Sunlight streams through giant kelp forest. Giant kelp, the fastest growing plant on Earth, reaches from the rocky reef to the ocean's surface like a submarine forest.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 33433
A huge blue whale swims through the open ocean in this underwater photograph. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 34567
California sea lions bodysurfing and leaping way out of the water, in La Jolla at Boomer Beach.
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 38989
A California sea lions leap high out of the water, jumping clear of a wave while bodysurfing at Boomer Beach in La Jolla.
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 38990
Pacific Harbor Seal Pup in La Jolla About Three Weeks Old, hauled out on a white sand beach along the coast of San Diego. This young seal will be weaned off its mothers milk and care when it is about four to six weeks old, and before that time it must learn how to forage for food on its own, a very difficult time for a young seal.
Species: Pacific harbor seal, Phoca vitulina richardsi
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 39071
Fletcher Peak (11407') rises above Fletcher Lake (10174'), near Vogelsang High Sierra Camp in Yosemite's high country.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 23208
Hammerhead sharks swim in a school underwater at Wolf Island in the Galapagos archipelago. The hammerheads eyes and other sensor organs are placed far apart on its wide head to give the shark greater ability to sense the location of prey.
Species: Scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini
Location: Wolf Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 16271
A huge blue whale swims through the open ocean in this underwater photograph. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Image ID: 03027
The Milky Way at Night over Sky Rock. Sky Rock petroglyphs near Bishop, California. Hidden atop an enormous boulder in the Volcanic Tablelands lies Sky Rock, a set of petroglyphs that face the sky. These superb examples of native American petroglyph artwork are thought to be Paiute in origin, but little is known about them.
Location: Bishop, California
Image ID: 28817
Panorama dimensions: 13870 x 16600
Emerald Bay Lake Tahoe, aerial panoramic photo of the mouth of the bay, early morning.
Location: Lake Tahoe, California
Image ID: 38130
Panorama dimensions: 4417 x 9952
The leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) is found on the southern and western coasts of Australia. Its extravagent appendages serve only for camoflage, since it has a nearly-invisible dorsal fin that propels it slowly through the water. The leafy sea dragon is the marine emblem of South Australia.
Species: Leafy seadragon, Phycodurus eques
Location: Rapid Bay Jetty, South Australia
Image ID: 39137
Australian Sea Lions, Grindal Island. Australian sea lions are the only endemic pinniped in Australia, and are found along the coastlines and islands of south and west Australia.
Species: Australian Sea Lion, Neophoca cinearea
Location: Grindal Island, South Australia
Image ID: 39157
California sea lion on drift kelp paddy, underwater. This adult female California sea lion was hanging out underneath a paddy of drift kelp, well offshore the coastline of San Diego.
Species: California sea lion, Zalophus californianus
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 38532