Bull elephant seal exits the water to retake his position on the beach. He shows considerable 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.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 15458
Hammerhead sharks swim in a school underwater at Wolf Island in the Galapagos archipelago. The hammerheads eyes and other sensor organs are placed far apart on its wide head to give the shark greater ability to sense the location of prey.
Species: Scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini
Location: Wolf Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 16271
A huge blue whale swims through the open ocean in this underwater photograph. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Image ID: 03027
Aerial Panoramic Photo of Point La Jolla at sunset, La Jolla and Mount Soledad. People enjoying the sunset on the sea wall looking at sea lions on the rocks.
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 38207
Panorama dimensions: 5354 x 9669
San Clemente Island aerial photo, Pyramid Head and Balanced Rock (China Hat) at the southern end of the island. San Clemente Island Pyramid Head, the distinctive pyramid shaped southern end of the island, exhibits distinctive geologic terracing, underwater reefs and giant kelp forests.
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 38483
Mariner Mountain, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, part of Strathcona Provincial Park, located 36 km (22 mi) north of Tofino. It is 1,771 m (5,810 ft) high, snow covered year-round and home to several glaciers.
Location: Mariner Mountain, Strathcona Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada
Image ID: 21072
The Second Wave at Sunset, Vermillion Cliffs. The Second Wave, a curiously-shaped sandstone swirl, takes on rich warm tones and dramatic shadowed textures at sunset. Set in the North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah, the Second Wave is characterized by striations revealing layers of sedimentary deposits, a visible historical record depicting eons of submarine geology.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 28619
A perfect Brown Pelican Head Throw with Distant Ocean in Background, bending over backwards, stretching its neck and gular pouch. Note the winter breeding plumage, yellow head, red and olive throat, pink skin around the eye, brown hind neck with some white neck side detail, gray breast and body.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 39873
A brown pelican preening, reaching with its beak to the uropygial gland (preen gland) near the base of its tail. Preen oil from the uropygial gland is spread by the pelican's beak and back of its head to all other feathers on the pelican, helping to keep them water resistant and dry. Adult winter non-breeding plumage.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 30326
San Diego Coronado Bridge, known locally as the Coronado Bridge, links San Diego with Coronado, California. The bridge was completed in 1969 and was a toll bridge until 2002. It is 2.1 miles long and reaches a height of 200 feet above San Diego Bay. Coronado Island is to the left, and downtown San Diego is to the right in this view looking north.
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 22288
Blue whale skeleton in Antarctica, on the shore at Port Lockroy, Antarctica. This skeleton is composed primarily of blue whale bones, but there are believed to be bones of other baleen whales included in the skeleton as well.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Location: Port Lockroy, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica
Image ID: 25604
Archangel Falls in autumn, near the Subway in North Creek Canyon, with maples and cottonwoods turning fall colors.
Location: Zion National Park, Utah
Image ID: 26097
Sunrise at San Clemente Island, south end showing China Hat (Balanced Rock) and Pyramid Head, near Pyramid Cove, storm clouds. Panoramic photo.
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 30855
Panorama dimensions: 5232 x 24109
Two Adult Male Lions Fight to Establish Territory, Greater Masai Mara, Kenya. Both of these large males emerged from the battle with wounds, and it was not clear who prevailed.
Species: African lion, Panthera leo
Location: Mara North Conservancy, Kenya
Image ID: 39699
Panorama dimensions: 5135 x 8390