This Week's Most Frequently Viewed Images

1 -2- 3 4 5 6 7

Sunlight streams through giant kelp forest. Giant kelp, the fastest growing plant on Earth, reaches from the rocky reef to the ocean's surface like a submarine forest, Macrocystis pyrifera, Catalina Island

Adult male humpback whale bubble streaming underwater. The male escort humpback whale seen here is emitting a curtain of bubbles as it swims behind a mother and calf. The bubble curtain may be meant as warning or visual obstruction to other nearby male whales interested in the mother, Megaptera novaeangliae, Maui

Pacific harbor seal swims in the protected waters of Childrens Pool in La Jolla, California. This group of harbor seals, which has formed a breeding colony at a small but popular beach near San Diego, is at the center of considerable controversy. While harbor seals are protected from harassment by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other legislation, local interests would like to see the seals leave so that people can resume using the beach, Phoca vitulina richardsi

Eureka dune grass is a rare and federally endangered species of grass endemic to the Eureka Valley and Eureka Sand Dunes. The Last Chance mountains, lit by sunset, are visible in the distance. Swallenia alexandrae, a perennial grass, grows only in the southern portion of Eureka Valley Sand Dunes, in Inyo County, California, Swallenia alexandrae, Eureka Dunes, Death Valley National Park

Sailing stone on the Death Valley 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, Death Valley National Park, California

Water Lily Pond, Green Harmony, 1899, Claude Monet, Musee d'Orsay, Paris, Musee dOrsay

North Pacific humpback whale, peduncle throw, Megaptera novaeangliae, Maui

North Pacific humpback whales, a mother and calf pair swim closely together just under the surface of the ocean. The calf will remain with its mother for about a year, migrating from Hawaii to Alaska to feed on herring, Megaptera novaeangliae, Maui

Clipperton Rock, a 95' high volcanic remnant, is the highest point on Clipperton Island, a spectacular coral atoll in the eastern Pacific. By permit HC / 1485 / CAB (France)

This bull elephant seal, an old adult male, shows scarring on his chest and proboscis from many winters fighting other males for territory and rights to a harem of females. Sandy beach rookery, winter, Central California, Mirounga angustirostris, Piedras Blancas, San Simeon

Inside the Louvre Museum, Paris, Musee du Louvre

Bald eagle eating a fish, standing on snow-covered ground, other bald eagles visible in background, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Haliaeetus leucocephalus washingtoniensis, Kachemak Bay, Homer, Alaska

West Indian manatee calf with viral skin infection covering body, Trichechus manatus, Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River, Florida

Brown bear tail and hind legs, Ursus arctos, Brooks River, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Bullseye torpedo electric ray, Sea of Cortez, Baja California, Mexico, Diplobatis ommata

Kelp holdfast attaches the plant to the rocky reef on the oceans bottom. Kelp blades are visible above the holdfast, swaying in the current, Catalina Island

Red saddleback anemonefish, Amphiprion ephippium

Two bald eagles in flight, wings spread, soaring, aloft, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Haliaeetus leucocephalus washingtoniensis, Kachemak Bay, Homer, Alaska

The OVRO 40 meter Telescope, part of the Owens Valley Radio Observatory located near Big Pine, California, USA. The telescope is used to conduct interferometric observations along with the other telescopes in the observatory, as a Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) station and as a single dish instrument. Its main focus today is on the monitoring of blazars

Elk, bull elk, adult male elk with large set of antlers. By September, this bull elk's antlers have reached their full size and the velvet has fallen off. This bull elk has sparred with other bulls for access to herds of females in estrous and ready to mate, Cervus canadensis, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

$Detail within the Mandelbrot set fractal. This detail is found by zooming in on the overall Mandelbrot set image, finding edges and buds with interesting features. Fractals are complex geometric shapes that exhibit repeating patterns typified by self-similarity, or the tendency for the details of a shape to appear similar to the shape itself. Often these shapes resemble patterns occurring naturally in the physical world, such as spiraling leaves, seemingly random coastlines, erosion and liquid waves. Fractals are generated through surprisingly simple underlying mathematical expressions, producing subtle and surprising patterns. The basic iterative expression for the Mandelbrot set is z = z-squared + c, operating in the complex (real, imaginary) number set, Mandelbrot set$

Walter Pyramid, Cal State Long Beach. The home of Long Beach State basketball and volleyball for over 15 years, the Walter Pyramid has become a nationally recognized icon for the university and the city of Long Beach. Designed by Long Beach architect Don Gibbs and built by the Nielson Construction Company of San Diego, The Walter Pyramid cost approximately $22 million

Having just mated with a female (obscured) next to him, this bull male elephant seal's penis is still extended and visible, Mirounga angustirostris, Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California

Northern elephant seal, detail of fin, flipper, webbing, tail fin. Sandy beach rookery, winter, Central California, Mirounga angustirostris, Piedras Blancas, San Simeon

Kelp frond showing pneumatocysts, Macrocystis pyrifera, San Clemente Island

A neonate gray whale calf, born just hours before, still exhbiting embryonic folds in the skin along its side. This baby gray whale was born in the cold waters of Big Sur, far to the north of the Mexican lagoons of Baja California where most gray whale births take place, Eschrichtius robustus, Monterey

Horn shark, Heterodontus francisci, San Clemente Island

A Pacific harbor seal pup hauls out on a sandy beach. This group of harbor seals, which has formed a breeding colony at a small but popular beach near San Diego, is at the center of considerable controversy. While harbor seals are protected from harassment by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other legislation, local interests would like to see the seals leave so that people can resume using the beach, Phoca vitulina richardsi, La Jolla, California

Butchart Gardens, a group of floral display gardens in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada, near Victoria on Vancouver Island. It is an internationally-known tourist attraction which receives more than a million visitors each year

1 -2- 3 4 5 6 7