Grand Prismatic Spring (left) and Excelsior Geyser (right). Grand Prismatic Spring displays a stunning rainbow of colors created by species of thermophilac (heat-loving) bacteria that thrive in narrow temperature ranges. The blue water in the center is too hot to support any bacterial life, while the outer orange rings are the coolest water. Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest spring in the United States and the third-largest in the world. Midway Geyser Basin.
Location: Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13571
Old Faithful geyser, sunrise. Reaching up to 185' in height and lasting up to 5 minutes, Old Faithful geyser is the most famous geyser in the world and the first geyser in Yellowstone to be named.
Location: Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 26939
The Tree of Eons, a spectacular dendritic formation in the Bentonite Hills of Utah. Fantastic colorful sedimentary patterns, ancient Bentonite layers are exposed through erosion in the Utah Badlands. The Bentonite Hills are composed of the Brushy Basin shale member of the Morrison Formation. This layer was formed during Jurassic times when mud, silt, fine sand, and volcanic ash were deposited in swamps and lakes. Photographed just before sunrise with soft pre-dawn illumination. Aerial panoramic photograph.
Location: Utah
Image ID: 37951
Panorama dimensions: 11000 x 15000
Bristlecone pine displays its characteristic gnarled, twisted form as it rises above the arid, dolomite-rich slopes of the White Mountains at 11000-foot elevation. Patriarch Grove, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.
Species: Bristlecone Pine, Pinus longaeva
Location: White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, California
Image ID: 17475
North Peak (12,242') rises over lower Conness Lake, its water colored deep blue-green by glacier runoff. Mount Conness (12,589') towers in the upper left. Hoover Wilderness, Inyo National Forest.
Location: Conness Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness, California
Image ID: 36427
Panorama dimensions: 7008 x 15585
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
The Botanical Building in Balboa Park, San Diego. The Botanical Building, at 250 feet long by 75 feet wide and 60 feet tall, was the largest wood lath structure in the world when it was built in 1915 for the Panama-California Exposition. The Botanical Building, located on the Prado, west of the Museum of Art, contains about 2,100 permanent tropical plants along with changing seasonal flowers. The Lily Pond, just south of the Botanical Building, is an eloquent example of the use of reflecting pools to enhance architecture. The 193' by 43' foot pond and smaller companion pool were originally referred to as Las Lagunas de las Flores (The Lakes of the Flowers) and were designed as aquatic gardens. The pools contain exotic water lilies and lotus which bloom spring through fall.
Location: Balboa Park, San Diego, California
Image ID: 28823
Ancient bristlecone pine tree, rising above the arid, dolomite-rich slopes of the Schulman Grove in the White Mountains at an elevation of 9500 above sea level, along the Methuselah Walk. The oldest bristlecone pines in the world are found in the Schulman Grove, some of them over 4700 years old. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.
Species: Bristlecone pine, Pinus longaeva
Location: White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, California
Image ID: 23233
A rainbow appears in the spray of Riverside Geyser as it erupts over the Firehole River. Riverside is a very predictable geyser. Its eruptions last 30 minutes, reach heights of 75 feet and are usually spaced about 6 hours apart. Upper Geyser Basin.
Location: Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13367
Fantastic colorful sedimentary patterns of Bentonite layers, seen as striations exposed in the Utah Badlands. The Bentonite Hills are composed of the Brushy Basin shale member of the Morrison Formation formed during Jurassic times when mud, silt, fine sand, and volcanic ash were deposited in swamps and lakes into layers, now revealed through erosion. Aerial photograph.
Location: Utah
Image ID: 37947
Self-portrait at dawn, Bentonite Hills, Utah.
Location: Utah
Image ID: 38028
Ancient bristlecone pine trees in Patriarch Grove, display characteristic gnarled, twisted form as it rises above the arid, dolomite-rich slopes of the White Mountains at 11000-foot elevation. Patriarch Grove, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.
Species: Ancient bristlecone pine, Pinus longaeva
Location: White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, California
Image ID: 28526
Dawn breaks over the Bentonite Hills in the Utah Badlands. Striations in soil reveal layers of the Morrison Formation, formed in swamps and lakes in the Jurassic era. Aerial panoramic photograph.
Location: Utah
Image ID: 38062