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World Reef Awareness Day
World Reef Awareness Day
The Great Barrier Reef runs for 1,430 miles along Australia"s northeastern coast, providing a home for thousands of species, including more than 1,500 types of fish. Here, you"ll find whales, dolphins, turtles, sharks, dugongs, and algae, all living together in a delicate ecosystem that relies on the coral reef. Sadly, climate change and pollution threaten this iconic site, the largest reef in the world. On June 1, we observe World Reef Awareness Day to remind people of the importance of safeguarding coral reefs, which provide food and shelter for about 25% of all marine life, to maintain the balance of nature.Desktop Version
It’s surströmming time
It’s surströmming time
The historic wooden pier of Smögen, Sweden, will be busy—and pungent—today. The third Thursday in August means one thing: surströmming season has arrived and all over Sweden, brave residents stand at the ready with can openers in hand. If you"ve never taken part in a surströmmingsskiva, the Swedish word for this particular event, you"re going to need a bucket of water, some side dishes, and a strong constitution.Desktop Version
International Mountain Day
International Mountain Day
Happy International Mountain Day! In celebration of highlands, we"re visiting the dramatic landscape of Huangshan—the Yellow Mountains—of eastern China"s Anhui province. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Huangshan has been described as "the loveliest mountain of China" and has inspired artists and writers throughout history. Composed of granite that formed 140 million years ago, its peaks emerge from seas of clouds, rising to 6,115 feet at its highest point, Lotus Peak. Visitors come here to experience breathtaking rock formations, pine trees, hot springs, and captivating winter landscapes. So, let"s climb high, dream big, and protect our mountains!Desktop Version
A cry for independence
A cry for independence
The Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City has hosted art exhibits, music and dance performances, and much more since its opening in 1934. The ornate Art Nouveau building was originally planned to open years earlier in 1910 to mark the 100th anniversary of Mexico"s independence from Spain. Even though it missed that 1910 deadline, the Palacio de Bellas Artes is still considered a symbol of Mexican independence. To get the story of how Mexico broke with Spain, we must travel 200 miles from this spot and back in time to the early 1800s.Desktop Version
Muniellos Nature Reserve
Muniellos Nature Reserve
The Muniellos Nature Reserve is one of Spain"s best-preserved forests of Quercus robur, otherwise known as common oak, European oak, or English oak. The 13,560-acre reserve in Asturias province also includes sessile oaks, seen in our photo alongside beech trees.Desktop Version
With leaves this tasty, who cares about a view?
With leaves this tasty, who cares about a view?
In the canopy of Uganda"s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a mountain gorilla leans into a meal of succulent green leaves. By day"s end, she"ll likely eat close to 40 pounds of foliage. Locals call this forest Bwindi, which means "impenetrable," but to this mountain gorilla, it"s simply home. Like us (and most primates), these gentle giants have opposable thumbs, which makes picking and eating an easy task. Also like us, mountain gorillas prefer hanging out on the ground. In fact, they"re known to stand upright and walk short distances with a remarkably human-like gait. We humans share 98 percent of our DNA with gorillas (both the eastern and western species), nearly as much as we share with chimps and bonobos. So yes, even though they have more body hair, we"re all hominids.Desktop Version
Cordouan Lighthouse, France
Cordouan Lighthouse, France
Built between 1584 and 1611, the Cordouan Lighthouse is France"s oldest working lighthouse and the only one in the country that is still inhabited by keepers. For centuries, this maritime marvel has watched over the Gironde Estuary, on France"s Atlantic coast, a treacherous area where shipwrecks were once common.Desktop Version
National Take a Hike Day
National Take a Hike Day
Take a hike, buddy! No, not the "get out of here" version but the "get out there" version. It"s time to lace up those boots and take advantage of our national trails, which span over 91,000 miles. Back in the 1960s, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Trails System Act into law, to preserve, promote, and develop scenic and historic trails across the country. Can"t decide where to start? Our homepage image offers up one option which is awash with fall colors—Copper Falls State Park in Wisconsin. With 17 miles of trails along the Bad River, past waterfalls and ancient lava flows, this park has a lot to offer. Whether it"s a rugged mountain path, a serene forest walk, or an oceanside stroll, this country has a trail waiting for you. But remember to respect nature, follow "leave no trace" principles, and take nothing but photographs. Happy hiking!Desktop Version
Salmon return to the Copper River
Salmon return to the Copper River
This is the vast delta of the Copper River in south central Alaska. The river is known for its large salmon run, which starts in early May when the sockeye and king salmon come back in huge numbers to spawn. Accompanied by much marketing fanfare, this Copper River catch also signals the return of fresh wild Pacific salmon to grocery stores and restaurants. The price per pound, especially in the early days of the commercial season, is as rich as the fish are in Omega-3 fatty acids.Desktop Version
Ravens
Ravens
With their black feathers standing in sharp contrast to the misty Alaskan background, this group of ravens perched on a leafless tree conjures up a fitting image for this spooky time of year. In the folkloric traditions of many cultures around the world, these highly adaptable, intelligent birds have been considered symbols of all manner of unpleasantness. In Chinese mythology, they"re blamed for bad weather, while Celts associated them with warfare. In some Native American traditions ravens are often represented as mischievous tricksters, while many European cultures associate them with evil spirits, usually of demonic origin. In English, a gathering of ravens like this is even called an "unkindness"!Desktop Version
Florentine garden brings generations together
Florentine garden brings generations together
Because it’s hidden just beyond the walls of the Palazzo Corsini al Prato, the Corsini Garden is never seen by many of the tourists who visit the grand palace. You’ll find the garden and palace in Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance and capital of Italy"s Tuscany region. Designed by architect Bernardo Buontalenti in the early 1590s, the Palazzo Corsini al Prato and Corsini Garden will host the third annual New Generation Festival this week. The festival features a "new generation" of musical talent from around the world performing in a different musical genre each night. For four nights, young and old will enjoy opera, jazz, and classical music in an Italian garden that has enchanted visitors for more than a dozen generations.Desktop Version
Silver-studded blue butterflies
Silver-studded blue butterflies
The butterfly effect is a scientific concept coined 50 years ago today, and it has become a literary and metaphorical term to describe the idea that the smallest change may have massive, worldwide implications. It is often associated with chaos theory. American mathematician and meteorologist Edward Norton Lorenz theorized that the flapping of a butterfly"s wings, like those of the silver-studded blue butterflies you see in today"s image, could weeks later influence the formation of a tornado.Desktop Version
Mediterranean red sea stars
Mediterranean red sea stars
Sea stars—often called starfish—are some of the most fascinating creatures to live in our oceans. For starters, despite their name, they aren"t fish—they belong to a group of marine invertebrates called echinoderms. Like all echinoderms, sea stars are characterized by the radial symmetry of their bodies, which usually have multiple arms extending from the central disc.Desktop Version
Diwali
Diwali
Diwali is a five-day celebration of the symbolic victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. Though Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the Hindu faith, it is also embraced by Sikhs, Jains, and even some Buddhists. Celebrants often decorate their homes with oil lamps called diyas and create colorful patterns on the floor known as rangolis. Streets, markets, temples, and other public spaces are also illuminated with hanging lanterns like those seen in our homepage photo.Desktop Version
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington
We"re standing on the Boundary Trail at Johnston Ridge in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. This view of the volcano shows how the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, ripped apart the once-conical summit, forever changing the Washington landscape. Forty years ago today, 110,000 acres within Gifford Pinchot National Forest were set aside to memorialize the deadliest and most destructive volcanic eruption in the United States.Desktop Version
World Water Day
World Water Day
Lake Powell, which meanders across the Utah-Arizona border, was created when the Glen Canyon Dam was built on the Colorado River in the 1960s. It is one of the two largest reservoirs in the US, alongside its downstream neighbor Lake Mead. Together, they provide water to about 40 million people in seven states, while their respective dams generate crucial hydroelectric power.Desktop Version
Darwin s Arch
Darwin s Arch
On Darwin Day, we visit Darwin"s Arch, named for the famous English naturalist Charles Darwin, who was born on this day in 1809. The last time the sea arch looked as it does in this image was May 17, 2021. That"s when it collapsed due to natural erosion and became a pile of rubble between what is now two pillars. Some locals and scientists have renamed the rock formation the "Pillars of Evolution," a nod to Darwin"s theory of evolution by natural selection.Desktop Version
Who s hiding in the kelp?
Who s hiding in the kelp?
This California sea lion is peeking out from a kelp forest near the Channel Islands of California. Although this species is named for the Golden State, the California sea lion"s range stretches all along the western coast of North America, from central Mexico up to Southeast Alaska. They tend to live in shallow coastal areas, dining on squid, anchovies, mackerel, and more. Highly social and intelligent, California sea lions often congregate in large—and loud—colonies on beaches and rocky shores to breed and have their pups.Desktop Version
Here we honor the women who ve served
Here we honor the women who ve served
For this Memorial Day, we"re paying our respects at the Military Women"s Memorial, at the gateway to Arlington National Cemetery, just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. Since the American Revolution, more than 3 million women have served the nation in a military capacity, and this memorial is dedicated to them, honoring their courage, patriotism, and leadership. Opened in 1997, it"s the only major national memorial to honor all the women who have defended the United States in, or with, the armed services. And it"s more than just a memorial. It"s also an education center, with thousands of photographs, documents, textiles, artifacts, and other materials representing all eras and services of American women"s military history.Desktop Version
Palouse farmland, Washington state
Palouse farmland, Washington state
The Palouse region in the Pacific Northwest is known for its picturesque landscapes, agricultural heritage, and unique geological features. Those stunning hills in our homepage image were formed over tens of thousands of years, from dust and silt blown by the wind, known as loess. The Palouse"s fertile soil and climate make it ideal for farming and it is known for its wheat, barley, lentils, and other crops. With its beautiful rolling hills covered in patchworks of green and golden fields, it is often compared to Italy"s Tuscany region or the French countryside.Desktop Version
Greetings from Asbury Park
Greetings from Asbury Park
The uncharacteristically warm waters of the Atlantic and a long stretch of sand bring thousands of visitors, but Asbury Park also draws waves of art, culture, and music that shine brightly in the summer months. Bruce Springsteen has played here regularly since the 1970s, performing everywhere from the Stone Pony, an iconic music venue, to a benefit show at Asbury Lanes, a bowling alley that was in dire need of sprucing up. Springsteen, who grew up near this stretch of the Jersey Shore, clearly finds Asbury Park special—the name of his 1973 album inspired our title for today’s homepage image. But the seaside resort’s rich musical history predates the Boss—a building boom in the 1920s brought sounds of jazz, gospel, and rhythm and blues to the many clubs here. Musicians Arthur Pryor, Count Basie, and many others developed strong ties to Asbury Park and helped establish its reputation as a showcase for great American music.Desktop Version
The party’s just starting
The party’s just starting
To usher in the summer music festival season, we take you to a pastoral hillside in the Swiss Alps for the International Alphorn Festival held each summer near the town of Nendaz. Musicians are gathering here this weekend to celebrate and blow these enormous traditional horns of the Alps. No one really knows the origin of the alphorn. We do know that for centuries, European mountain folks from the Alps and east to the Carpathian Mountains used this horn to signal to each other across great distances and to call in animal herds. Even though the horn has no valves or keyholes, it’s not easy to play and requires great lung power.Desktop Version
Yosemite National Park, California
Yosemite National Park, California
Fancy witnessing a fiery waterfall? The seemingly impossible can be found at this time of year on the eastern side of El Capitan, Yosemite National Park"s famous rock face. Horsetail Fall is a seasonal waterfall that flows only when there has been plenty of snowfall, and when temperatures have been warm enough to melt it. For a couple of weeks in February, if skies are clear, water is flowing, and the sun shines at just the right angle, the long, slender waterfall takes on a glowing, flame-hued appearance. Hundreds gather in Yosemite Valley to see this mesmerizing natural spectacle. The phenomenon has earned the moniker "firefall," an homage to the historic Yosemite Firefall, a manmade event from the top of the park"s Glacier Point that took place between 1872 to 1968. Eventually, park rangers decided that dumping embers over a cliff onto the land below wasn"t the brightest idea.Desktop Version
Sunny day, sweepin the clouds away
Sunny day, sweepin the clouds away
On this day 50 years ago, public television stations first introduced to viewers a colorful community of monsters, birds, grouches, and ordinary people all living together on a friendly urban street. TV producer Joan Ganz Cooney had developed the idea for "Sesame Street." She was convinced that television, with its ability to quickly capture the attention of young children, could be used for good—to educate as well as entertain. With the help of Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets, "Sesame Street"s" unique cast of characters, skits, and animated videos introduced a new way to provide early education for young children.Desktop Version
All in a day s work
All in a day s work
For Labor Day this year, we"re at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota watching park rangers inspect the 60-foot-tall granite faces of Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Over on the left, and just out of camera shot, is George Washington. Beginning in 1927, sculptor Gutzon Borglum led more than 400 workers to carve these presidential visages into the granite face of Mount Rushmore. These tradespeople were not artists—most of them were miners who had come to the Black Hills looking for gold—but they knew how to use dynamite, jackhammers, and chisels, and so they worked for 14 years carving the likenesses into the stone.Desktop Version