World Heritage Sites Photos

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

Male elk bugling during the fall rut. Large male elk are known as bulls. Male elk have large antlers which are shed each year. Male elk engage in competitive mating behaviors during the rut, including posturing, antler wrestling and bugling, a loud series of screams which is intended to establish dominance over other males and attract females.
Species: Elk, Cervus canadensis
Location: Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 19693  

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  

Bull elk spar to establish harems of females, Gibbon Meadow.
Species: Elk, Cervus canadensis
Location: Gibbon Meadows, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13151  

A rainbow appears in the mist of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. At 308 feet, the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River is the tallest fall in the park. This view is from Lookout Point on the North side of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. When conditions are perfect in midsummer, a midmorning rainbow briefly appears in the falls.
Location: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13319  

Grand Prismatic Spring (left) and Excelsior Geyser (right). Grand Prismatic Spring displays a stunning rainbow of colors created by species of thermophilac (heat-loving) bacteria that thrive in narrow temperature ranges. The blue water in the center is too hot to support any bacterial life, while the outer orange rings are the coolest water. Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest spring in the United States and the third-largest in the world. Midway Geyser Basin.
Location: Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 13571  

Old Faithful geyser, sunrise. Reaching up to 185' in height and lasting up to 5 minutes, Old Faithful geyser is the most famous geyser in the world and the first geyser in Yellowstone to be named.
Location: Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 26939  

Mule deer in tall grass, fall, autumn.
Species: Mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus
Location: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 19577  

A whale shark swims through the open ocean in the Galapagos Islands. The whale shark is the largest shark on Earth, but is harmless eating plankton and small fish.
Species: Whale shark, Rhincodon typus
Location: Darwin Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 01520  

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  

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  

Galapagos shark swims over a reef in the Galapagos Islands, with schooling fish in the distance.
Species: Galapagos shark, Carcharhinus galapagensis
Location: Wolf Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 16240  

Scalloped hammerhead shark swims over a reef in the Galapagos Islands. 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: 16246  

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  

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  

Yosemite Falls and star trails, at night, viewed from Cook's Meadow, illuminated by the light of the full moon.
Location: Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 27733  

Bigeye trevally jacks, motion blur, schooling.
Species: Bigeye jack, Caranx sexfasciatus
Location: Darwin Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 16347  

Townsley Lake (10396'), a beautiful alpine lake sitting below blue sky, clouds and Fletcher Peak (right), lies amid the Cathedral Range of glacier-sculpted granite peaks in Yosemite's high country, near Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 23206  

Yosemite Falls and rainbow, Half Dome in distance, viewed from the Yosemite Falls trail, spring.
Location: Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 27742  

Perseid Meteor Shower and Milky Way, Andromeda Galaxy and the Pleides Cluster, over Half Dome and Yosemite National Park.
Location: Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 28746  

Half Dome and Clouds Rest, Sunset, Yosemite National Park.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 34541  

Cathedral Range peaks reflected in the still waters of Townsley Lake at sunrise.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 25756  

Galapagos penguin, underwater, swimming. Bartolome Island.
Species: Galapagos penguin, Spheniscus mendiculus
Location: Bartolome Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 16234  

Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. At 308 feet, the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River is the tallest fall in the park. This view is from the famous and popular Artist Point on the south side of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Location: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 07769  

Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. At 308 feet, the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River is the tallest fall in the park. This view is from the famous and popular Artist Point on the south side of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Location: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 07770  

Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. At 308 feet, the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River is the tallest fall in the park. This view is from the famous and popular Artist Point on the south side of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Location: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 07771  

El Capitan eastern face, sunrise.
Location: El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 22745  

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