This Week's Most Frequently Viewed Images

Blue whale underwater closeup photo. This picture of a blue whale, the largest animal ever to inhabit earth, shows it swimming through the open ocean, a rare underwater view. Since this blue whale was approximately 80-90' long and just a few feet from the camera, an extremely wide lens was used to photograph the entire enormous whale.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Location: California
Image ID: 27299  

Juvenile blue shark in the open ocean.
Species: Blue shark, Prionace glauca
Location: Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 04871  

Bluestripe clownfish, Amphiprion chrysopterus, Fiji.
Species: Bluestripe clownfish, Amphiprion chrysopterus
Location: Fiji
Image ID: 34775  

Hacienda Cusin, a 17th-century estate in the Ecuadorian Andes near Otavalo.
Location: San Pablo del Lago, Otavalo, Ecuador
Image ID: 16783  

Wandering albatross in flight, over the open sea. The wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird, with the wingspan between, up to 12' from wingtip to wingtip. It can soar on the open ocean for hours at a time, riding the updrafts from individual swells, with a glide ratio of 22 units of distance for every unit of drop. The wandering albatross can live up to 23 years. They hunt at night on the open ocean for cephalopods, small fish, and crustaceans. The survival of the species is at risk due to mortality from long-line fishing gear.
Species: Wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans
Location: Southern Ocean
Image ID: 24089  

Lower Manhattan skyline viewed from the Brooklyn Bridge.
Location: Brooklyn Bridge, New York City
Image ID: 11093  

Giant Manta Ray at San Benedicto Island, Revillagigedos, Mexico.
Species: Giant manta ray, Manta birostris
Location: San Benedicto Island (Islas Revillagigedos), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 33282  

Silky Shark at San Benedicto Islands, Revillagigedos, Mexico.
Species: Silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis
Location: Socorro Island (Islas Revillagigedos), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 33329  

New Blue Spring and its travertine terraces, part of the Mammoth Hot Springs complex.
Location: Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13631  

Seagull and Morro Rock.
Location: Morro Bay, California
Image ID: 22245  

Silky Shark at San Benedicto Islands, Revillagigedos, Mexico.
Species: Silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis
Location: Socorro Island (Islas Revillagigedos), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 33330  

Lemon shark with live sharksuckers.
Species: Lemon shark, Echeneis naucrates, Negaprion brevirostris
Location: Bahamas
Image ID: 10789  

Galapagos fur seal warily adopts a head-down position to watch for predators as it rests in the water.
Species: Galapagos fur seal, Arctocephalus galapagoensis
Location: Darwin Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 10068  

The General Sherman Sequoia tree is the largest (most massive) living thing on earth, standing over 275 feet tall with a 36 diameter and 102 circumference at its base. Its volume is over 53,000 cubic feet. It is estimated to be 2300 to 2700 years old.
Species: Giant sequoia tree, Sequoiadendron giganteum
Location: Giant Forest, Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park, California
Image ID: 09872  

Lyretail fairy basslet, female.
Species: Jewel fairy basslet, Pseudanthias squamipinnis
Image ID: 12871  

Seen at the American Museum of Natural History.
Location: American Museum of Natural History, New York City
Image ID: 11253  

Giant Manta Ray at Socorro Island, Revillagigedos, Mexico.
Species: Giant manta ray, Manta birostris
Location: Socorro Island (Islas Revillagigedos), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 33297  

Mountain lion, Sierra Nevada foothills, Mariposa, California.
Species: Mountain lion, Puma concolor
Image ID: 15791  

Moorea rises above its lagoon and barrier reef, French Polynesia, aerial view. Cooks Bay lies in the distance.
Location: Moorea, French Polynesia, France
Image ID: 40672  

Southern giant petrel in flight, Macronectes giganteus, Peninsula Valdes, Argentina. This large seabird has a wingspan up to 80" from wing-tip to wing-tip. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Species: Southern giant petrel, Macronectes giganteus
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Image ID: 41206  

Western gull, adult breeding plumage, note yellow orbital ring around eye.
Species: Western gull, Larus occidentalis
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 15117  

Caribbean reef shark with fishing hook.
Species: Caribbean reef shark, Carcharhinus perezi
Location: Bahamas
Image ID: 31980  

Tiger shark with closed nictating membrane.
Species: Tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier
Location: Bahamas
Image ID: 31910  

Saint Peter's Basilica interior, Vatican City.
Location: Vatican City, Rome, Italy
Image ID: 35552  

Laguna Beach Coastline including Views South to Three Arch Bay, Aerial Photo.
Location: Laguna Beach, California
Image ID: 38082  

Steel pompano.
Species: Steel pompano, Trachinotus stilbe
Location: Isla Enderby, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 01831  

Pacific creolefish form immense schools and are a source of food for predatory fishes.
Species: Pacific creolefish, Paranthias colonus
Location: Darwin Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 16440  

Stars and the Milky Way over ancient bristlecone pine trees, in the White Mountains at an elevation of 10,000' above sea level. These are some of the oldest trees in the world, some exceeding 4000 years in age.
Species: Bristlecone pine, Pinus longaeva
Location: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, California
Image ID: 29407  

Torrey Pines Cliffs and Pacific Ocean, Razor Point view to La Jolla, San Diego, California.
Location: Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, California
Image ID: 28495  

Silky Shark at San Benedicto Islands, Revillagigedos, Mexico.
Species: Silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis
Location: Socorro Island (Islas Revillagigedos), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 33331