Features Photos

Grand Prismatic Spring (left) and Excelsior Geyser (right). 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: 13571  

Extended High Mountain pose, Utthita Tadasana, sunrise on Mesa Arch, Utah. An exuberant hiker greets the dawning sun from atop Mesa Arch.
Location: Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18036  

Old Faithful geyser, sunrise. Reaching up to 185' in height and lasting up to 5 minutes, Old Faithful geyser is the most famous geyser in the world and the first geyser in Yellowstone to be named.
Location: Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 26939  

Milky Way and Shooting Star over Delicate Arch, as stars cover the night sky.
Location: Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 27854  

Hiker in North Window, sunset, western face. North Window is a natural sandstone arch 90 feet wide and 48 feet high.
Location: North Window, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18159  

Light Beam in Upper Antelope Slot Canyon. Thin shafts of light briefly penetrate the convoluted narrows of Upper Antelope Slot Canyon, sending piercing beams through the sandstone maze to the sand floor below.
Location: Navajo Tribal Lands, Page, Arizona
Image ID: 28570  

A hiker admiring the striated walls and dramatic light within Antelope Canyon, a deep narrow slot canyon formed by water and wind erosion.
Location: Navajo Tribal Lands, Page, Arizona
Image ID: 17993  

Tracy greets the dawn, with Turret Arch in the distance viewed through North Window at Sunrise.
Location: North Window, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 37860  

Light Painting and the Milky Way and Stars over Delicate Arch, at night, Arches National Park, Utah.
Location: Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 29288  

Owachomo Bridge and Milky Way. Owachomo Bridge, a natural stone bridge standing 106' high and spanning 130' wide,stretches across a canyon with the Milky Way crossing the night sky.
Location: Owachomo Bridge, Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah
Image ID: 28541  

Panorama of the Milky Way over Mesa Arch.
Location: Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Image ID: 27824  
Panorama dimensions: 4790 x 7815

Landscape Arch and Milky Way, stars rise over the arch at night.
Location: Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 27868  

Milky Way at Night over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 30220  
Panorama dimensions: 4709 x 9140

Delicate Arch at Sunset, Arches National Park.
Location: Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 29283  

Mesa Arch spans 90 feet and stands at the edge of a mesa precipice thousands of feet above the Colorado River gorge. For a few moments at sunrise the underside of the arch glows dramatically red and orange.
Location: Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18040  

Elephant arch and stars at night, moonlight, Valley of Fire State Park.
Location: Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Image ID: 28435  

Mobius Arch at sunrise, framing snow dusted Lone Pine Peak and the Sierra Nevada Range in the background. Also known as Galen's Arch, Mobius Arch is found in the Alabama Hills Recreational Area near Lone Pine.
Location: Alabama Hills Recreational Area, California
Image ID: 27644  

The Milky Way galaxy arches over Arch Rock on a clear evening in Joshua Tree National Park.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26792  

Milky Way and Stars over Broken Arch, Arches National Park, Utah.
Location: Broken Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 29238  

The Fire Wave, a beautiful sandstone formation exhibiting dramatic striations, striped layers in the geologic historical record.
Location: Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Image ID: 26473  

Turret Arch through North Window, winter, sunrise.
Location: North Window, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18120  

Mobius Arch in the Alabama Hills, seen here at night with swirling star trails formed in the sky above due to a long time exposure.
Location: Alabama Hills Recreational Area, California
Image ID: 27681  

Aerial Photo of Raplee Ridge near Mexican Hat, Utah. Raplee Ridge is a spectacular series of multicolored triangular flatirons near the San Juan River. Often called "the Raplee Anticline" the geologic structure is in fact better described as a monocline, according to the Utah Geological Survey.
Location: Mexican Hat, Utah
Image ID: 39489  

Aerial photo of the San Rafael Reef at dawn. A fold in the Earth's crust leads to this inclined section of the San Rafael Reef, at the eastern edge of the San Rafael Swell. Clearly seen are the characteristic triangular flatiron erosion patterns that typical this formation. The colors seen here arise primarily from Navajo and Wingate sandstone.
Location: Utah
Image ID: 39787  

Sunrise light on Turret Arch viewed through North Window, winter.
Location: North Window, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18119  

Upper Antelope Canyon, a deep, narrow and spectacular slot canyon lying on Navajo Tribal lands near Page, Arizona.
Location: Navajo Tribal Lands, Page, Arizona
Image ID: 35936  

A rainbow appears in the spray of Riverside Geyser as it erupts over the Firehole River. Riverside is a very predictable geyser. Its eruptions last 30 minutes, reach heights of 75 feet and are usually spaced about 6 hours apart. Upper Geyser Basin.
Location: Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13367  

Delicate Arch, dusted with snow, at sunset, with the snow-covered La Sal mountains in the distance. Delicate Arch stands 45 feet high, with a span of 33 feet, atop of bowl of slickrock sandstone.
Location: Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18104  

Mobius Arch at sunrise, with Mount Whitney (the tallest peak in the continental United States), Lone Pine Peak and snow-covered Sierra Nevada Range framed within the arch. Mobius Arch is a 17-foot-wide natural rock arch in the scenic Alabama Hills Recreational Area near Lone Pine, California.
Location: Alabama Hills Recreational Area, California
Image ID: 21729  

Light Beam in Upper Antelope Slot Canyon. Thin shafts of light briefly penetrate the convoluted narrows of Upper Antelope Slot Canyon, sending piercing beams through the sandstone maze to the sand floor below.
Location: Navajo Tribal Lands, Page, Arizona
Image ID: 28561