Parry's Nolina, or Giant Nolina, a flowering plant native to southern California and Arizona founds in deserts and mountains to 6200'. It can reach 6' in height with its flowering inflorescence reaching 12'.
Species: Parry's nolina, Nolina parryi
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26725
Sun pillar rises over the Sierra Nevada and this Mono Lake sunset, Sierra Nevada mountain range and tufas, clouds reflected in the still waters of Mono Lake.
Location: Mono Lake, California
Image ID: 26968
Panorama dimensions: 5331 x 14966
Mono Lake sunset, Sierra Nevada mountain range and tufas, clouds reflected in the still waters of Mono Lake.
Location: Mono Lake, California
Image ID: 26978
Cardon cactus, near La Paz, Baja California, Mexico. Known as the elephant cactus or Mexican giant cactus, cardon is largest cactus in the world and is endemic to the deserts of the Baja California peninsula. Some specimens of cardon have been measured over 21m (70) high. These slow-growing plants live up to 300 years and can weigh 25 tons. Cardon is often mistaken for the superficially similar saguaro of Arizona and Sonora, but the saguaro does not occupy Baja California.
Species: Cardon cactus, Elephant cactus, Pachycereus pringlei
Location: La Paz, Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 05498
Arc de Triomphe. The Arc de Triomphe (Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle (originally named Place de l'Etoile), at the western end of the Champs-Elysees. The Arc de Triomphe (in English: "Triumphal Arch") honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. The monument was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806, and its iconographic program pitted heroically nude French youths against bearded Germanic warriors in chain mail. It set the tone for public monuments, with triumphant patriotic messages. The monument stands 50 metres (164 ft) in height, 45 m (148 ft) wide and 22 m (72 ft) deep.
Location: Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France
Image ID: 28083
Aerial View of the San Rafael Reef, Utah. This is a canyon-like section of the San Rafael Reef, photographed at sunrise. The "reef proper" is on the right, with its characteristic triangular flatiron erosion. The canyon in the center is a fold in the Earth's crust affiliated with the boundary of the San Rafael Swell. The colors seen here arise primarily from Navajo and Wingate sandstone.
Location: Utah
Image ID: 39497
Panorama dimensions: 4490 x 8439
Arch Rock, Venus and Milky Way at Astronomical Twilight, Morning approaching, Joshua Tree National Park.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 29231
Isla San Pedro Martir at sunset with extensive forest of Cardon Cactus seen on the summit ridge of the island, aerial photo, Sea of Cortez, Mexico. San Pedro Martir Island and its marine life are, since 2002, part of the San Pedro Martir Biosphere Reserve, and is regarded as a natural laboratory of adaptive evolution, similar to that of the Galapagos Islands. It is home to 292 species of fauna and flora (both land-based and aquatic), with 42 species protected by Mexican law, and 30 listed on the Red List of Threatened Species. San Pedro Martir is also unique in the area for its year-round quantity of birds. The island is the only island in the area with a perpetually swirling cloud of sea birds. This is because the water around the island, has some of the most successful marine productivity in the world.
Species: Cardon cactus, Elephant cactus, Pachycereus pringlei
Location: Isla San Pedro Martir, Sonora, Mexico
Image ID: 40398
Carlsbad Coast Highway Sunset, Terramar and North Ponto to Oceanside with Camp Pendleton in the distance. San Onofre Mountain (1722'), one of the southern peaks in the Santa Ana Mountains, can just barely be seen in the distance.
Location: Carlsbad, California
Image ID: 35904
Underwater Plaque Honoring Jacques Cousteau at the Casino Point Dive Park, Avalon, Catalina Island.
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 39445
Black Coral on Rocky Reef, Unidentified species, Midriff Islands, Sea of Cortez, Mexico.
Location: Isla San Pedro Martir, Sonora, Mexico
Image ID: 40393
Turtle Flies Over Pink Sponges Encrusting Rocky Reef alongside various species of algae and gorgonians, San Pedro Martir Island, Sea of Cortez.
Location: Isla San Pedro Martir, Sonora, Mexico
Image ID: 40416
Black Coral on Rocky Reef, Unidentified species, isla San Pedro Martir, Midriff Islands, Sea of Cortez, Mexico.
Location: Isla San Pedro Martir, Sonora, Mexico
Image ID: 40426
Pacific Green Sea Turtle, Chelonia mydas, grazing on marine algae, San Pedro Martir Island, Sea of Cortez.
Location: Isla San Pedro Martir, Sonora, Mexico
Image ID: 40429