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.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 33433
California Brown Pelican in flight, spreading wings wide to slow before landing on cliffs, Pelecanus occidentalis.
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 38839
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. The Hotel Del 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.
Image ID: 36617
Panorama dimensions: 5437 x 10212
Lunar Eclipse Sequence Over Broken Hill, Torrey Pines State Reserve. While the moon lies in the full shadow of the earth (umbra) it receives only faint, red-tinged light refracted through the Earth's atmosphere. As the moon passes into the penumbra it receives increasing amounts of direct sunlight, eventually leaving the shadow of the Earth altogether. October 8, 2014.
Location: Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, California
Image ID: 29412
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
Surf grass on the rocky reef -- appearing blurred in this time exposure -- is tossed back and forth by powerful ocean waves passing by above. San Clemente Island.
Species: Surfgrass, Phyllospadix
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 10237
Milky Way and Stars over Broken Arch, Arches National Park, Utah (Note: this image was created before a ban on light-painting in Arches National Park was put into effect. Light-painting is no longer permitted in Arches National Park).
Location: Broken Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 29238
Brown Pelicans Flying Along Sheer Ocean Cliffs, rare westerly winds associated with a storm allow pelicans to glide along La Jolla's cliffs as they approach shelves and outcroppings on which to land. Backlit by rising sun during stormy conditions.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 38867