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Isle of Skye, Scotland
Photograph by Jim Richardson, National Geographic
Like a castle in ruins, the Old Man of Storr rock formation guards the landscape on Isle of Skye in Scotland. Fifty meters high, the Old Man is a weathered piece of the larger rocky ridge known as the Storr. The area has such an otherworldly look that Ridley Scott filmed scenes from his 2012 movie Prometheus there.
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Debiganj, Bangladesh
Photograph by Luke Duggleby, Redux
A vendor in Debiganj, Rangpur, Bangladesh, sits among baskets of produce in an open-air market. Until July 2015, Debiganj was an enclave: territory that is literally surrounded by a foreign country and essentially cut off from its homeland. The situation, which persisted for decades, meant that residents had difficulty getting basic supplies and no access to public works. This market, according to photographer Luke Duggleby, "stays open well into the night, when locals from all over the countryside, inside and out of the enclaves, come to buy essentials."
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Laurieton, New South Wales, Australia
Photograph by Brooke Whatnall, National Geographic Creative
This cow isn't floating in the sky—it's standing alone in shallow waters in the coastal town of Laurieton in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Laurieton, with a population of less than 2,000 people, is actually the largest town in the Camden Haven district.
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Washington, D.C.
Photograph by Sean Pavone, Alamy Stock Photo
Visitors take in the solid-granite tribute to civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King, Jr., at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial in Washington, D.C. In his "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on August 28, 1963, King addressed the 250,000 people who gathered on the National Mall in D.C., close to where this monument stands today.
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Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
Photograph by John E Marriott, Getty Images
Where there’s a puck, there’s a way. A group of Canadian hockey players proves that little will stop them from playing their nation’s favorite (although not national) sport, clearing snow off a pond in 1.6-million-acre Banff National Park. They couldn’t have picked a much more scenic spot to play: This game is taking place in the shadow of Mount Rundle, Banff’s iconic 9,600-foot peak.
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Yushu, China
Photograph by Gilles Sabrie, The New York Times/Redux
In Yushu, an autonomous prefecture in China's Qinghai Province, riders participate in the Yushu Horse Festival. The summer event is held annually beginning July 25 and features colorful displays of traditional Tibetan costumes and culture, as well as horse races and athletic competitions.
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Moscow, Russia
Photograph by Alexander Zemlianichenko, AP Images
A boat navigates the icy river Moskva (or Moscow River) in Moscow, Russia, offering sightseers protection from the cold and a unique view of the city—including, perhaps, a glimpse of the famous Gorky Park, which stretches some 300 acres along the river. Even in winter, Moscow, Russia's political, cultural, and commercial center and home to a population of about 12 million, is worth a visit.
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Hang Son Doong, Vietnam
Photograph by Ryan Deboodt, Aurora Photos
Vietnam’s Hang Son Doong stands as proof that the world still has wonders yet to be uncovered. First explored in 2009, the colossal cave is big enough to house an entire city block of 40-story buildings and has an underground river and jungle. Part of the reason the cave’s ecosystem is able to function is this doline, or sinkhole, that allows sunlight to enter.
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Ejin Qi, Inner Mongolia
Photograph by George Steinmetz, National Geographic
A woman and a toddler trudge through an immense pile of just picked cotton near Ejin Qi in Inner Mongolia. Cotton is a main crop in this region; however, farming and crop cultivation have become increasingly difficult due to overgrazing, overcultivation, and diversion of water flow by water resource development projects.
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Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Photograph by Ron Koeberer, Alamy
A storm clears over Canyonlands National Park in Utah, as seen from the Grand View Point overlook. Within the park, canyon mazes, unbroken scarps, and sandstone pillars—all carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries—await visitors. Canyonlands is 527 vast square miles, and it's the largest and most undeveloped of Utah's national parks.
