Aerial photo of blue whale near San Diego. This enormous blue whale glides at the surface of the ocean, resting and breathing before it dives to feed on subsurface krill.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 39422
A huge blue whale swims through the open ocean in this aerial photograph. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Image ID: 02169
Blue whale aerial photo, with the shadow of the survey plane providing scale as to how huge the whale really is.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Image ID: 02168
Blue whale fluking up (raising its tail) before a dive to forage for krill, Baja California (Mexico).
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Image ID: 03332
Pre-Dawn over the Tree of Eons, Utah. The Tree of Eons is a spectacular geologic sight near the San Rafael Swell. Erosion has cut a "tree" through red, blue, purple and white layers of the Chinle formation. The Tree of Eons is a superb example of dendritic erosion and to really appreciate the complex fractal-like details it must be observed from above. Photographed here in the soft, predawn light, it takes on magenta, red and purple hues just before the sun reaches it. Aerial panoramic photograph.
Location: Utah
Image ID: 38027
Red gorgonian and California golden gorgonian on underwater rocky reef, San Clemente Island. 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: Red gorgonian, California golden gorgonian, Leptogorgia chilensis, Lophogorgia chilensis, Muricea californica
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 38499
Mated pair of Brandt's Cormorants tend to the nest they have built on sea cliffs. Note the colors they assume during mating season: striking blue gular pouch (throat) along with faint blue-green iridescence in their plumage.
Species: Brandt's cormorant, Phalacrocorax penicillatus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 40130
Blue whale, exhaling as it surfaces from a dive, aerial photo. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to have lived on Earth, exceeding 100' in length and 200 tons in weight.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Location: Redondo Beach, California
Image ID: 25951
Bridalveil Falls at sunset, with clouds and blue sky in the background. Bridalveil Falls in Yosemite drops 620 feet (188 m) from a hanging valley to the floor of Yosemite Valley.
Location: Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 12646