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Tarpon
Photograph by Brett Colvin, My Shot
It can describe a spoon, a fox, or a lining in the clouds. It’s part of our lore and our family histories. But silver isn’t always found in the most obvious places. It might swim by, turn up around a street corner, or appear suddenly with a trick of light.
Here, skin like crinkled aluminum frames the large eye of a tarpon in this macro image. The Atlantic fish, also called the silver king, can reach up to eight feet in length and weigh as much as 350 pounds.
(For more pictures of the amazing colors of our world, buy the National Geographic book Life in Color.)
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Turbine Blades, Switzerland
Photograph by Peter Essick, National Geographic
A team of inch-long robots spreads out through a mock-up of a turbine engine in a laboratory in Switzerland. To speed the task of inspecting each blade, the experimental units can signal neighbors through infrared sensors.
(For more pictures of the amazing colors of our world, buy the National Geographic book Life in Color.)
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Nairobi, Kenya
Photograph by Bruce Dale, National Geographic
In this photo published in a 1969 issue of National Geographic magazine, traffic flows through downtown Nairobi, Kenya, following an afternoon deluge that left streets brimming with four inches of rain.
(For more pictures of the amazing colors of our world, buy the National Geographic book Life in Color.)
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Frosted Leaf, Kansas
Photograph by Jim Richardson, National Geographic
Frost outlines a leaf on the Konza Prairie, part of a tallgrass preserve in the Flint Hills of Kansas. The frost breaks down leaves and stalks so their nutrients return to the soil to nourish the following year’s growth.
(For more pictures of the amazing colors of our world, buy the National Geographic book Life in Color.)
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Stairway, California
Photograph by Paul Chesley
A stairway leads up the side of an oil tank at a refinery in San Francisco. California is second only to Texas in U.S. oil production.
(For more pictures of the amazing colors of our world, buy the National Geographic book Life in Color.)
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Silver Eels, Netherlands
Photograph by Jennifer Hayes, National Geographic
Freshwater silver eels are prepared for smoking in the Netherlands. Silver eels are sexually mature American or European eels, so-called for their metallic appearance at this stage of life.
(For more pictures of the amazing colors of our world, buy the National Geographic book Life in Color.)
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Carnevale Revelers, Venice
Photograph by Erik Kruthoff, My Shot
Luminous masks are part of the elaborate costumes worn by revelers during Carnevale in Venice, Italy. Dating back to the 13th century, the city’s pre-Lenten celebration is one of the world’s most famous.
(For more pictures of the amazing colors of our world, buy the National Geographic book Life in Color.)
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Allagash River, Maine
Photograph by Michael Melford, National Geographic
With the help of a camera technique, foam churned up by rapids traces strokes of silver on the surface of the Allagash River. Since 1970, 92.5 miles of the legendary Maine waterway have been protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
(For more pictures of the amazing colors of our world, buy the National Geographic book Life in Color.)
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Black Pearls, French Polynesia
Photograph by Tim Laman
Black pearls appear as silvery as drops of mercury while on display in an oyster shell in French Polynesia. Despite their name, black pearls grow in a variety of shades.
(For more pictures of the amazing colors of our world, buy the National Geographic book Life in Color.)
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Limestone Towers, Madagascar
Photograph by Stephen Alvarez, National Geographic
A city of limestone towers rises in western Madagascar. Sharp, steep, and brittle, the maze of rock in Tsingy de Bemaraha national park and reserve has repelled all but a few explorers and scientists, leaving large parts of the region—and countless resident creatures—unknown to humans.
(For more pictures of the amazing colors of our world, buy the National Geographic book Life in Color.)
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Lightning, Australia
Photograph by Randy Olson
Lightning cracks in a stormy sky above Australia. About a hundred cloud-to-ground lightning bolts strike the Earth’s surface every second.
(For more pictures of the amazing colors of our world, buy the National Geographic book Life in Color.)
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Window Frost, Wisconsin
Photograph by James L. Stanfield
Frost coats a windowpane with feathery patterns in Wisconsin. Window frost forms when a glass window is exposed to cold air outside and moist air inside.
(For more pictures of the amazing colors of our world, buy the National Geographic book Life in Color.)
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Photograph by Stefano Unterthiner, National Geographic
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