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Lightning, Dubai
Photograph by Maxim Shatrov, My Shot
Visions of Earth showcases the beauty, majesty, and wonder of the world around us and pays tribute to the photographers who capture its essence. In this gallery, see a selection of stunning scenes from the new National Geographic book, and decorate your desktop with your favorite images.
Here, in Dubai, natural and man-made electricity illuminate the night. As jagged needles of lightning darn an overcast sky, the sail-shaped, 1,053-foot-tall (321-meter) Burj Al Arab hotel glows green on the edge of the Persian Gulf.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Lemurs, Madagascar
Photograph by Stephen Alvarez, National Geographic
Decken's sifakas appear right at home in their karst home in western Madagascar. These lemurs live among the unusual pinnacles of the Tsingy de Bemaraha, which started to form 1.8 million years ago as groundwater dissolved and shaped the porous limestone.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Honeycomb Coral, Indonesia
Photograph by Mark Pickford
In waters off the Raja Ampat Islands, a honeycomb coral glows green. The archipelago is a hot spot of coral diversity—some 75 percent of all known coral species can be found there.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Lake Natron, Tanzania
Photograph by George Steinmetz, National Geographic
An airplane casts a shadow over the red waters of Lake Natron in Tanzania, part of the East African Rift Valley. The water's red hue is due to algae that live on salts spewed from nearby volcanoes. The East African Rift Valley system begins in northern Syria and extends across East Africa into Mozambique.
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Volcano, Tanzania
Photograph by Olivier Grunewald
A camera's long nighttime exposure reveals the red glow of lava spilling from Mount Ol Doinyo Lengai in Tanzania's Rift Valley. The volcano’s lava, which appears brown to the naked eye, has the consistency of olive oil.
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Moss-Covered Truck, Michigan
Photograph by Jason Rydquist, My Shot
It’s hard to imagine this 1940s Chevrolet pickup moving down the road. Showcasing the ephemeral truth of automobiles, the earth has overtaken it.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Grasshopper, Georgia
Photograph by Bulent Erel, My Shot
A nearly translucent green gem of a grasshopper climbs on a flower petal. North American grasshoppers range in size from the minuscule to the largest, which can measure three inches long.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
Photograph by Patrick di Fruscia
Building clouds and a setting sun reflect on a sandy beach on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula. The Pacific offers tranquil beauty and good surfing, just two of many reasons why this stable Central American country has become a favorite destination.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Scrap Yard, Canada
Photograph by Pete Ryan, National Geographic
It’s the end of the line for these crushed cars in a Victoria, British Columbia, scrap yard. Their metal, though, is destined to be recycled into other consumer products, and British Columbia encourages "early retirement" for older vehicles.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Bird Hunter, Pakistan
Photograph by Randy Olson, National Geographic
A bird hunter sports a heron decoy in the Indus River. The ancient Indus civilization, which reached its height some 3,000 years ago, commanded an area the size of Texas that reached from the Arabian Sea to the Himalayan foothills.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Cave of Crystals, Mexico
Photograph by Carsten Peter, National Geographic
An explorer is no match for the gigantic crystals in Mexico's Cueva de los Cristales, or Cave of Crystals. In 2000, two brothers drilling for lead and silver in a remote part of northern Mexico discovered the underground crystal incubator. The largest of the crystals started to grow some 600,000 years ago.
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Woman With Parasol, Australia
Photograph by Helen Dittrich, My Shot
An orange paper parasol silhouettes a woman’s curves. In ancient Egypt, China, India, and Mesopotamia, umbrellas protected important people from the sun.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Five Flower Lake, China
Photograph by Michael Yamashita, National Geographic
Verdant trees reflect in the morning waters of Five Flower Lake, colored by mineral deposits and aquatic plant life. Five Flower is one of 118 lakes in Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve, which came under Chinese protection in 1978.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Bear, Finland
Photograph by Meta Penca
Mimmi the brown bear shows her flair for flexibility during an afternoon stretch at the Ähtäri Zoo. Despite intense summer heat, the lively resident lifted paws for minutes at a time in poses she learned from her mother.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Salt Cones, Bolivia
Photograph by George Steinmetz, National Geographic
Salt from the world’s largest salt plain in Salar de Uyuni waits for transport to surrounding Andean villages. It’s one of Earth’s flattest places; relief varies by less than 16 inches across some 4,000 square miles.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Frog and Crocodile, South Africa
Photograph by Jonathan Blair, National Geographic
A year-old Nile crocodile attempts to snap up a frog in the St. Lucia Estuary. Part of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, which UNESCO named a World Heritage site in 1999, the protected area is Africa’s largest estuarine system.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Wildfire, Montana
Photograph by Mark Thiessen, National Geographic
A fire supervisor surveys the scene in Seeley Lake, Montana, from the relative safety of a truck. Wildfire flames jumped the road and engulfed trees, creating this apocalyptic landscape.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Fishermen, Indonesia
Photograph by David Doubilet, National Geographic
See dusk in the Dampier Strait through a half-submerged lens and glimpse two distinct worlds. Under a cloud-slung sky, fishermen work on wooden boats. Beneath a mirror-calm surface, waters flash with baitfish.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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Beach Mouse, Florida
Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic Caption:
An endangered Choctawhatchee beach mouse, Peromyscus polionotus allophrys, has good reason to appear shy. The nocturnal herbivore faces the ongoing threat of development of the sand dune ecosystem it inhabits.
(From the National Geographic book Visions of Earth)
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