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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
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
A different view of sharks
A different view of sharks
They"ve long been treated as threats, portrayed as villains, and brutally hunted for their edible fins, so we think it"s only fair that sharks get their own day. Shark Awareness Day is meant to highlight the importance of the most fearsome fish in nature, from little dwarf lantern sharks to great whites to these blacktip reef sharks cruising the Tahitian coast.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
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
Staring down winter
Staring down winter
Feel a chill in the air? Not these two. The first frosty blasts of winter have little effect on Highland cattle thanks to their unusual coats. The long-haired outer layer is oily and slicks off rain and snow, keeping the fluffier undercoat dry and toasty against their skin. These two Highlanders are in a national park in Drenthe province of the Netherlands, but the breed developed by natural selection—only the fittest survived—in the wet and windy Scottish Highlands. The original Highland Cattle Herd Book, which recorded Highland cattle pedigrees, dates to 1885, making Highlanders the oldest registered cattle breed in the world.Desktop Version
Till the cows come home
Till the cows come home
These stylish cows are decorated to celebrate their annual return from high Alpine pastures to the towns and villages where they spend the winter. Known as the Almabtrieb, the tradition is generally held in late September or early October throughout the Alpine regions of Europe. These cows are in the Tannheimer Tal, a valley of the Allgäu Alps in Austria, where more than 100,000 head of cattle make the seasonal migration.Desktop Version
The Aomori Nebuta Festival parade, Japan
The Aomori Nebuta Festival parade, Japan
From now until Aug 7, the northern Japanese city of Aomori is celebrating Aomori Nebuta, a festival (‘matsuri’) that features bright, colorful floats like the one seen in our photo. The history of how the festival began depends on who you ask and what you read. But the way to celebrate is to join or watch the parade that is the centerpiece of the observance. The floats depict mythic warriors and creatures, and they move through Aomori accompanied by musicians, often playing flutes and pounding on loud taiko drums. The goal? To ‘awaken sleepy souls.’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
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
Venice s grand regatta
Venice s grand regatta
Every year, on the first Sunday of September, Venice celebrates the Regata Storica along the city"s most famous canal. The event is the highlight of the Venetian rowing calendar and consists of two parts: a historical boat parade and a series of rowing races. Festivities begin with a regal water pageant comprising a flotilla of colorful boats from the 16th century. Gondoliers are dressed in period costume as they ferry high-ranking Venetian officials up the Grand Canal in a faithful recreation of Venice"s storied maritime past. The regatta commemorates the welcome given in 1489 to Caterina Cornaro, the wife of the King of Cyprus, who renounced her throne in favor of Venice.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
Let s face it: It s World Emoji Day
Let s face it: It s World Emoji Day
Most versions of the calendar emoji (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
Atop the roof of Africa
Atop the roof of Africa
From their home in the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia, these rare gelada monkeys look like they"re on top of the world. Simien Mountains National Park has some of the highest elevations in all of Africa, marked by deep valleys, jagged mountains, and sheer cliffs. This harsh climate nurtures rare and endangered species, including our homepage friends. The gelada monkey lives only here in the Ethiopian Highlands, where it survives on a diet of mostly various grasses. Nicknamed the "bleeding-heart monkey," it"s recognizable by the bright red, hourglass-shaped patch on its chest. It has another claim to fame: This chatty species produces a diverse range of vocalizations so complex they"re thought to be similar to those of humans. So, what do you think they"re talking about?Desktop Version
Working for that cliffside view
Working for that cliffside view
Maine"s Acadia National Park serves up spectacular views at most every turn. But the park"s Otter Cliffs on Mount Desert Island offer the adventurous among us a chance to take in the picturesque Atlantic shoreline from the edge of a sheer granite wall. Rising some 60 feet above the crashing waves below, the cliffs are shown here at low tide—when the tide is up, that ledge at the bottom is completely submerged.Desktop Version
Big dreams require a big sleigh
Big dreams require a big sleigh
For Christmas Day, we traveled 217 miles north of the Arctic Circle to Ilulissat, Greenland. It"s the island"s third-largest city, though in almost any other region, it would be considered a small town—only 4,670 people live here. Until a few years ago, Ilulissat served as a key destination for that most important holiday correspondence: Thousands of letters sent from around the world to Santa Claus, North Pole, ended up being rerouted to this giant mailbox. Today the mailbox has moved farther north, to Uummannaq, ever closer to the jolly old elf"s magical domicile. If you"re celebrating Christmas today, we hope you have a merry one.Desktop Version
A cutting-edge art gallery opens in Paris
A cutting-edge art gallery opens in Paris
Fine art has found a new canvas here in Paris, where L’Atelier des Lumières opened in April as the city’s first digital art museum. The venue, housed in a 19th-century foundry, uses 140 digital projectors to splash paintings high onto the walls and across the floors, allowing visitors to walk through, over, and into some of the world’s most famous pieces of art. L’Atelier des Lumières opened with an exhibit featuring works by Gustav Klimt, the prominent Austrian painter best known for ‘The Kiss,’ a portrait of a couple locked in an intimate embrace. Klimt was known for incorporating silver and gold leaf into his art nouveau-style oil paintings, creating an ethereal effect.Desktop Version
Denali National Park
Denali National Park
Someone ought to tell these Dall sheep they don"t blend in here at Polychrome Pass. Their white coats may be great camouflage against the Alaskan snows, but the warm tones of this tundra make them stick out a bit. And they aren"t the only thing sticking out in this national park: It"s home to the tallest mountain in North America.Desktop Version
One for the books
One for the books
Today is the kickoff to the 20th Library of Congress National Book Festival, and for the first time it will be held entirely online. Nearly 120 authors, including Colson Whitehead, John Grisham, Ann Patchett, Walter Mosley, and Tomi Adeyemi, will appear on virtual stages to discuss the written word from September 25-27.Desktop Version
Take a hike near Lovers Lane
Take a hike near Lovers Lane
For those of you who love getting outside, you"re in luck! Today is Take a Hike Day, an activity the American Hiking Society says will make you happier as you enjoy the great outdoors. And what better way to take a hike than a walk near Lovers" Lane in San Francisco"s Presidio? The sinuous trail we see in today"s photo is called "Wood Line" and was designed by the environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy. By using felled eucalyptus trees, Goldsworthy intended this land art to eventually biodegrade and fade back into the forest floor. It"s one of four of his works within this national park that once served as a US military outpost.Desktop Version
A night on the (ghost) town
A night on the (ghost) town
The spooky scene here might look like a place you"d want to avoid, but it"s not likely to scare you—not too much anyway. It"s the Fort Rock Valley Historical Homestead Museum in central Oregon, a collection of abandoned homestead-era buildings from the area. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, people acquired federal lands around here for farms and ranches via the Homestead Acts. But most left within a few years due to the hot, dry summers and extremely cold winters. Today, the buildings are assembled as a ghost town and contain items from that period, including furniture, dishes, and tools. There"s also a nearby cemetery which, according to local lore, is haunted by the ghost of rancher and author Reub Long riding his horse.Desktop Version
Looking back at Yellowstone, 30 years after the fires
Looking back at Yellowstone, 30 years after the fires
Nature’s resiliency is on full display here at Yellowstone National Park, where new growth has emerged among the trees charred by the massive 1988 wildfires. More than 1 million acres in the greater Yellowstone area were affected by the blazes that summer, scarring 36 percent of the park. Today marks the 30-year anniversary of Black Saturday, a day when the park saw some of the worst damage, with smoke and ash blackening the skies. But when cool, moist weather brought an end to the devastating fires in late autumn, the ecosystem immediately began to recover. Fire has long been part of the complex ecosystem at Yellowstone and many species have even adapted to rely on fire to open up the canopy, spread seeds, and diversify the habitat.Desktop Version
Two rocks and a heart spot
Two rocks and a heart spot
If you really want to earn someone"s affections, fly them to Corsica, rent a car, and take a drive on the only road that cuts through the red volcanic rocks of Calanques de Piana. Some call the naturally occurring rock formation in today"s Valentine"s Day photo "the two lovers," while others call it "the heart of Corsica." (Spot the heart?) Like most affairs of the heart, the path to this geological valentine is circuitous—it"s a winding road, sometimes too narrow to share with oncoming vehicles (the occasional pullovers help). Our vantage point may be a good spot for you to pull over, especially if it"s sunset, to see the rocks aglow as the sun creeps west toward the horizon.Desktop Version
New Year s Day
New Year s Day
If your first scheduled activity of the day has ever involved intentionally jumping into an icy lake or a frigid bay, then you understand the relevance of today"s image from the Svalbard Islands of Norway. Polar bear plunges, as these swims have come to be known, take place all over the world, often on New Year"s Day. Whether people take the plunge for charity, penance, or shock value, there"s no better way to put an exclamation point on the first day of the year. Of course, for actual polar bears, ice cold plunges are an everyday occurrence and won"t elicit much more than a yawn.Desktop Version