Spring Photos

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: Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 19693  

Waterfall at Temple of Sinawava during peak flow following spring rainstorm. Zion Canyon.
Location: Temple of Sinawava, Zion National Park, Utah
Image ID: 12450  

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  

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  

A Florida manatee, or West Indian Manatee, swims slowly through the clear waters of Crystal River.
Species: West indian manatee, Trichechus manatus
Location: Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River, Florida
Image ID: 02696  

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  

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  

Yosemite Falls and rainbow, Half Dome in distance, viewed from the Yosemite Falls trail, spring.
Location: Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 27742  

Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Location: Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Image ID: 33247  

Cholla cactus, brittlebush, ocotillo and various cacti and wildflowers color the sides of Glorietta Canyon. Heavy winter rains led to a historic springtime bloom in 2005, carpeting the entire desert in vegetation and color for months.
Species: Encelia farinosa, Fouquieria splendens, Opuntia
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 10975  

Yosemite Falls reflected in Flooded Sentinel Meadow, when the Merced River floods Yosemite Valley following a winter of historic snowfall in the Sierra Nevada, Yosemite National Park.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 39378  

Brittlebush blooms in spring, Palm Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert State Park.
Species: Brittlebush, Encelia farinosa
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 24304  

Dune Evening Primrose bloom in Anza Borrego Desert State Park.
Species: Dune evening primrose, Oenothera deltoides
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 35203  

Sand verbena wildflowers on sand dunes, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Species: Sand verbena, Abronia villosa
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 35115  

Cathedral Rocks reflected in a meadow flooded by the Merced River, historical snowmelt following record snowfall floods Yosemite Valley in May 2023.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 39375  

Chocolate lily growing among grasses on oak-covered hillsides. The chocolate lily is a herbaceous perennial monocot that is increasingly difficult to find in the wild due to habitat loss. The flower is a striking brown color akin to the color of chocolate.
Location: Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, Murrieta, California
Image ID: 33151  

Purple owls clover, Rancho La Costa, Carlsbad.
Location: Rancho La Costa, Carlsbad, California
Image ID: 33208  

Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Location: Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Image ID: 33243  

Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Location: Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Image ID: 33246  

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  

Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Location: Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Image ID: 33227  

Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Location: Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Image ID: 33233  

Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Location: Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Image ID: 33240  

Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Location: Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Image ID: 33252  

Wildflowers along the La Jolla Cove cliffs, sunrise.
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 33264  

Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Location: Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Image ID: 33237  

Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Location: Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Image ID: 33242