Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon in the U.S. state of Utah, seen here from Bryce Point. Despite its name, this is not actually a canyon, but rather a giant natural amphitheater. Bryce is distinctive due to its unique geological structures, called "hoodoos", formed from wind, water, and ice erosion of the river and lakebed sedimentary rocks.

Sparrenburg Castle

Sparrenburg Castle, located in Bielefeld, Germany, as seen from the western lawn. The castle was constructed between 1240 and 1250 by the Counts of Ravensberg. The castle has been rebuilt many times. Although often under siege, it was never stormed. After extensive restoration work, the castle now presents itself as an imposing historic site.

Royal College of Music

The front facade of the Royal College of Music in Kensington, London. This prestigious music school was founded in 1882 as a successor to the National Training School for Music by the then-Prince of Wales (later Edward VII). The college building was designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield.

United States Capitol

The western (front) side of the United States Capitol. The U.S. Capitol serves as the location for Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. It is located in Washington, D.C., on top of Capitol Hill at the east end of the National Mall. The building is marked by its central dome above a rotunda and two wings. It is an exemplar of the Neoclassical architecture style.

Broadway Tower

Broadway Tower is a folly located near the village of Broadway, Worcestershire, England, at one of the highest points of the Cotswolds. Its base is 1,024 feet (312 metres) above sea level, the tower itself standing 55 feet (17 metres) tall. On a clear day, thirteen counties of England can be seen from its top.

Mont Saint-Michel

Mont Saint-Michel and its abbey at night. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a rocky tidal island roughly one kilometre from the north coast of Normandy, France at the mouth of the Couesnon River, near Avranches. Mont Saint-Michel was previously connected to the mainland via a thin natural land bridge, which before modernization was covered at high tide and revealed at low tide.

Cleveland Tower

This watercolor painting shows Cleveland Tower on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey as seen from just outside Procter Hall at the Old Graduate College in the noon autumn sun. The tower was built in 1913 as a memorial to former United States President Grover Cleveland, who also served as a university trustee. One of the largest carillons in the world, the class of 1892 bells, was installed in 1927. The Chapel Music program plays the bells Sunday afternoons during each semester, except during exam periods.

Las Vegas Strip

A panorama of a portion of the Las Vegas Strip at night (facing east), as seen from the Bellagio. Despite the name, the majority of The Strip is not actually within the city limits of Las Vegas, Nevada. Visible in the image are (left to right) Bally's, Paris, Aladdin (now Planet Hollywood), MGM Grand, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, the Project CityCenter construction site, as well as a number of other smaller hotels and casinos.

Sather Tower

Sather Tower on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, as seen from California Memorial Stadium at sunset. The campanile (bell and clock tower), home of a full concert 61-bell carillon, serves as the school's most recognizable symbol and has been a major point of orientation in almost every campus master plan. The tower has thirteen floors, with the observation deck on the eighth.

Earth's atmosphere

An image of the top layers of Earth's atmosphere leading to outer space. Atmospheric gases scatter blue wavelengths of visible light more than other wavelengths, giving the Earth’s visible edge a blue halo. At higher and higher altitudes, the atmosphere becomes so thin that it essentially ceases to exist. Gradually, the atmospheric halo fades into the blackness of space

Vernal Fall

Vernal Fall is a 317 ft (97 m) tall waterfall on the Merced River just downstream of Nevada Fall in Yosemite National Park, California, USA. It is accessible via the Mist Trail, which climbs close enough to the fall so that hikers must travel through the fall's mist. The waterfall runs all year long, although by the end of summer, it is substantially reduced in volume and can split into multiple strands, rather than a single curtain, of water.

Second Severn Crossing

A view of the Second Severn Crossing, as seen from Severn Beach, England. This bridge carries the M4 motorway across the River Severn between Severn Beach and Caldicot in south Wales. It has a total span of 5.1 km and includes a cable-stayed section called the Shoots Bridge which spans the shipping channel between the two towers. The River Severn has a vast tidal range—the point from which this photograph was taken is covered at high tide.

Magnificent Hummingbird

The Magnificent Hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens, female shown here) is a large hummingbird that breeds in mountains from the southwestern United States to western Panama. The bird appears very dark unless the sun catches the iridescence of the plumage and the brilliant colours flash in the sunlight. It is generally about 13 cm long, with males weighing 10 g and females 8.5 g. The black bill is long and slightly curved.

Peugeot 206 Swedish Rally

Juuso Pykälistö, driving a Peugeot 206 WRC at the 2003 Swedish Rally, lands a high-speed "yump" on two wheels in the snow. This rally competition is part of the World Rally Championship and was the first rally to be held on snow.

Toledo, Spain

The skyline of Toledo, Spain, at sunset, with the Alcázar on the left and Cathedral on the right. The city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the capital of the province of Toledo and of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. It is one of the former capitals of the Spanish Empire and a place of coexistence of Christian, Jewish and Moorish cultures.

Montserrat

A stitched panorama taken from St Jerome, the summit of Montserrat, a 1,236 m (4,055 ft) mountain near Barcelona, Spain. The mountain's name means "jagged mountain" and is used because of the peculiar aspect of the formation, which is visible from a great distance.

Alcatraz Island

A stitched panorama of Alcatraz Island, in San Francisco Bay, California, as seen facing east. Alcatraz is most famous for its prison, which closed in 1963, but whose legacy lived on in films such as Escape from Alcatraz and The Rock. Today it is a National Recreation Area

Morteratsch glacier

A stitched panorama of the Morteratsch Glacier, the largest glacier by area in the Bernina Range, Switzerland. By volume, it is the largest glacier in the Eastern Alps. In spring, depending on the snow conditions, a 10 km (6.25 mi) long ski-run is marked on the glacier, which takes up to two hours to descend.

L'Hemisferic

L'Hemisferic, an IMAX Cinema, planetarium and Laserium, on the grounds of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències ("City of Arts and Sciences"), in Valencia, Spain.

Striated Pardalote

An Eastern Striated Pardalote (Pardalotus striatus ornatus) with nesting material in its mouth. This subspecies of the Striated Pardalote, the least colourful and most common of the four pardalote species, is found in subtropical areas of Eastern Australia. They are more often heard than seen, foraging noisily for lerps and other small creatures in the treetops.

Male mallard in mid-flight

A male Mallard in mid-flight. The fundamentals of bird flight are similar to those of aircraft. Lift force is produced by the action of air-flow on the wing, which is an airfoil. This occurs because the air has a lower air pressure just above the wing and higher pressure below. When a bird flaps its wings they continue to develop lift but they also create an additional forward and upward force, thrust, to counteract its weight and drag.

US Capitol Building

The United States Capitol at night. The U.S. Capitol serves as the location for Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. It is located in Washington, D.C., on top of Capitol Hill at the east end of the National Mall. The building is marked by its central dome above a rotunda and two wings. It is an exemplar of the Neoclassical architecture style.