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Tasmanian Bridge
Photograph by Sam Abell
Purple is a versatile color. Combining the fire of red with the serenity of blue, it has the ability to soothe as well as excite passion. Purple is prevalent in nature in everything from eggplants to amethysts, and humans have adopted it as a symbol of royalty.
Here, Ross Bridge in Tasmania is cloaked in a mauve sunset. The beautiful sandstone span, built by convicts in 1836, is one of Australia's oldest and is decorated with an impressive array of carvings.
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Polar Bears at Twilight
Photograph by Paul Nicklen
Two polar bears spar in the snow as a magenta sunset descends over Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Scientists fear that the shifting Arctic climate could threaten the species' survival.
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Lechwe at Twilight
Photograph by Beverly Joubert
Lechwe rest as the setting sun casts a purple glow over Botswana's Okavango Delta. Well adapted to wetland environments, these antelope typically feed on the delta's semiaquatic grasses.
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Purple Crocuses
Photograph by Stacy Gold
A close-up shows purple crocuses flecked with bright yellow pollen in Washington, D.C.
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Purple Sea Star
Photograph by Wolcott Henry
This brilliant purple sea star was photographed in the waters off Sulawesi, Indonesia. Though they are commonly called starfish, these animals are not fish at all. They are echinoderms, closely related to sea urchins.
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Purple Nudibranch
Photograph by Tim Laman
A lavender-colored nudibranch feeds on hydroids near Vatu-i-Ra, Fiji. Related to sea slugs, nudibranchs are shell-less mollusks that display some of the most vibrant colors found anywhere in nature.
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Anemonefish
Photograph by Paul Sutherland
An anemonefish hovers over its purple host near Sulawesi, Indonesia. These colorful fish have a layer of mucous that keeps the anemone from stinging it.
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Saudi Arabia Dunes
Photograph by Reza
Glow from the distant Shaybah oil field turns the Saudi Arabian sky purple as a man dances atop a nearby sand dune. Saudi Arabia controls about a fourth of all the world's proven oil reserves.
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Joshua Tree
Photograph by Tim Laman
A Joshua tree stands under a purple-black sky in California’s Mojave Desert. Native Americans once wove baskets and sandals from this tree's leaves and ate its buds and seeds.
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Lavender Fields
Photograph by Gerd Ludwig
Purple tints land and sky as night falls over lavender fields at Tasmania's famed Bridestowe Estate. The plantation is one of the largest lavender farms in the world.
