World Heritage Sites photos

Yosemite Valley and stars lit by full moon, evening.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 28697  

Yosemite Valley and stars lit by full moon, evening.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 28702  

Roosevelt elk, adult bull male with large antlers. This bull elk has recently shed the velvet that covers its antlers. While an antler is growing, it is covered with highly vascular skin called velvet, which supplies oxygen and nutrients to the growing bone; once the antler has achieved its full size, the velvet is lost and the antler's bone dies. This dead bone structure is the mature antler, which is itself shed after each mating season. Roosevelt elk grow to 10' and 1300 lb, eating grasses, sedges and various berries, inhabiting the coastal rainforests of the Pacific Northwest.
Species: Roosevelt elk, Cervus canadensis roosevelti
Location: Redwood National Park, California
Image ID: 25878  

Yosemite Falls reflected in a meadow pool, spring.
Location: Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 27745  

Bridalveil Falls at sunset, with clouds and blue sky in the background. Bridalveil Falls in Yosemite drops 620 feet (188 m) from a hanging valley to the floor of Yosemite Valley.
Location: Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 34540  

Darwin's Arch, a dramatic 50-foot tall natural lava arch, rises above the ocean a short distance offshore of Darwin Island. On June 10, 2021, Darwin's Arch broke and fell into the ocean, leaving behind two partial pillars.
Location: Darwin Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 16621  

Male elk bugling during the fall rut. Large male elk are known as bulls. Male elk have large antlers which are shed each year. Male elk engage in competitive mating behaviors during the rut, including posturing, antler wrestling and bugling, a loud series of screams which is intended to establish dominance over other males and attract females.
Species: Elk, Cervus canadensis
Location: Madison River, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 19700  

Bull elk in sage brush with large rack of antlers during the fall rut (mating season). This bull elk has sparred with other bulls to establish his harem of females with which he hopes to mate.
Species: Elk, Cervus canadensis
Location: Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 19718  

Yosemite Falls rises above the Merced River, viewed from Swinging Bridge.
Location: Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 22757  

Yosemite Falls, mist and and storm clouds.
Location: Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 22767  

El Capitan eastern face, sunrise.
Location: El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 22770  

Gray whales at sunset, Laguna San Ignacio.
Species: Gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus
Location: San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 03387  

Zodiacal Light and planet Jupiter in the northeastern horizon, above Half Dome and the Yosemite high country.
Location: Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 28745  

Cathedral Rocks at sunrise, reflected in a spring meadow flooded by the Merced River.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 26856  

Vernal Falls and Merced River in spring, heavy flow due to snow melt in the high country above Yosemite Valley.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 26878  

Scalloped hammerhead shark swims underwater at Cocos Island. 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: Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Image ID: 03192  

Fletcher Peak (10319') at sunset, viewed from Vogelsang High Sierra Camp in Yosemite's high country.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 23248  

Yosemite Falls rises above the Merced River, viewed from the Swinging Bridge. The 2425' falls is the tallest in North America.
Location: Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 27741  

Mammoth Peak over Tuolumne Meadows, Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 28514  

Half Dome reflected in the Merced River.
Location: Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 28692  

The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River drops 308 feet at the head of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. A long exposure blurs the fast-flowing water. The canyon is approximately 10,000 years old, 20 miles long, 1000 ft deep, and 2500 ft wide. Its yellow, orange and red-colored walls are due to oxidation of the various iron compounds in the soil, and to a lesser degree, sulfur content.
Location: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13338  

Snow covers the rocks and cliffs around Lower Yellowstone Falls in winter. At 308 feet, the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River is the tallest fall in the park. This view is from Lookout Point on the North side of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Location: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 19572  

Upper Yosemite Falls and lunar rainbow, moonbow. A lunar rainbow (moonbow) can be seen to the left of Yosemite Falls, where the moon illuminates the spray of the falls.
Location: Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 27752  

Marine iguana, underwater, forages for green algae that grows on the lava reef.
Species: Marine iguana, Amblyrhynchus cristatus
Location: Bartolome Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 16227  

Galapagos shark.
Species: Galapagos shark, Carcharhinus galapagensis
Location: Wolf Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 16239  

Yosemite Falls and star trails, night sky time exposure of Yosemite Falls waterfall in full spring flow, with star trails arcing through the night sky.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 26853  

Yosemite Falls reflected in flooded meadow. The Merced River floods its banks in spring, forming beautiful reflections of Yosemite Falls.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 26888