2008国家地理每日图片[全年更新][不要回复]

dovebear

April 09, 2008
Workers Planting Rice, India, 2003
Photograph by William Albert Allard

Women from India's so-called Untouchable caste plant rice in a large field. Consigned by birth to the lowest social strata, Untouchables number some 160 million, about 15 percent of India's people. Considered impure by Hindu law, they are generally permitted to perform only the most menial jobs.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Untouchable," June 2003, National Geographic magazine)

dovebear

April 10, 2008
Whale's Tail, Frederick Sound, Alaska, 1999
Photograph by Michael Melford

Commercial hunting of humpback whales, like this one flashing its flukes in Alaska's Frederick Sound, reduced their population to just a few thousand worldwide in the 1960s. But an international whaling ban has helped them rebound, and new census numbers show the North Pacific population alone could be more than 10,000 and possibly as many as 25,000.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "A Wilder Passage," May/June 1999, National Geographic Traveler magazine)

dovebear

April 11, 2008
Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton, Bermuda, 1971
Photograph by Emory Kristof

With the sea itself for a water hazard, the 8th hole—a challenging par three—tests vacationing golf buffs and visiting pros. Beyond the green, the two tones of ocean water mark shoals near shore and greater depths to seaward.

Northernmost coral isles in the world, the Bermudas sprawl atop a seamount that climbs from the ocean floor 16,000 feet [4,877 meters] below. Barely breaking the surface in many places, the low-profiled islands nowhere rise more than 260 feet [80 meters] above sea level.

(Photo and caption from "Bermuda—Balmy, British, and Beautiful," July 1971, National Geographic magazine)

dovebear

April 12, 2008
Green Mountain Sunset, Vermont, 1998
Photograph by Michael Yamashita

The Green Mountains glow as a rose-colored sunset descends on a far corner of Vermont known as the Northeast Kingdom. This region, known simply as "the Kingdom" by Vermonters, is famous for its maple syrup, covered bridges, ski slopes, and the riot of fall colors that blankets its woodlands each September.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Vermont: Suite of Seasons," September 1998, National Geographic magazine)

dovebear

April 13, 2008
Redfin Butterflyfish, Fiji, 2004
Photograph by Tim Laman

A redfin butterflyfish navigates the coral of Fiji's Vatu-i-ra Channel. This waterway, which separates Fiji's two biggest islands, is home to an immense variety of fish living amid some 2,500 square miles (6,500 square kilometers) of reefs and submerged plateaus. Conservationists are seeking to protect the region by winning its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Seascape.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Fiji's Rainbow Reefs," November 2004, National Geographic magazine)

dovebear

April 14, 2008
Karo Woman, Omo Valley, Ethiopia, 2000
Photograph by Jodi Cobb

A woman from the Karo tribe, with customary short braided hair, looks through the doorway of a mud building in Ethiopia's Omo Valley. With under a thousand members, the Karo are the smallest of the valley's four main tribes.

Karo men and women are known for their ritual scarification. Men scar their chests to represent rivals killed from enemy tribes; women with scarred chests are considered sensual and attractive.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Enigma of Beauty," January 2000, National Geographic magazine)

dovebear

April 15, 2008
Palmyra Ruins, Syria, 1999
Photograph by Annie Griffiths Belt

These monumental stone pillars are among the incredible remains of the second century B.C. kingdom of Palmyra, Syria, an oasis and trade crossroads in the Syrian desert.

Roman forces sacked Palmyra in A.D. 273 after its powerful queen Zenobia challenged imperial rule. The city continued to be an important landmark after Roman conquest, hosting silk caravans from China, spice traders from India, and perfume merchants from Arabia.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Lawrence of Arabia: A Hero's Journey," January 1999, National Geographic magazine)

dovebear

Cape Fur Seal and Bull Kelp, South Africa, 2002
Photograph by David Doubilet

A young Cape fur seal forages amid bull kelp near Gansbaai, South Africa. The large numbers of great white sharks here, drawn by huge seal populations, give Gansbaai the unofficial title of Great White Capital of the World. Great whites rarely enter kelp forests, and fur seals seek them out as refuges from their arch nemeses.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Oceans of Plenty: South Africa's Teeming Seas," August 2002, National Geographic magazine)

dovebear

April 17, 2008
Baby Alligator Snapping Turtle, Florida, 1999
Photograph by George Grall

A baby alligator snapping turtle in a Florida swamp perches on the outsize skull of a record-breaking ancestor. At its largest, the monstrous reptile weighed a whopping 250 pounds (113 kilograms). With its spiked shell, beaklike jaws, and thick, scaled tail, this species is often referred to as the "dinosaur of the turtle world."

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Swamp Thing: Unmasking the Snapping Turtle," March 1999, National Geographic magazine)

dovebear

April 18, 2008
Multicolored Reef, Tukangbesi Islands, Indonesia, 2005
Photograph by Tim Laman

Layers of coral, sea fans, crinoids, and sponges make up a healthy reef off Indonesia's Tukangbesi Islands. Lighted by a photographer's strobe, this scene would explode in brilliant colors, but in natural light, it looks altogether different. Scientists are studying how wavelengths of light change at depth and how fish perceive these colors.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish: Why Are Coral Reefs So Colorful?" May 2005, National Geographic magazine)