September 11, 2005
Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
1993
Raymond Gehman
"As any eagle can show you, a six-foot [183-centimeter] wingspan makes travel a lot easier among the magnificently corrugated Rocky Mountains. Although cliff-nesting golden eagles are most common, bald eagles like the adult perched on this subalpine fir also occur, especially along the edges of rivers and lakes."
From the National Geographic book Yellowstone to Yukon, 2000
September 12, 2005
Republic of Tuva, Russia
2002
Sisse Brimberg
Horses cantering across a valley in southern Siberia evoke the mystery of the ancient Scythian peoples who once lived here. One of history's earliest and mightiest horse-riding cultures, the Scythians revered their mounts in life, death, and art.
Most details of the Siberian Scythians' everyday life remain a mystery. Nomads and fierce warriors, they faded from the scene in the second century B.C., and their culture entered the realm of legend and artifact.
(Photograph from and text adapted from "Masters of Gold," June 2003, National Geographic magazine)
September 13, 2005
Glacier Bay, Alaska
1983
David Alan Harvey
A kayaker carefully maneuvers around jagged icebergs in Glacier Bay, Alaska. Glacier Bay was designated as a national park in 1980, protecting this unique area, while still allowing adventurers to take part in recreational activities like camping, kayaking, and rafting.
(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "A Place Apart," January 1984, National Geographic magazine)
September 14, 2005
Montserrat, West Indies
1996
Vincent J. Musi
In 1995 the Soufriere Hills volcano on the island of Montserrat erupted for the first time since the early 1600s. After the 1995 eruption and evacuation, continuing volcanic activity prompted three other evacuations. Thousands of former residents have fled the island, and although many hope to return, it could be years before the volcano simmers down.
(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Under the Volcano: Montserrat," July 1997, National Geographic magazine)
September 15, 2005
Loango National Park, Gabon, Africa
2003
Michael K. Nichols
Camouflaged by its colors and patterns, an extremely venomous Gabon viper is barely visible on the forest floor.
At 18 pounds (8 kilograms) the Gabon viper is the heaviest venomous snake in Africa. It also has the longest fangs of any snake, up to 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) long.
Photograph from "In the Land of the Surfing Hippos," August 2004, National Geographic magazine
September 16, 2005
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska
1993
George F. Mobley
Visitors to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve head home from Labor Day festivities.
A 13.2-million-acre (1.6-million-hectare) park created in 1980, Wrangell-St. Elias is primarily a wilderness area, with few campgrounds, amenities, or designated trails. It also contains the historic copper-mining town of Kennicott. Kennicott was once a boomtown, then a ghost town, and is now a popular tourist destination.
(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Alaska's Sky-High Wilderness," May 1994, National Geographic magazine)
September 17, 2005
Bihar, India
2002
William Albert Allard
"Discarded chicken scraps bought from a restaurant barely make a meal for Untouchables in Bihar, one of India's poorest states. These villagers belong to the Musahar, or rat-eaters, caste, its members known for hunting rodents. Musahar women, many of whom work as field hands, have begun to agitate for better living conditions. This takes courage, says a local activist. 'If an Untouchable woman demands or questions something and a landlord doesn't like it, he will beat or sexually harass her.'"
From "India's Untouchables," June 2003, National Geographic magazine
September 18, 2005
United Kingdom
1992
Sam Abell
"In southern England alone, perhaps as many as one-fifth of all surviving hedgerows date from Saxon times, a living link with the Dark Ages. Some even date back to Roman times."
(Text from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Hedgerows," September 1993, National Geographic magazine)
September 19, 2005
Füssen, West Germany
1977
Robert W. Madden
"Eulogy in stone to a musical genius, Neuchwanstein Castle beckons from its Alpine setting far behind a country church near F黶sen. Bavaria's King Ludwig II was so taken with Richard Wagner's operas that he built this castle expressly to capture the spirit of their soaring romantic strains."
—From "West Germany: Continuing Miracle," August 1977, National Geographic magazine
September 20, 2005
Sahara, Chad
1998
George Steinmetz
Rocky skylines and dunes red with iron oxide make for a Martian landscape in northern Chad. Evidence of the Sahara's ancient seas and rivers, sandstone pinnacles were eroded by rainfall. The Sahara梩he largest desert in the world梘ets its name from the Arabic word sahra, or desert.
— Text and photograph from "Journey to the Heart of the Sahara," March 1999, National Geographic magazine
September 21, 2005
Malheur, Oregon
1996
Sarah Leen
This southeast region of Oregon was appropriately named Malheur (French for "misfortune") by trappers because of its bleak terrain. There are few residents in the area; only 1 percent of the state's population occupies this corner of Oregon.
(Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Oregon's Outback," August 1997, National Geographic magazine)
September 22, 2005
Loango National Park, Gabon, Africa
2003
Michael K. Nichols
Viewed by a paraglider-riding photographer, a fish eagle soars over a lagoon.
Fish eagles most often inhabit African rivers, lakes, coastal lagoons and estuaries south of the Sahara. Fish are their main sources of food, especially catfish and lungfish. In some cases they also eat other waterbirds or their young.
—Photograph from "In the Land of the Surfing Hippos," August 2004, National Geographic magazine
September 23, 2005
South Dakota
1993
Daniel R. Westergren
The Black Hills region of South Dakota includes high ridges and deep caverns, the remains of a several-hundred-million-year period of intense pressure from the earth's molten crust. Over time, wind and water have eroded the landscape, a process still under way.
(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Scenic Drive: South Dakota Badlands and Black Hills," May/June 1996, National Geographic Traveler magazine)
September 24, 2005
Alaska Range, Alaska
1996
Bill Hatcher
This cyclist was a member of a trio that crossed a 700-mile (1,126-kilometer) section of the Alaskan Range by bicycle. The bicycles served not only as transport, but also as ice picks and tent stakes in the harsh conditions.
(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Biking Across the Alaska Range," May 1997, National Geographic magazine)
September 25, 2005
Stone Mountain Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada
1999
Raymond Gehman
A rainbow graces the sky above Stone Mountain Provincial Park. High elevations and harsh winter conditions limit the ranges of many species in the park, but this mountainous terrain is nevertheless home to a variety of wildlife, including grizzly and black bears, wolves, beaver, and golden eagles, among others.
(Photograph from the National Geographic book Yellowstone to Yukon, 2000)
September 26, 2005
Vermont and New Hampshire
1997
Michael S. Yamashita
As seen from neighboring Vermont, autumn begins to sprinkle the White Mountains of New Hampshire with color.
"Winter rules here in Vermont, but the rest of the seasons make up in splendor for what they lack in length. 'At times there's a luxury in the beauty, and at other times an austerity,' says a local poet. 'But the beauty is always there.”
—From "Vermont: Suite of Seasons," September 1998, National Geographic magazine
September 27, 2005
Loango National Park, Gabon, Africa
2003
Michael K. Nichols
"Flares of white cheeks and a blaze of red on its head gave away the lookout of a spying mangabey. 'Animals like sunset on the beach just as we do, and I often waited to see who would come out then,' Michael Nichols [a National Geographic photographer] says. 'One day this young mangabey came up the mangroves and watched me for five minutes. Then he was gone.'”
—From "In the Land of the Surfing Hippos," August 2004, National Geographic magazine
September 28, 2005
Papua New Guinea
1997
Jodi Cobb
Putting on their best faces, men of the Huli people prepare for a sing-sing, an annual festival of clan pride in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Together they preen, strut, and shake their feathered costumes, mimicking the local birds of paradise.
(Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Enigma of Beauty," January 2000, National Geographic magazine)
September 29, 2005
Fox River, Upper Peninsula, Michigan
1996
Jay Dickman
"Late September in Michigan's Upper Peninsula can be a time of gray mists and steady rain. The deciduous trees—maple, aspen, crab apple, birch—have begun to turn; but in a wet year their colors are more muted: umber, ocher, russet, and mustard."
(Text from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Hemingway’s Many Hearted Fox River," June 1997, National Geographic magazine)
September 30, 2005
Dangriga, Belize
2001
Susie Post Rust
"The sea still serves as a byway, grocery, laundry, workplace, and playground for the Garífuna people, much as its has for centuries."
(Text from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Garífuna: Weaving a Future From a Tangled Past," September 2001, National Geographic magazine)
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