This Week's Most Frequently Viewed Images

Pacific harbor seal swims in the protected waters of Childrens Pool in La Jolla, California. This group of harbor seals, which has formed a breeding colony at a small but popular beach near San Diego, is at the center of considerable controversy. While harbor seals are protected from harassment by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other legislation, local interests would like to see the seals leave so that people can resume using the beach.
Species: Pacific harbor seal, Phoca vitulina richardsi
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 03018  

Adult male humpback whale singing, suspended motionless underwater. Only male humpbacks have been observed singing. All humpbacks in the North Pacific sing the same whale song each year, and the song changes slightly from one year to the next.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 02796  

Adult male humpback whale singing, suspended motionless underwater. Only male humpbacks have been observed singing. All humpbacks in the North Pacific sing the same whale song each year, and the song changes slightly from one year to the next.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 02794  

West Indian manatee at Three Sisters Springs, Florida.
Species: West indian manatee, Trichechus manatus
Location: Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River, Florida
Image ID: 02658  

West Indian manatee.
Species: West indian manatee, Trichechus manatus
Location: Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River, Florida
Image ID: 02637  

Manta ray and scuba diver.
Species: Giant manta ray, Manta birostris
Location: San Benedicto Island (Islas Revillagigedos), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 02466  

A blue shark swims through the open ocean in search of prey, backlit by the sunset.
Species: Blue shark, Prionace glauca
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 02286  

A huge blue whale swims through the open ocean in this aerial photograph. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Image ID: 02169  

Mount Moran in the Teton Range rises above Jackson Lake, summer.
Location: Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 07768  

Longhorn cowfish.
Species: Longhorn cowfish, Lactoria cornuta
Image ID: 07838  

Calf Cone.
Species: Calf cone, Conus vitulinus
Image ID: 07974  

Marymere Falls drops 90 feet through an old-growth forest of Douglas firs, near Lake Crescent.
Location: Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park, Washington
Image ID: 13768  

Sol Duc Falls. Sol Duc Falls is one of the largest and most beautiful waterfalls in Olympic National Park, seen here from a bridge that crosses the canyon just below the falls. Surrounding the falls is an old-growth forest of hemlocks and douglas firs, some of which are three hundred years in age.
Location: Sol Duc Springs, Olympic National Park, Washington
Image ID: 13748  

Copperband butterflyfish.
Species: Copperband butterflyfish, Chelmon rostratus
Image ID: 10996  

Percula clownfish anemonefish.
Species: Percula clownfish, Amphiprion percula
Image ID: 13673  

New Blue Spring and its travertine terraces, part of the Mammoth Hot Springs complex.
Location: Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13623  

Grand Prismatic Spring displays a stunning rainbow of colors created by species of thermophilac (heat-loving) bacteria that thrive in narrow temperature ranges. The blue water in the center is too hot to support any bacterial life, while the outer orange rings are the coolest water. Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest spring in the United States and the third-largest in the world. Midway Geyser Basin.
Location: Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13573  

Lion Geyser, whose eruption is preceded by a release of steam that sounds like a lion roaring, erupts just once or a few times each day, reaching heights of up to 90 feet. Upper Geyser Basin.
Location: Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13373  

Elk in the Gibbon River.
Species: Elk, Cervus canadensis
Location: Gibbon Meadows, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13164  

Enormous driftwood logs stack up on the wide flat sand beaches at Kalaloch.
Location: Kalaloch, Olympic National Park, Washington
Image ID: 13786  

Evening beach fire.
Location: Kalaloch, Olympic National Park, Washington
Image ID: 13788  

UCSD Library glows at sunset (Geisel Library, UCSD Central Library).
Location: University of California, San Diego, La Jolla
Image ID: 14775  

Sandstone cliffs at Torrey Pines State Park, viewed from high above the Pacific Ocean near the Indian Trail.
Location: Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, California
Image ID: 14769  

African lungfish.
Species: African lungfish, Protopterus annectens
Image ID: 14682  

African lungfish.
Species: African lungfish, Protopterus annectens
Image ID: 14681  

Purple-striped jelly.
Species: Purple-striped jellyfish, Chrysaora colorata
Image ID: 14058  

Mount Rainier rises above fields of wildflowers in Paradise Meadows, summer.
Location: Paradise Meadows, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Image ID: 13903  

Paradise Meadows, wildflowers and Mount Rainier, summer.
Location: Paradise Meadows, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Image ID: 13895  

Foggy morning.
Location: Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington
Image ID: 13796  

Mother and calf moose wade through meadow grass near Christian Creek.
Species: Moose, Alces alces
Location: Christian Creek, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13042