20080812
August 12, 2008
Nasca Lines, Nasca, Peru, 1964
Photograph by Bates Littlehales
An aerial view shows the famed Nasca Lines of southern Peru. These images, enormous geoglyphs etched into the desert some 2,000 years ago, are so large they can only be discerned from the sky. Some are more than 1,000 feet (300 meters) long.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Five Worlds of Peru," February 1964, National Geographic magazine)

20080813
August 13, 2008
Submersible and Research Vessel, Black Sea, 2001
Photograph by Randy Olson
A team of archaeologists with the Black Sea Project lowers a remotely operated submersible named Little Hercules from a research vessel. In 2000, when this photo was taken, the project discovered several impeccably preserved ancient shipwrecks in the depths of the Black Sea off the coast of Turkey.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Deep Black Sea," May 2001, National Geographic magazine)

20070814
August 14, 2008
Elephant's Trunk, Zakouma National Park, Chad, 2007
Photograph by Michael Nichols
A unique camera angle captures an elephant's trunk approaching a waterhole in Zakouma National Park, Chad. African elephants hydrate by sucking liquid into their trunk, then pouring it into their mouth. Adults will drink up to 50 gallons (190 liters) of water per day.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Ivory Wars: Last Stand in Zakouma," March 2007, National Geographic magazine)

20080815
August 15, 2008
Diwali Observance, Jaipur, India, 2001
Photograph by Joe McNally
Two women observe Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, at the ancient palace of the maharaja in Jaipur. The festival lasts five days and celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. During Diwali, buildings and waterways are lit with candles and oil lamps, the earliest forms of artificial lighting after campfires.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Power of Light," October 2001, National Geographic magazine)

20080816
August 16, 2008
14th-Century Fortress, Dunajec Breach, Poland, 1987
Photograph by James Stanfield
A farmer in Poland's Dunajec Breach grazes his sheep on pastureland that is now many feet under water. This photo, taken in 1987, shows the dam-in-progress (center right) that nearly a decade later would turn this valley into a tranquil lake. Lofty Niedzica Castle (center top) now boasts waterfront property.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Poland: The Hope That Never Dies," January 1988, National Geographic magazine)

20080817
August 17, 2008
Cave Diver, Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico, 1991
Photograph by Michael Nichols
Ultra-clear water makes this formation in New Mexico's Lechuguilla Cave look more precipice than pool. Called Lake Chandalar, spelunkers are advised to fill their canteens here without touching the water to avoid introducing bacteria that could cloud the crystalline pond.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Charting the Splendors of Lechuguilla Cave," March 1991, National Geographic magazine)

20080818
August 18, 2008
Buddhist Temple, Lhasa, Tibet, 2003
Photograph by Galen Rowell
Pedestrians walk near a temple on the famed Barkhor promenade in Lhasa, Tibet, with the grandiose Potala Palace sprawled atop nearby Red Mountain. Once a spiritual epicenter, the Barkhor is in the midst of a Chinese government-led modernization effort that many believe has stripped the ancient neighborhood of much of its unique Tibetan culture.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "275 Miles on Foot Through the Remote Chang Tang," April 2003, National Geographic magazine)

20080819
August 19, 2008
Sunrise, Oxford, England, 1998
Photograph by Annie Griffiths Belt
Sunrise breaks in Oxford, England, home of Thomas Edward Lawrence, who came to be known as Lawrence of
Arabia. Hooked on history as a boy, "Ned" roamed the fields and riverbanks behind his home in Oxford, on
the lookout for artifacts from Britain's age of chivalry. Later the scholar turned soldier fought
alongside Arab forces in the Middle East.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Lawrence of Arabia: A Hero's
Journey," January 1999, National Geographic magazine)

20080820
August 20, 2008
Snarling Wolf, Ely, Minnesota, 1998
Photograph by Joel Sartore
A remote-controlled "carcass cam" captures an inside view of a gray wolf fiercely guarding its meal at the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota. Wolves at the center are provided with food, but wild populations generally hunt in packs. After a large kill, a single wolf can consume more than 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of meat.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Return of the Gray Wolf," May 1998, National Geographic magazine)

20080821
August 21, 2008
Child, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2000
Photograph by Michael Nichols
A child runs through a bleak village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Conservationist J. Michael Fay trekked some 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) across central Africa as part of a yearlong survey of the continent's remaining wild places. Fay designed the route of his Megatransect to skirt towns and villages by as wide a margin as possible, but he occasionally passed through one to survey its impact on surrounding wildlife populations.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Megatransect," October 2000, National Geographic magazine)

20080822
August 22, 2008
Boreal Forest, Arctic Circle, 2002
Photograph by Peter Essick
Water and sky form a blue canvas for boreal forest in the Arctic Circle. Circling the globe, the boreal forest—its name derived from Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind—comprises one-third of Earth's wooded lands. The forest begins where the temperate woods of oak and maple disappear and continues north, often past the Arctic Circle. With long, cold winters and short, cool summers, the boreal woods have far less biodiversity than tropical forests.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Boreal: The Great Northern Forest," June 2002, National Geographic magazine)

20080823
August 23, 2008
Researchers, Anavilhanas Reserve, Brazil, 1982
Photograph by James P. Blair
Researchers from the National Institute for Amazonian Studies (INPA) use nets to collect specimens of pacu, a fish that eats fruits and nuts, on the Rio Negro in Amazonas state, Brazil. INPA scientists, financed by the World Wildlife Fund, monitor flora and fauna on plots of untouched rain forest in large areas where the trees have been cut and burned to establish cattle reserves.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Nature's Dwindling Treasures," January 1983, National Geographic magazine)

20080824
August 24, 2008
Orchid, Gurukula, India, 2002
Photograph by Frans Lanting
A pink orchid blooms in the dense rain forests of India's Western Ghats mountain range. Once linked by land, the Western Ghats and the island nation of Sri Lanka together make up a biodiversity hotspot—a place with threatened natural habitats that are rich in species, especially plants, that live nowhere else.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "India's Western Ghats," January 2002, National Geographic magazine)

20080825
August 25, 2008
Carmine Bee-Eaters, Chad, 2007
Photograph by Michael Nichols
Colorful carmine bee-eaters set up a breeding colony in holes they dug in a dried-up, sandy riverbed in Zakouma National Park, Chad. During the day, bee-eaters catch honeybees and other insects, sometimes displaying them outside their holes to attract mates. At sunset the colony gathers and embarks on a mysterious, swirling flight. By nightfall the birds are back in their holes.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Zakouma: Eye to Eye," March 2007, National Geographic magazine)

20080826
August 26, 2008
Aztec Rain God, Mexico City, Mexico, 2003
Photograph by Macduff Everton
An Aztec brazier in the Templo Mayor Museum in Mexico City depicts Tlaloc, the god of rain. Like many Aztec deities, Tlaloc was both benevolent and wrathful, sending rain to nourish crops but also unleashing drought and hurricanes and demanding appeasement in the form of sacrificed children.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Under the Mexican Sun," November/December 2003, National Geographic Traveler magazine)