This Week's Most Frequently Viewed Images

Bald eagle, closeup of head and shoulders showing distinctive white head feathers, yellow beak and brown body and wings.
Species: Bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Haliaeetus leucocephalus washingtoniensis
Location: Kachemak Bay, Homer, Alaska
Image ID: 22582  

Torrey Pines Golf Course over looking Blacks Beach and the Pacific Ocean, south course, summer, afternoon.
Location: Torrey Pines Golf Course, San Diego, California
Image ID: 38184  

Gray whales, two males both with extended penis during courtship socialization, Laguna San Ignacio.
Species: Gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus
Location: San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 06431  

Parasitic zoanthid anemones cover, encrust and overwhelm a golden gorgonian. The gorgonian on the left has been completely parasitized by zoanthid anemones, while the gorgonian to the right remains free of zoanthids (for now). A garibaldi swims below the two sea fans. The golden gorgonian is a filter-feeding temperate colonial species that lives on the rocky bottom at depths between 50 to 200 feet deep. Each individual polyp is a distinct animal, together they secrete calcium that forms the structure of the colony. Gorgonians are oriented at right angles to prevailing water currents to capture plankton drifting by.
Species: California golden gorgonian, Luminescent parazoanthid, Zoanthid anemone, Giant kelp, Muricea californica, Parazoanthus lucificum, Savalia lucifica, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 38493  

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

Hotel del Coronado with holiday Christmas night lights, known affectionately as the Hotel Del. It was once the largest hotel in the world, and is one of the few remaining wooden Victorian beach resorts. It sits on the beach on Coronado Island, seen here with downtown San Diego in the distance. It is widely considered to be one of Americas most beautiful and classic hotels. Built in 1888, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977.
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 27396  

2006 Mavericks surf contest champion Grant Twiggy Baker of South Africa. Final round, Mavericks surf contest, February 7, 2006.
Location: Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California
Image ID: 15299  

Adelie penguins leaping into the ocean from an iceberg.
Species: Adelie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae
Location: Brown Bluff, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica
Image ID: 25005  

Humpback whale in Antarctica. A humpback whale swims through the beautiful ice-filled waters of Neko Harbor, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Neko Harbor, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica
Image ID: 25646  

Beautiful South Pacific coral reef, with Plexauridae sea fans, schooling anthias fish and colorful dendronephthya soft corals, Fiji.
Species: Anthias, Dendronephthya soft coral, Gorgonian, Dendronephthya, Gorgonacea, Pseudanthias
Location: Fiji
Image ID: 34768  

Cardon cactus, near La Paz, Baja California, Mexico. Known as the elephant cactus or Mexican giant cactus, cardon is largest cactus in the world and is endemic to the deserts of the Baja California peninsula. Some specimens of cardon have been measured over 21m (70) high. These slow-growing plants live up to 300 years and can weigh 25 tons. Cardon is often mistaken for the superficially similar saguaro of Arizona and Sonora, but the saguaro does not occupy Baja California.
Species: Cardon cactus, Elephant cactus, Pachycereus pringlei
Location: La Paz, Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 05498  

Coyote, pausing to look for prey as it passes through Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.
Species: Coyote, Canis latrans
Location: Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, New Mexico
Image ID: 21803  

Blue whales feeding on krill underwater closeup photo. A picture of a blue whale with its throat pleats inflated with a mouthful of krill. A calf swims behind and below the adult. Over 80' 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: 27314  

Horsetail Falls backlit by the setting sun as it cascades down the face of El Capitan, February, Yosemite Valley.
Location: Horsetail Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 07048  

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: 39784  

Snow geese resting, on a still pond in early morning light, in groups of several thousands.
Species: Snow Goose, Chen caerulescens
Location: Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, New Mexico
Image ID: 39938  

Inside the Louvre Museum, Paris.
Location: Musee du Louvre, Paris, France
Image ID: 28042  

A kelp forest, with sunbeams passing through kelp fronds. Giant kelp, the fastest growing plant on Earth, reaches from the rocky bottom to the ocean's surface like a submarine forest.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 02411  

A northern elephant seal hovers underwater over a rocky bottom along the coastline of Guadalupe Island.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 03505  

Humpback whale breaching, near Molokai, Hawaii. Megaptera novaeangliae. It is suspected the breaching often has a communicative purpose which depends on the behavioral context of the moment.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 00205  

Giant Black Sea Bass with Distinctive Identifying Black Spots that allow researchers to carry out sight/resight studies on the animals distributions and growth. Black sea bass can reach 500 pounds and 8 feet in length.
Species: Giant black sea bass, Stereolepis gigas
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 39433  

Pacific torpedo ray Tetronarce californica, amidst huge schools of fish and baitfish, Farnsworth Banks, Catalina Island. This electric ray will shock the hell out of you if you are not careful.
Species: Pacific torpedo ray, Tetronarce californica, Torpedo californica
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 37231  

San Miguel Island west end, aerial photograph.
Location: San Miguel Island, California
Image ID: 29377  

Arc-eye Hawkfish, Paracirrhites arcatus, Fiji.
Species: Arc eye hawkfish, Paracirrhites arcatus
Location: Namena Marine Reserve, Namena Island, Fiji
Image ID: 34784  

Snow geese fly in huge numbers at sunrise. Thousands of wintering snow geese take to the sky in predawn light in Bosque del Apache's famous "blast off". The flock can be as large as 20,000 geese or more.
Species: Snow Goose, Chen caerulescens
Location: Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, New Mexico
Image ID: 39931  

South Pacific Humpback Whale Underwater, showing all-white underside of the fluke and ventral caudal stem, Moorea, French Polynesia.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Moorea, French Polynesia, France
Image ID: 40647  

John Moulton barn at sunrise with Teton Range, on Mormon Row in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
Location: Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 26965  

San Diego Convention Center, located in the Marina District of downtown San Diego. Built in 1989, the San Diego Convention Center offers 525,700 square feet of exhibit space. It is noted for its distinctive "sails" made of Teflon-coated fiberglass suspended over the central exhibition hall, aptly named Sails Pavilion.
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 22290