San Diego City Skyline at Sunset, viewed from Point Loma, Shelter Island Yacht Club in the foreground, San Diego Bay, Mount San Miguel (right) and Lyons Peak (left) in distance.
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 36749
Full Moon rising over San Diego City Skyline, viewed from Harbor Island. Mount San Miguel is to the right, Lyons Peak to the left, in the distance.
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 29121
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
The Milky Way at Night over Sky Rock. Sky Rock petroglyphs near Bishop, California. Hidden atop an enormous boulder in the Volcanic Tablelands lies Sky Rock, a set of petroglyphs that face the sky. These superb examples of native American petroglyph artwork are thought to be Paiute in origin, but little is known about them.
Location: Bishop, California
Image ID: 28817
Panorama dimensions: 13870 x 16600
A mother California sea lion (left) and her pup (right), underwater at the Coronado Islands, Mexico. Mothers and pups spend much time together with the mother teaching her young padawan learner how to pursue prey. I spent a lot of time over 6 days watching this pair in Fall 2023.
Species: California sea lion, Zalophus californianus
Location: Coronado Islands (Islas Coronado), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 39960
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
Bryozoan grows on a red gorgonian on rocky reef, below kelp forest, underwater. The red gorgonian is a filter-feeding temperate colonial species that lives on the rocky bottom at depths between 50 to 200 feet deep. Gorgonians are oriented at right angles to prevailing water currents to capture plankton drifting by.
Species: Red gorgonian, Leptogorgia chilensis, Lophogorgia chilensis
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 25395
Male and female southern right whales mating underwater, Eubalaena australis. The male positions himself below the female and turns upside down, so the two whales are belly-to-belly and can mate. Sand has been stirred up by the courtship activities and the water is turbid.
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Image ID: 38291
Courting pair of southern right whales underwater, Eubalaena australis. In this image, the male is below and inverted (belly up) and the female is at the surface. While the posture in this photo isn't quite mating, it is a courting behavior that often precedes mating.
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Image ID: 38296
Two Bodysurfing Sea Lions Side by Side. California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) is surfing extreme shorebreak at Boomer Beach, Point La Jolla. The original bodysurfer.
Species: California Sea Lion, Zalophus californianus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 37750
SIO Pier, Scripps Pier, La Jolla. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography research pier is 1090 feet long and was built of reinforced concrete in 1988, replacing the original wooden pier built in 1915. The Scripps Pier is home to a variety of sensing equipment above and below water that collects various oceanographic data. The Scripps research diving facility is located at the foot of the pier. Fresh seawater is pumped from the pier to the many tanks and facilities of SIO, including the Birch Aquarium. The Scripps Pier is named in honor of Ellen Browning Scripps, the most significant donor and benefactor of the Institution.
Location: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California
Image ID: 22286
Red gorgonian on rocky reef, below kelp forest, underwater. The red gorgonian is a filter-feeding temperate colonial species that lives on the rocky bottom at depths between 50 to 200 feet deep. Gorgonians are oriented at right angles to prevailing water currents to capture plankton drifting by.
Species: Red gorgonian, Leptogorgia chilensis, Lophogorgia chilensis
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 25393
Star Trails over Sky Rock. Sky Rock petroglyphs near Bishop, California. Hidden atop an enormous boulder in the Volcanic Tablelands lies Sky Rock, a set of petroglyphs that face the sky. These superb examples of native American petroglyph artwork are thought to be Paiute in origin, but little is known about them.
Image ID: 28498
Punta Norte, the northern point of Guadalupe Island, viewed from the north. Punta Desfiladero (Blunt Point) and Roca Elefante are just visible at far right, and Roca Piloto (Pilot Rock) is see to the left of the island against the distant sweep of the cliffs that comprise the northeastern bight of the island, actually the rim of an enormous caldera.
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 28760
Panorama dimensions: 4595 x 13560
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
White southern right whale calf underwater, Eubalaena australis. About five per cent of southern right whales are born white due to a condition known as grey morphism and will gradually turn dark as they age. They are not albino (which is a complete lack of pigmentation). Sometimes referred to as "brindled", the white coloration is a recessive genetic trait and only lasts a few months. Typically, but not always, white calves will become much darker as they mature but will still be somewhat lighter than normal even as adults.
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Image ID: 38279
Rostrum and callosities of southern right whale, Eubalaena australis. Whale lice can be seen attached to the collosities, which are patches of thickened keratinized tissue, like calluses (thus the name). The pattern of callosities on a right whale are unique and serve as a way to identify individuals throughout their lifetime.
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Image ID: 38450