The white sands of Florida’s Emerald Coast beaches are primarily comprised of quartz grains from the southern Appalachian Mountains.
Image of the Day Land Water
Curtains of colorful light danced across the sky after solar storms sent energized particles crashing into Earth’s upper atmosphere.
Image of the Day Atmosphere
Ancient geologic processes created a Saharan landscape full of contrasts.
Image of the Day Land
The Parinacota and Pomerape volcanoes rise like twins along the Chile-Bolivia border, but close inspection reveals distinct differences in their appearance.
Despite their rusty color, these arteries of water in Bolivia and Madagascar are important for biodiversity.
Oblique photographs can provide a unique perspective on the planet’s topographic highs, including Europe’s most active volcano.
Image of the Day Land Volcanoes
A patchwork of farmland along the Snake River abuts a flow of hardened lava.
An oblique-angle photo taken from above the Middle East captures the Moon peeking over Earth’s atmospheric limb.
Image of the Day Atmosphere Land
Intertidal flats, mangroves, and artificial islands surround the populous capital city of the United Arab Emirates.
Image of the Day Human Presence
Southeastern Ethiopia’s longest river supports the growth of green vegetation amid the otherwise brown, desert landscape.
The icy landscape high in the Andes is dotted with colorful glacial lakes and weathered rock.
Image of the Day Land Snow and Ice
An otherworldly landscape on a plateau in the Andes provides a natural laboratory for scientists studying Earth and Mars.
The Flaming Gorge Reservoir lies within a national recreation area that straddles the two states.
Cameras on the International Space Station captured oblique photos of the potent storm over the Gulf of Mexico and Florida.
Atmosphere Severe Storms
The aurora borealis and moonglint shine bright in this astronaut photo of the Alaskan island chain.
Dunes formed on the slopes of dark mesas in this photo taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station.
Urban infrastructure and natural areas stand in sharp contrast at night on the Mediterranean coast.
Towns, beaches, bays, and forests are visible along this stretch of the southeast Australian coast.
Space Shuttle Atlantis approached the International Space Station for docking for the last time.
Image of the Day Atmosphere Water Human Presence
Strong winds blowing in from the Western Atlantic sculpt the sand along the coast of southern Brazil into distinctive crescent shapes.
A complex system of dunes displays an array of patterns in the Rub’ al Khali sand sea in southeast Saudi Arabia.
At the strait’s narrowest point, only 13 kilometers separate Europe and Africa.
The ecoregion displays an array of natural patterns, from meandering rivers to rectangle-shaped lakes.
Dunes, ponds, and wildlife habitat are found alongside urban areas on this iconic peninsula in Massachusetts.
Image of the Day Land Water Human Presence
Sunrise is an opportune time to photograph fog as it rolls through the mountain range.
A national park and a dune field occupy part of this bright-white desert landscape, which also has ties to the aerospace industry.
Dunes, crops, roads, and solar farms flank the river as it winds through China’s Inner Mongolia.
The island group off Mexico’s Baja California Sur has eroded slowly, preserving evidence of past human activity.
Petroglyphs, hanging gardens, and deep canyons make this remote landscape a notable part of Bears Ears National Monument.
Trees along this stretch of western Australia have an elongated root system that allows them to withstand high and low tides.