people"s word for the area, said to mean "winding water" or "water on the mountain." A lake and a mountain within the park are also called Wawayanda—perhaps because it"s so fun to say?Desktop Version
May we have this dance?
May we have this dance?
Dancers have been waltzing across the mahogany floors at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, in Lancashire, England, for more than a century. For those on this side of the pond, Blackpool is a popular seaside resort in the UK, home to the 518-foot-tall Blackpool Tower, a tourist destination built in 1894 and inspired by the Eiffel Tower. These days, when people talk about the tower, they may be referring to the building’s many associated venues–a circus, theater, and the ornate ballroom shown here.Desktop Version
Uredd Rest Area, Norway
Uredd Rest Area, Norway
With sweeping views of fjords, mountains, and the sea, this is possibly one of the most beautiful places in the world to rest when you are on the road. Ureddplassen, also known as Uredd Rest Area, provides a place for respite to travelers on a section of the Helgelandskysten national scenic route in Norway. It also serves as a WWII memorial, sharing its name with a Norwegian submarine which was lost when it hit a German mine in February 1943.Desktop Version
Behold the blood moon
Behold the blood moon
We"ve heard the phrase "many moons," but never took it this literally. We"re looking at 28 merged photos of our one and only moon over Utah"s Monument Valley: 26 snapshots of its partial phases, plus two layered exposures of the eclipsing moon at center.Desktop Version
Finding a balance between wetlands and water treatment
Finding a balance between wetlands and water treatment
Take a stroll through the Wakodahatchee Wetlands and you"ll likely spot great blue herons, like the fluffed-up pair we"re featuring today. Located in Delray Beach, Florida, and created on 50 acres of wastewater utility property, the park first opened to the public back in 1996. A three-quarter-mile boardwalk takes visitors over ponds and through marshes, offering the chance to see more than 150 bird species, plus turtles, fish, frogs, alligators, and other Floridian fauna. Every day, the Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department pumps about 2 million gallons of highly treated wastewater into the wetlands. Then algae and other plants naturally finish the purification process before the water seeps back into the water table. Quite an upgrade from a yucky wastewater pond.Desktop Version
Best fronds forever
Best fronds forever
Each of these tiny fern appendages, known as fronds, is made up of even tinier leaves—but they won"t be tiny for long. Ostrich ferns like this one, named for their tapering fronds that resemble feathery ostrich plumes, can be almost 6 feet tall once mature.Desktop Version
The (Inca) empire strikes back
The (Inca) empire strikes back
It"s the 1530s. Spanish conquistadors are cementing their hold over the lands of the Inca Empire, including the massive 12th-century stone fortress in today"s image: Sacsayhuamán, in the old Inca capital of Cusco. The Spanish hold prisoner a man named Manco Inca, the puppet leader they"ve installed over the Incans. But in April 1536, he escapes.Desktop Version
The Battle of the Bulge 75 years later
The Battle of the Bulge 75 years later
Seventy-five years ago this week, the Battle of the Bulge began in the forests of the Ardennes, Belgium. On the morning of Dec 16, 1944, the beleaguered German army threw its best remaining troops and armor against a lightly defended section of the Allied line. Bad weather neutralized Allied air superiority and over the first few days, the Nazi offensive produced a "bulge" in the Allies" defensive line west into Belgium. Desperate to hold the line, US General Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne to defend the strategically important crossroads in Bastogne. The town was surrounded for nearly 10 days by German forces, but the Airborne held out. In fact, a German demand for Allied surrender was rejected with a single word: "NUTS" (a bit of 1940s American slang that needed to be explained to the Nazi officers). In the end, the German offensive was defeated, with US forces having borne the brunt of the fighting—Americans sustained their highest casualties of any single battle in World War II.Desktop Version
Listening to the sea
Listening to the sea
Two enormous horns like those of old-fashioned gramophones are pointed toward the North Sea along this stretch of the Belgian coast. At the end of one of the horns, a bronze figure of a woman sits on a bench, seemingly listening to the distant sounds of the sea, while the other horn invites a visitor to do the same. The woman"s antiquated clothing, the outsized bolts on the horns, and the fluted Victrola-like design all echo the Belle Époque style once prevalent here on the Flemish coast. (Click on the above image to see more detailed views.)Desktop Version
And the skies filled with bats…
And the skies filled with bats…
As if right on cue for Halloween, this is the time of year when millions of straw-colored fruit bats begin to descend on Zambia"s Kasanka National Park. They come in such vast numbers that it"s thought to be one of the largest concentrations of mammals in the world. From the end of October to mid-December, these large fruit-eating bats pack into a small area in the forest to roost. But when the sun begins to set, they start to swarm, darkening the skies as they head out to gorge on fruit in the Mushitu swamp forest. Experts believe their migration starts about 2,000 miles north, in Congo.Desktop Version
Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!
Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!
"Bring us some fresh wine! The freshest you"ve got—this year! No more of this old stuff." Steve Martin was joking when his character in "The Jerk" asked for fresh wine—or perhaps he was talking about Beaujolais nouveau. The red wine, produced in the Beaujolais region of France, is fermented for just a few weeks and requires no barrel aging before it"s sold starting on the third Thursday of November. Beaujolais nouveau is a light-bodied red wine, with relatively high amounts of acidity. Located south of Burgundy, the Beaujolais region has a relatively warm climate, so Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and other famous French grapes don"t grow well there. But the fruity Gamay grows vigorously in Beaujolais and is used to make Beaujolais nouveau.Desktop Version
Composite of photographs from the Apollo 15 mission
Composite of photographs from the Apollo 15 mission
Today is National Moon Day, commemorating the day in 1969 that Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon. Eleven other astronauts have gone on to follow in his bootsteps, including Commander David Scott and Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin, who took these historic photos during the Apollo 15 moon mission in 1971. We’ve stitched together their images to create this composite panorama of the landing site, where they spent three days conducting research. (If only they had selfie sticks back then.) Look for the ‘play’ button on our homepage to hear actual transmissions between the crew and the Mission Control Center in Houston.Desktop Version
Bluespotted ribbontail ray
Bluespotted ribbontail ray
We"re not sure whether it deserves the blue ribbon for most colorful stingray or most literal name, but there"s no doubt the bluespotted ribbontail ray is a standout. Shower it in accolades from a distance, though. Those bright blue polka dots are—as is the case with many brightly colored animals—a warning to predators that the ray"s stinging tail packs a potent poison.Desktop Version