Waves break on Moorea's Barrier Reef, with shallow reef flat and protected lagoon to the left and open ocean to the right.
Location: Moorea, French Polynesia, France
Image ID: 40667
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
Barrier Reef around Moorea Island, French Polynesia. The outer reef slope is seen adjacent to deep blue oceanic water with white waves breaking against the reef edge. Next, a wide shallow reef flat occurs dotted with coral bommies. Inside of that, a shallow protected lagoon is formed against the island. Tall, rugged, eroded mountains are seen hinting at the age of the ancient volcano that originally formed the island and that is now sinking back down, leaving the encircling reef behind.
Location: Moorea, French Polynesia, France
Image ID: 40677
Panorama dimensions: 5104 x 10658
Barrier Reef around Moorea Island, French Polynesia. The outer reef slope is seen adjacent to deep blue oceanic water with white waves breaking against the reef edge. Next, a wide shallow reef flat occurs dotted with coral bommies. Inside of that, a shallow protected lagoon is formed against the island. Tall, rugged, eroded mountains are seen hinting at the age of the ancient volcano that originally formed the island and that is now sinking back down, leaving the encircling reef behind.
Location: Moorea, French Polynesia, France
Image ID: 40678
Panorama dimensions: 4911 x 12893
Crested Pool is a blue, superheated pool. Unfortunately, it has claimed a life. It reaches a overflowing boiling state every few minutes, then subsides a bit before building to a boil and overflow again. Upper Geyser Basin.
Location: Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13355
A great white shark lunges to chomp a piece of bait hanging amid the clear waters of Isla Guadalupe, far offshore of the Pacific Coast of Baja California. Guadalupe Island is host to a concentration of large great white sharks, which visit the island to feed on pinnipeds and tuna.
Species: Great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 07680
Lagoon Passage between Motu Fareone and Moorea, aerial view, French Polynesia.
Location: Moorea, French Polynesia, France
Image ID: 40613
Panorama dimensions: 4525 x 10614
A California brown pelican entangled in a plastic bag which is wrapped around its neck. This unfortunate pelican probably became entangled in the bag by mistaking the floating plastic for food and diving on it, spearing it in such a way that the bag has lodged around the pelican's neck. Plastic bags kill and injure untold numbers of marine animals each year.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 22564