California Photos

Breaking wave, fast motion and blur, The Wedge.
Location: The Wedge, Newport Beach, California
Image ID: 14355  

Guadalupe fur seals, floating upside down underwater over a rocky reef covered with golden kelp at Guadalupe Island.
Species: Guadalupe fur seal, Arctocephalus townsendi
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 02113  

Two blue whales, a mother and her calf, swim through the open ocean in this aerial photograph. The calf is blowing (spouting, exhaling) with a powerful column of spray. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 02304  

Half Dome and storm clouds at sunset, viewed from Sentinel Bridge.
Location: Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 22744  

Guadalupe fur seal, floating upside down under the ocean's surface at Guadalupe Island, watching the photographer and looking for passing predators.
Species: Guadalupe fur seal, Arctocephalus townsendi
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 02114  

Breaking wave, Moonlight Beach, Encinitas, morning, barrel shaped surf, California.
Location: California
Image ID: 27975  

Breaking wave, Ponto, South Carlsbad.
Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California
Image ID: 17679  

Brown pelican in flight against pastel-colored sky at sunrise. The wingspan of the brown pelican is over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status. In winter months, breeding adults assume a dramatic plumage.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 15122  

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  

A great white shark opens it mouth just before it attacks its prey with a crippling, powerful bite. After the prey has been disabled, the shark will often wait for it to weaken from blood loss before resuming the attack. If the shark looses a tooth in the course of the bite, a replacement just behind it will move forward to take its place.
Species: Great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 19452  

Kelp frond showing pneumatocysts.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 00627  

A kelp forest, with sunbeams passing through kelp fronds. Giant kelp, the fastest growing plant on Earth, reaches from the rocky bottom to the ocean's surface like a submarine forest.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 02411  

Horsetail Falls backlit by the setting sun as it cascades down the face of El Capitan, February, Yosemite Valley.
Location: Horsetail Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 07048  

A great white shark swims through the clear waters of Isla Guadalupe, far offshore of the Pacific Coast of Baja California. Guadalupe Island is host to a concentration of large great white sharks, which visit the island to feed on pinnipeds and tuna.
Species: Great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 07666  

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  

Oceanside Pier at dusk, sunset, night. Oceanside.
Location: Oceanside Pier, California
Image ID: 14628  

Tiny hikers atop Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park, California. Near Stovepipe Wells lies a region of sand dunes, some of them hundreds of feet tall.
Location: Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 15577  

Aspen trees display Eastern Sierra fall colors, Lake Sabrina, Bishop Creek Canyon.
Species: Aspen, Populus tremuloides
Location: Bishop Creek Canyon, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California
Image ID: 17547  

A great white shark swims through the clear waters of Isla Guadalupe, far offshore of the Pacific Coast of Mexico's Baja California. Guadalupe Island is host to a concentration of large great white sharks, which visit the island to feed on pinnipeds and use it as a staging area before journeying farther into the Pacific ocean.
Species: Great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 19465  

Sunrise breaking wave, dawn surf.
Location: The Wedge, Newport Beach, California
Image ID: 27979  

Sunrise breaking wave, dawn surf.
Location: California
Image ID: 27993  

A SCUBA diver swims through a giant kelp forest which is tilted back by strong ocean currents. Giant kelp, the fastest plant on Earth, reaches from the rocky bottom to the ocean's surface like a submarine forest.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 01107  

Galapagos sea lion pup, Punta Espinosa.
Species: Galapagos sea lion, Zalophus californianus wollebacki, Zalophus californianus wollebaeki
Location: Fernandina Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 01611  

Ocean sunfish recruiting fish near drift kelp to clean parasites, open ocean, Baja California.
Species: Ocean sunfish, Mola mola
Image ID: 03267  

2006 Mavericks surf contest champion Grant Twiggy Baker of South Africa. Final round, Mavericks surf contest, February 7, 2006.
Location: Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California
Image ID: 15299  

Lembert Dome and late afternoon clouds rise above Tuolumne Meadows in the High Sierra, catching the fading light of sunset.
Location: Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 09938  

Hotel del Coronado with holiday Christmas night lights, known affectionately as the Hotel Del. It was once the largest hotel in the world, and is one of the few remaining wooden Victorian beach resorts. It sits on the beach on Coronado Island, seen here with downtown San Diego in the distance. It is widely considered to be one of Americas most beautiful and classic hotels. Built in 1888, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977.
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 27396  

Scripps Pier solstice, sunset aligned perfectly with the pier.
Location: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California
Image ID: 28475