2008国家地理每日图片[全年更新][不要回复]

dovebear

January 31, 2008


Sardines and Sharks, South Africa, 2002
Photograph by David Doubilet

Copper sharks torment a frenzied school of sardines off South Africa's east coast. In winter, sardines migrate northward en masse, creating an aquatic extravaganza that draws sharks, seals, seabirds, dolphins, and gamefish to a roiling all-you-can-eat buffet.

(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

February 01, 2008


Swarm-Bots, Belgium, 2007
Photograph by Peter Essick

A team of "swarm-bots" negotiates challenging terrain outside a laboratory in Brussels, Belgium. A red color ring tells others, "Grab me;" blue means "stay away." Scientists study ant colonies, bird flocks, mammal herds, and fish schools to understand the simple genius of such animal swarms. Robots that mimic this complex group behavior could prove useful in a number of human applications.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for "Swarm Theory," July 2007, National Geographic magazine)

dovebear

February 02, 2008


Miniature Horse, Kentucky, 2003
Photograph by Melissa Farlow

A miniature horse stands in a field near Lexington, Kentucky, a bit of a curiosity in a region known more for its regal, fleet-footed thoroughbreds. There are some 500 thoroughbred horse farms in and around Lexington, where pastures, fed by the rich leavings of a long-vanished sea, are said to be among the world's best.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "High Stakes in the Bluegrass," May 2003, National Geographic magazine)

dovebear

February 03, 2008


Twilight Over Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, 1997
Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel

Crimson twilight gives a Martian air to Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. With just one maintained trail in an area the size of Delaware, this monument is decidedly big and wild. Wrote one observer: "Almost everywhere, the benchlands lay sliced with canyons—deep wounds that millions of years of flowing water have carved into a quarter billion years' worth of multicolored sandstone deposits."

(Text from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Celebrating Canyon Country," July 1999, National Geographic magazine)

dovebear

February 04, 2008

Wildflowers and Sky, California, 2000
Photograph by Frans Lanting

A deep-blue sky sets off a mass of yellow wildflower blooms along California's Big Sur coast. Each year more than three million visitors navigate the treacherous turns of Highway 1, drawn by the plunging gorges, fog-strewn coves, exploding surf, and tortuous geography—5,000-foot (1,524-meter) summits plummet abruptly to the ocean—of California's dramatic 90-mile (145-kilometer) coast.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Big Sur: California's Elemental Coast," August 2000, National Geographic magazine)

dovebear

February 05, 2008

Tiger Close-Up, 1995
Photograph by Michael Nichols

A wary tiger flashes a toothy snarl in this extreme close-up. Tigers are thought to have evolved in China more than a million years ago, prowling west toward the Caspian Sea, north to Siberia, and south across Indochina and Indonesia. Today, three of the original eight tiger subspecies are extinct, and hunting and habitat loss have reduced populations from hundreds of thousands of animals to perhaps fewer than 2,500.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Making Room for Wild Tigers," December 1997, National Geographic magazine)

dovebear

February 06, 2008

Women Picking Cotton, China, 2003
Photograph by Michael S. Yamashita

Bundled against the wind, a group of women picks cotton in China. The Asian nation is the world's leading producer of cotton, with an output of 6.73 million tons per year. Farmers can't keep up with the burgeoning textile industry, however, which uses about 13 million tons of cotton a year. The Chinese often rely on imports to close the gap, which drives up textile prices for consumers worldwide.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Chasing the Wall," January 2003, National Geographic magazine)

dovebear

February 07, 2008

Buckskin Gulch, Utah, 2003
Photograph by Bill Hatcher

Dark clouds roll over Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness in Utah. The 112,500-acre (45,527-hectares) area in northern Arizona and southern Utah is known for its towering stone amphitheaters, sandstone arches, and the Vermillion Cliffs, all painted in dramatic streaks of red, pink, and orange, thanks to heavy iron deposits.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "One Narrow Escapade," March 2003, National Geographic Traveler magazine)

dovebear

February 08, 2008

Harp Seal, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, 2004
Photograph by Brian Skerry

A young harp seal tests the frigid waters in Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence. Once the object of a bitter controversy between sealers and animal-welfare groups, import restrictions on their pelts and Canadian laws protecting seal pups have helped populations of these charismatic sea mammals recover.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Harp Seals: The Hunt for Balance," March, 2004, National Geographic magazine)

dovebear

February 09, 2008

Pink Anemonefish, Kosrae Island, Micronesia, 2007
Photograph by Tim Laman

Two pink anemonefish peek from the safety of their anemone home on a reef off Micronesia's Kosrae Island. The island's remoteness and a concerted effort by locals to preserve marine wildlife there endows Kosrae with some of the most pristine reefs on Earth.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Mangroves: Forests of the Tide," February 2007, National Geographic magazine)