20080415
April 15, 2008
Palmyra Ruins, Syria, 1999
Photograph by Annie Griffiths Belt
These monumental stone pillars are among the incredible remains of the second century B.C. kingdom of Palmyra, Syria, an oasis and trade crossroads in the Syrian desert.
Roman forces sacked Palmyra in A.D. 273 after its powerful queen Zenobia challenged imperial rule. The city continued to be an important landmark after Roman conquest, hosting silk caravans from China, spice traders from India, and perfume merchants from Arabia.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Lawrence of Arabia: A Hero's Journey," January 1999, National Geographic magazine)

20080416
Cape Fur Seal and Bull Kelp, South Africa, 2002
Photograph by David Doubilet
A young Cape fur seal forages amid bull kelp near Gansbaai, South Africa. The large numbers of great white sharks here, drawn by huge seal populations, give Gansbaai the unofficial title of Great White Capital of the World. Great whites rarely enter kelp forests, and fur seals seek them out as refuges from their arch nemeses.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Oceans of Plenty: South Africa's Teeming Seas," August 2002, National Geographic magazine)

20080417
April 17, 2008
Baby Alligator Snapping Turtle, Florida, 1999
Photograph by George Grall
A baby alligator snapping turtle in a Florida swamp perches on the outsize skull of a record-breaking ancestor. At its largest, the monstrous reptile weighed a whopping 250 pounds (113 kilograms). With its spiked shell, beaklike jaws, and thick, scaled tail, this species is often referred to as the "dinosaur of the turtle world."
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Swamp Thing: Unmasking the Snapping Turtle," March 1999, National Geographic magazine)

20080418
April 18, 2008
Multicolored Reef, Tukangbesi Islands, Indonesia, 2005
Photograph by Tim Laman
Layers of coral, sea fans, crinoids, and sponges make up a healthy reef off Indonesia's Tukangbesi Islands. Lighted by a photographer's strobe, this scene would explode in brilliant colors, but in natural light, it looks altogether different. Scientists are studying how wavelengths of light change at depth and how fish perceive these colors.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish: Why Are Coral Reefs So Colorful?" May 2005, National Geographic magazine)

20080419
April 19, 2008
Huli Tribesmen, Papua New Guinea, 2000
Photograph by Jodi Cobb
Decked out in elaborate costumes, striking facial paint, and wigs of human hair, the men of the Huli tribe in the highlands of Papua New Guinea prepare for a sing-sing, an annual festival of clan pride. Together, the men preen, strut, shimmy, and shake their feathered costumes, mimicking the local birds of paradise.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Enigma of Beauty," January 2000, National Geographic magazine)

20080420
April 20, 2008
Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia, 1997
Photograph by David Doubilet
A school of fish swims over a coral formation in the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia. Like a few grains of rice sprinkled on a sea of blue, the French territory in the South Pacific is a paltry 1,359 square miles (3,520 square kilometers) of land scattered over one million square miles (2.6 million square kilometers) of ocean, an area as large as Western Europe.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Black Pearls of French Polynesia," June 1997, National Geographic magazine)

20080421
April 21, 2008
Byzantine Coin, Sinop, Turkey, 2001
Photograph by Randy Olson
Explorers pulled this ancient Byzantine coin from a Black Sea wreck near Sinop, Turkey. Millennia ago, the Black Sea was a freshwater lake. When the last ice age waned some 12,000 years ago, salt water from the Mediterranean breached the Bosporus Valley, transforming the Black Sea into its current state—a toxic, brackish, oxygen-deficient pool, perfect for preserving ancient wrecks.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Deep Black Sea," May 2001, National Geographic magazine)

20080422
April 22, 2008
Cloudy Sky, Location Unknown, 2004
Photograph by Peter Essick
Piles of cotton-like cumulus clouds fill the sky on a clear day. Mid-level cumulus clouds form between 6,500 feet (2,000 meters) and about 20,000 feet (6,000 meters). They form when humid air cools enough for water vapor to condense into droplets or ice crystals. A single cloud can hold billions of pounds of water, but may not always produce rain.
Earth Day, celebrated annually on April 22, marks the anniversary of the 1970 birth of the environmental movement. Scientists warn that rising temperatures worldwide could fuel extreme weather—just one of many damaging effects of global warming.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Signs From Earth: Heating Up, Melting Down," September 2004, National Geographic magazine)

20080423
April 23, 2008
Women Carrying Firewood, Sudan, 2003
Photograph by Randy Olson
Women carry bundles of firewood on their heads in the Sudanese desert. In rural African cultures, the responsibility of foraging for firewood usually falls to the women. In Sudan's brutally dry desert, where little vegetation grows, it can take several hours each day to collect enough wood to cook with.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Shattered Sudan: Drilling for Oil, Hoping for Peace," February 2003, National Geographic magazine)

张张都是经典。

20080424
April 24, 2008
Cars Passing the Colosseum, Rome, Italy, 1981
Photograph by O. Louis Mazzatenta
Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Colosseum was built to host gladiator duels, battle reenactments, and other public spectacles. Now, the 50,000-seat stone-and-concrete amphitheater serves Rome in another capacity: as a traffic circle.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Down the Ancient Appian Way," June 1981, National Geographic magazine)

20080425
April 25, 2008
Red-and-Green Macaws, Bolivia, 2000
Photograph by Joel Sartore
A mated pair of red-and-green macaws soars above the forest in Bolivia's Madidi National Park. These long-lived birds mate for life, and couples spend nearly every minute together.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Madidi: Will Bolivia Drown Its New National Park?" March 2000, National Geographic magazine)

20080426
April 26, 2008
Mudbrick Houses, Shibam, Yemen, 2005
Photograph by George Steinmetz
The city of Shibam, Yemen, rises from the Rub al Khali, or Empty Quarter, a sea of sand that occupies one-fifth of the Arabian Peninsula. The distinctive mud-brick skyscrapers that house Shibam's 5,000 residents have earned the city its nickname: "Manhattan of the Desert."
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Empty Quarter: Exploring Arabia's Legendary Sea of Sand," February 2005, National Geographic magazine)

20080427
April 27, 2008
Horse Herders, Darhad Valley, Mongolia, 2003
Photograph by Gordon Wiltsie
Mongolian herdsmen drive horses back into the Darhad Valley after wintering on the other side of the 10,000-foot (3,000-meter) mountains that rise in the background. People have moved their herds over these mountains for generations. But a government effort to transition Mongolia's nomadic people to more stable urban lives could soon mean the end of this twice-yearly trek.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Mongolian Crossing: Is Time Running Out on Timeless Migration?" October 2003, National Geographic magazine)

20080428
April 28, 2008
Irrigation Fields, Qatar, 2003
Photograph by Robb Kendrick
Irrigated crop fields stand out starkly against an expanse of Qatari desert. Such farms provide Qataris with some fruits and vegetables, but most of their food is imported. Government efforts to increase domestic agriculture are complicated by the paucity of fresh water in this parched desert nation.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Revolution From the Top Down: Qatar," March 2003, National Geographic magazine)