California photos

Breaking wave, fast motion and blur, The Wedge.
Location: The Wedge, Newport Beach, California
Image ID: 14355  

Two blue whales, a mother and her calf, swim through the open ocean in this aerial photograph. The calf is blowing (spouting, exhaling) with a powerful column of spray. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 02304  

Half Dome and storm clouds at sunset, viewed from Sentinel Bridge.
Location: Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 22744  

Breaking wave, Moonlight Beach, Encinitas, morning, barrel shaped surf, California.
Location: California
Image ID: 27975  

Breaking wave, Ponto, South Carlsbad.
Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California
Image ID: 17679  

Brown pelican in flight against pastel-colored sky at sunrise. The wingspan of the brown pelican is over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status. In winter months, breeding adults assume a dramatic plumage.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 15122  

Vernal Falls at peak flow in late spring, with a rainbow appearing in the spray of the falls, viewed from the Mist Trail.
Location: Vernal Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 12634  

Kelp frond showing pneumatocysts.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 00627  

A kelp forest, with sunbeams passing through kelp fronds. Giant kelp, the fastest growing plant on Earth, reaches from the rocky bottom to the ocean's surface like a submarine forest.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 02411  

Yosemite Valley Tunnel View, Storm clouds at sunset, Yosemite National Park.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 34542  
Panorama dimensions: 7653 x 12541

Yosemite Falls at peak flow in late spring, viewed from Cooks Meadow.
Location: Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 12631  

Oceanside Pier at dusk, sunset, night. Oceanside.
Location: Oceanside Pier, California
Image ID: 14628  

Aspen trees display Eastern Sierra fall colors, Lake Sabrina, Bishop Creek Canyon.
Species: Aspen, Populus tremuloides
Location: Bishop Creek Canyon, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California
Image ID: 17547  

Sunrise breaking wave, dawn surf.
Location: The Wedge, Newport Beach, California
Image ID: 27979  

Sunrise breaking wave, dawn surf.
Location: California
Image ID: 27993  

2006 Mavericks surf contest champion Grant Twiggy Baker of South Africa. Final round, Mavericks surf contest, February 7, 2006.
Location: Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California
Image ID: 15299  

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  

Yosemite Falls and star trails, at night, viewed from Cook's Meadow, illuminated by the light of the full moon.
Location: Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 27733  

Breaking wave, morning, barrel shaped surf, California.
Location: California
Image ID: 27999  

California sea lions underwater, Coronados Islands, Baja California, Mexico.
Species: California sea lion, Zalophus californianus
Location: Coronado Islands (Islas Coronado), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 34577  

Dune Evening Primrose bloom in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Species: Dune evening primrose, Oenothera deltoides
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 33186  

California sea lion framed by huge breaking wave in La Jolla.
Species: California sea lion, Zalophus californianus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 34272  

Townsley Lake (10396'), a beautiful alpine lake sitting below blue sky, clouds and Fletcher Peak (right), lies amid the Cathedral Range of glacier-sculpted granite peaks in Yosemite's high country, near Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 23206  

Enormous 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: 25950  

Sky Rock petroglyphs near Bishop, California, sunrise light just touching clouds and the Sierra Nevada. 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: 26979  

California sea lion underwater playing with sea star.
Species: California sea lion, Zalophus californianus
Location: Sea of Cortez, Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 27428