20080622
June 22, 2008
Woman and Dog, Newport, Rhode Island, 2003
Photograph by Bob Krist
A woman and her dog walk on a beach at low tide in Newport, Rhode Island. Each year, this small city of 27,000 residents attracts some 200,000 vacationers, who come to lounge on the beach, take in the resort town's extensive history, and get a look at the many beachfront mansions that have made Newport famous.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Insider's Newport," July/August 2003, National Geographic Traveler magazine)

20080623
June 23, 2008
Photograph by Justin Guariglia
Tucked in a valley in northeastern Gomera, part of Rhode Island Spain's Canary Islands, the village of Hermigua stairsteps down terraced hills dotted with palms and banana plants. Tiny Gomera is richly contoured with hills and valleys. Wrote one observer: "To make a 3-D map of La Gomera, first crumple a piece of paper into a ball. Next, tease the center into a high point. That's it."
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Quietest Place on Earth," September 2006, National Geographic Traveler magazine)

20080624
June 24, 2008
Weddell Seals, Antarctica, 2006
Photograph by Maria Stenzel
A mother Weddell seal and her calf swim beneath Antarctic ice. Weddell seals can dive as deep as 2,000 feet (610 meters), but frequently stay in the shallows to avoid predators such as sharks and orcas.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Underworld: South Sandwich Islands," December 2006, National Geographic magazine)

20080625
June 25, 2008
Twin Bolts of Lightning, Grand Canyon, Arizona, 2006
Photograph by Michael Nichols
Twin bolts of lightning reach for the depths of the Grand Canyon near Point Sublime. This scenic area on the canyon's North Rim is not as easily accessible as other lookouts. But for those willing to make the two-hour trip by 4WD vehicle, the vistas are among the best the park has to offer.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, "The Unexpected Canyon," January 2006, National Geographic magazine)

20080626
June 26, 2008
Tribal Leaders, Saudi Arabia, 2003
Photograph by Reza
Tribal leaders gather around a fire in the tent of a prominent sheik in Saudi Arabia. Such meetings, called majlis, are customary throughout the kingdom. They can be simple social gatherings or, if the host is powerful, an official audience, where a Bedouin camel herder asking help with a grazing issue might be followed by a billionaire property baron requesting a construction permit.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Kingdom on Edge: Saudi Arabia," October 2003, National Geographic magazine)

20080627
June 27, 2008
Lower Falls, Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Michigan, 1991
Photograph by Phil Schermeister
Water from the Tahquamenon River flows over the Lower Falls in Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The picturesque, tea-colored Tahquamenon is the setting for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem The Song of Hiawatha.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Big Lost Country," March/April 1991, National Geographic Traveler magazine)

20080628
June 28, 2008
Boat at Low Tide, County Mayo, Ireland, 2003
Photograph by Chris Rainier
A fishing boat, beached by low tide, leans against seaweed-covered rocks in Ireland's Sruwaddacon Bay. The waters of this picturesque estuary, located in County Mayo on the northwest coast, are in constant motion, emptying and filling the riverlike bay four times each day.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Far Edge of Ireland," March 2003, National Geographic magazine)

20080629
June 29, 2008
Desert Rainbow, Red Desert, Wyoming, 2005
Photograph by Joel Sartore
Wyoming's big sky has ample room for this 180-degree rainbow over the Adobe Town rock formations in Red Desert. This seemingly desolate expanse is home to an abundance of life, including antelope, mule deer, and Wyoming's largest herd of wild horses.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "All Fired Up," July 2005, National Geographic magazine)

20080630
June 30, 2008
All-American Canal, Yuma, Arizona, 2003
Photograph by George Steinmetz
The All-American Canal disappears over the horizon of the Yuma, Arizona, desert. The 80-mile (129-kilometer) canal is part of an extensive system of waterways that taps the Colorado River to irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland in southeastern California and southwestern Arizona.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Watching You: The World of High-Tech Surveillance," November 2003, National Geographic magazine)

20080701
July 01, 2008
Sundog Light Phenomenon, Manitoba, Canada, 2005
Photograph by Norbert Rosing
A solar phenomenon known as a sundog arcs over the tundra in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Sundogs are fairly common occurrences in the Arctic and Antarctic. They form when the sun is near the horizon and ice crystals high in the sky line up in a way that bends the solar rays like a prism.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Refuge in White: Winter in a Canadian National Park," December 2005, National Geographic magazine)

20080702
July 02, 2008
Bullfight, Arequipa, Peru, 1982
Photograph by William Albert Allard
A slow exposure blurs the charge of a bull at a bullfight in Arequipa, Peru. Peru is the second stop on the calendar for many of the world's top bullfighters. They begin in Spain in March, move to Lima for a month in October, then head to Mexico to close the year.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Two Souls of Peru," March 1982, National Geographic magazine)

20080703
July 03, 2008
Spawning Salmon, Alaska, 1999
Photograph by Karen Kasmauski
Salmon en route to spawning grounds struggle up an intertidal stream on a stretch of Alaskan coastline once fouled by millions of gallons of crude oil from the infamous Exxon Valdez. Today, a visitor would be hard pressed to find evidence of the spill. But studies show lingering effects to regional wildlife.
(Photo shot on assignment for "In the Wake of the Spill: Ten Years After Exxon Valdez," March 1999, National Geographic magazine)

20080704
July 04, 2008
Fourth of July Fireworks, Bowlus, Minnesota, 2000
Photograph by Richard Olsenius
Fireworks light up the sky over a grain elevator in Bowlus, Minnesota. The volunteer fire department sets off the display every year on the Fourth of July, during Bowlus Fun Days. The daylong celebration is a "big thing" in Bowlus, says Charlie Sobieck, who owns the grain elevator. "We have bingo, a snow-cone stand, cotton candy, polka bands, and a parade with floats. It's a good gathering for people to see people they haven't seen in years."
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "In Search of Lake Wobegon," December 2000, National Geographic magazine)

20080705
July 05, 2008
Giant Squirrel, Borneo, Indonesia, 1997
Photograph by Tim Laman
A giant squirrel surveys the surrounding rain forest from a tree limb in Borneo’s Gunung Palung National Park. Borneo, the world’s third largest island, boasts some of the last areas of pristine rain forest in the world. However, deforestation from illegal logging within the park threatens the survival of this unique ecosystem.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Borneo’s Strangler Fig Trees," April 1997, National Geographic magazine)

20080706
July 06, 2008
Ariaal Warriors, Marsabit District, Kenya, 1999
Photograph by Maria Stenzel
Ariaal warriors rest on an outcrop amid the deserts of northern Kenya's Marsabit District. The 10,000 or so Ariaal who inhabit Marsabit have managed to maintain their nomadic way of life in spite of shrinking communal pastures, increasing ethnic tensions, and government pressure to trade their cattle culture for a more mainstream existence.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Vanishing Cultures," August 1999, National Geographic magazine)