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: 24170
San Diego and Tijuana City Skyline, viewed from Mount Soledad.
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 36661
Panorama dimensions: 4868 x 8654
Electric eel. Like other members of the South American knifefish family, the electric eel relies on electrolocation to navigate in find food in murky water. However, its electric organs are more powerful than its relatives, allowing it to produce sufficiently high voltage pulses to stun predators and prey.
Species: Electric eel, Electrophorus electricus
Image ID: 13989
Sun God is a strange artwork, the first in the Stuart Collection at University of California San Diego (UCSD). Commissioned in 1983 and produced by Niki de Sainte Phalle, Sun God has become a landmark on the UCSD campus.
Location: University of California, San Diego, La Jolla
Image ID: 12836
Aerial Photo of UC San Diego, Blacks Beach and La Jolla Farms.
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 30709
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: 28493
Panorama dimensions: 3161 x 6384
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: 02815
A view of an underwater forest of giant kelp. Giant kelp grows rapidly, up to 2' per day, from the rocky reef on the ocean bottom to which it is anchored, toward the ocean surface where it spreads to form a thick canopy. Myriad species of fishes, mammals and invertebrates form a rich community in the kelp forest. Lush forests of kelp are found through California's Southern Channel Islands.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 25435
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
Ancient bristlecone pine tree, rising above the arid, dolomite-rich slopes of the Schulman Grove in the White Mountains at an elevation of 9500 above sea level, along the Methuselah Walk. The oldest bristlecone pines in the world are found in the Schulman Grove, some of them over 4700 years old. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.
Species: Bristlecone pine, Pinus longaeva
Location: White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, California
Image ID: 23236
Sailing stone on the Racetrack Playa. The sliding rocks, or sailing stones, move across the mud flats of the Racetrack Playa, leaving trails behind in the mud. The explanation for their movement is not known with certainty, but many believe wind pushes the rocks over wet and perhaps icy mud in winter.
Location: Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 27689
Radio Tower Rock at Sunset, Page, Arizona.
Location: Page, Arizona
Image ID: 36023
Black's Beach and Sandstone cliffs at Torrey Pines State Park, viewed from high above the Pacific Ocean near the Indian Trail.
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 36734
Panorama dimensions: 7281 x 13035
Makena Beach State Park aerial photo, Maui, Hawaii. Big Beach on the right, Little Beach on the left, Haleakala rising in the distance on the right, West Maui Mountains in the distance on the left.
Location: Makena, Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 38214
Panorama dimensions: 5567 x 12626
Carlsbad Coastline at Sunset, looking south from Terramar toward South Carlsbad State Beach, Ponto, Leucadia and Encinitas.
Location: Carlsbad, California
Image ID: 37707
Sunset and boulders, Joshua Tree National Park. Sunset lights the giant boulders and rock formations near Jumbo Rocks in Joshua Tree N.P.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26767
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: 24070
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
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: 17996
Full moon rises over Seattle city skyline at dusk, Space Needle at right.
Location: Seattle, Washington
Image ID: 13661
Wind turbines overlooking Interstate 10 provide electricity to Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. San Gorgonio pass, San Bernardino mountains.
Location: San Gorgonio Pass, Palm Springs, California
Image ID: 06853