Male elephant seals (bulls) rear up on their foreflippers and fight for territory and harems of females. Bull elephant seals will haul out and fight from December through March, nearly fasting the entire time as they maintain their territory and harem. They bite and tear at each other on the neck and shoulders, drawing blood and creating scars on the tough hides. Sandy beach rookery, winter, Central California.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 15394
A hiker admires an ancient bristlecone pine tree, on the Methuselah Walk in the Schulman Grove in the White Mountains at an elevation of 9500 above sea level. The oldest bristlecone pines in the world are found in the Schulman Grove, some of them over 4700 years old. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.
Species: Bristlecone pine, Pinus longaeva
Location: White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, California
Image ID: 23232
The Great Wall, Navajo Tribal Lands, Arizona. Sandstone "fins", eroded striations that depict how sandstone -- ancient compressed sand -- was laid down in layers over time. Now exposed, the layer erode at different rates, forming delicate "fins" that stretch for long distances.
Location: Navajo Tribal Lands, Page, Arizona
Image ID: 26643
The Crystal Pier and Pacific Ocean at sunrise, dawn, waves blur as they crash upon the sand. Crystal Pier, 872 feet long and built in 1925, extends out into the Pacific Ocean from the town of Pacific Beach.
Location: Pacific Beach, California
Image ID: 27239
Mobius Arch in the Alabama Hills, seen here at night with swirling star trails formed in the sky above due to a long time exposure.
Location: Alabama Hills Recreational Area, California
Image ID: 27673
Ancient bristlecone pine trees in Patriarch Grove, display characteristic gnarled, twisted form as it rises above the arid, dolomite-rich slopes of the White Mountains at 11000-foot elevation. Patriarch Grove, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.
Species: Ancient bristlecone pine, Pinus longaeva
Location: White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, California
Image ID: 28523
Ancient bristlecone pine trees in Patriarch Grove, display characteristic gnarled, twisted form as it rises above the arid, dolomite-rich slopes of the White Mountains at 11000-foot elevation. Patriarch Grove, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.
Species: Ancient bristlecone pine, Pinus longaeva
Location: White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, California
Image ID: 28525
Ancient bristlecone pine trees in Patriarch Grove, display characteristic gnarled, twisted form as it rises above the arid, dolomite-rich slopes of the White Mountains at 11000-foot elevation. Patriarch Grove, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.
Species: Ancient bristlecone pine, Pinus longaeva
Location: White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, California
Image ID: 28527
Aerial photo of Crystal Pier with Holiday Christmas Lights at night. The Crystal Pier, Holiday Lights and Pacific Ocean at sunset, waves blur as they crash upon the sand. Crystal Pier, 872 feet long and built in 1925, extends out into the Pacific Ocean from the town of Pacific Beach.
Location: Pacific Beach, California
Image ID: 39999
Yosemite Falls and star trails, night sky time exposure of Yosemite Falls waterfall in full spring flow, with star trails arcing through the night sky.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 26853
Snow geese at sunrise. Thousands of wintering snow geese take to the sky in predawn light in Bosque del Apache's famous "blast off". The flock can be as large as 20,000 geese or more. Long time exposure creates blurring among the geese.
Species: Snow goose, Chen caerulescens
Location: Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, New Mexico
Image ID: 21799
Ocotillo ablaze with springtime flowers. Ocotillo is a dramatic succulent, often confused with cactus, that is common throughout the desert regions of American southwest.
Species: Ocotillo, Fouquieria splendens
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 09161
Male elephant seals (bulls) rear up on their foreflippers and fight for territory and harems of females. Bull elephant seals will haul out and fight from December through March, nearly fasting the entire time as they maintain their territory and harem. They bite and tear at each other on the neck and shoulders, drawing blood and creating scars on the tough hides. Sandy beach rookery, winter, Central California.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 35150
The Crystal Pier, Holiday Lights and Pacific Ocean at sunset, waves blur as they crash upon the sand. Crystal Pier, 872 feet long and built in 1925, extends out into the Pacific Ocean from the town of Pacific Beach.
Image ID: 37562