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Mimic Octopus, this fascinating creature was discovered in 1998 off the coast of Sulawesi in Indonesia.

2012-01-25T07:51:00.006-06:00

The Mimic Octopus, Thaumoctopus mimicus, is a species of octopus that has a strong ability to mimic other creatures. It grows up to 60 cm (2 feet) in length. Its normal colouring consists of brown and white stripes or spots.

Living in the tropical seas of South East Asia, it was not discovered officially until 1998, off the coast of Sulawesi. The octopus mimics the physical likeness and movements of more than fifteen different species, including sea snakes, lionfish, flatfish, brittle stars, giant crabs, sea shells, stingrays, flounders, jellyfish, sea anemones, and mantis shrimp. It accomplishes this by contorting its body and arms, and changing colour.

Although all octopuses can change colour and texture, and many can blend with the sea floor, appearing as rocks, the mimic octopus is the first octopus species ever observed to impersonate other animals.

Based on observation, the mimic octopus may decide which animal to impersonate depending on local predators. For example, when the octopus was being attacked by damselfish, it was observed that the octopus appeared as a banded sea snake, a damselfish predator. The octopus impersonates the snake by turning black and yellow, burying six of its arms, and waving its other two arms in opposite directions.

The mimic octopus is often confused with Wunderpus photogenicus, another recently discovered species. The Wunderpus can be distinguished by the pattern of strong, fixed white markings on its body.

Mimic octopuses have been known to live exclusively in nutrient-rich estuarine bays of Indonesia and Malaysia full of potential prey. They use a jet of water through their funnel to glide over the sand while searching for prey, typically small fish, crabs, and worms. Mimics are also prey themselves. Like other octopuses, their soft bodies are made of nutritious muscle, without spine or armor, and not obviously poisonous, making them desirable prey for such large deep water carnivores as barracuda and small sharks. Often unable to escape such predators, its mimicry of different "poisonous" creatures serves as its best defense. Mimicry also serves to allow it to prey upon animals that would ordinarily flee an octopus; it can imitate a crab as an apparent mate, only to devour its deceived "suitor".

This octopus mimics venomous sole, lion fish, sea snakes, sea anemones, and jellyfish. For example, the mimic is able to imitate a sole by pulling its arms in, flattening to a leaf-like shape, and increasing speed using a jet-like propulsion that resembles a sole. When spreading its legs and lingering on the ocean bottom, its arms trail behind to simulate the lion fish's fins. Raising all of its arms above its head with each arm bent in a curved zig-zag shape to resemble the lethal tentacles of a fish-eating sea anemone, it deters many fish. It imitates a large jellyfish by swimming to the surface and then slowly sinking with its arms spread evenly around its body.

Unlike the vast majority of octopuses, it regularly traverses tunnels and burrows in the sea floor to search for food and to conceal itself from predators. It can often be seen surveying its surroundings from one of these burrows, with only its eyes and head sticking out of the hole.

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The best photos from National Geographic December 2011.

2012-01-19T06:10:00.007-06:00

Snorkeler, Thailand

Photograph by Nick Kelly, My Shot

I headed out to Thailand from Los Angeles for an adventure, partly to study Muay Thai and partly to find myself in a crazy place. This was one of many photos off the coast of Koh Tao in Thailand, near Koh Phangan, where I trained. A fish just happened to steal the shot.

Santorini, Greece

Photograph by C.T. Feng, My Shot

I went to Santorini toward the end of the season last year, when most of the shops on the island started shutting down for the winter. I wanted to get a nice twilight shot of the often photographed Oia. I used the meter on the camera to expose the shots, but it was consistently darker than what I had hoped for. So for the heck of it, I just left it exposed as long as possible, and the color just took on a life of its own and the town became a beautiful model doll. October 2007

Polar Bear, Norway

Photograph by Michael Nolan, Your Shot

A curious female polar bear approaches the Lindblad Expeditions ship National Geographic Explorer in Svalbard, Norway.

Storm Clouds, Nushagak Bay

Photograph by Michael Melford, National Geographic

Storm clouds gather over Nushagak Bay, where a tempest is raging over the proposed Pebble mine. Fishermen say it could ruin salmon runs. Mine owners promise jobs and an infusion of money.

Kayakers, Land’s End

Photograph by Ralph Lee Hopkins, National Geographic

Kayakers navigate the waters around Land’s End in Cabo San Lucas, a popular tourist destination at the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. The continued coastal development of the nature-rich finger of land has raised questions about possible environmental damage.

Sand Dunes, Australia

Photograph by Nicki Chen, Your Shot

The east of Lancelin town is bordered by endless snow-white sand dunes, which are heaven for sand boarders. The peaks of these sand dunes give a spectacular panoramic lookout over the township, surrounding sand hills, farmlands, coastline, islands and ocean.

Point Reyes, California

Photograph by Anton Barmettler, My Shot

Point Reyes, California, near the top of the cliff, under fog. The windswept trees forming a kind of tunnel, the sun piercing through the upper layer of the fog and the limited visibility provide for a very special effect. It appears quite unreal. Kind of spooky, especially considering that there were very few people around.

Badwater Basin, Death Valley

Photograph by Dan Desroches, My Shot

This was taken in Death Valley at a location named Badwater, a dry sea of salt below sea level.

Surfer, South Africa

Photograph by Anne du Plessis, My Shot

This photo was taken in Elandsbaai, South Africa. This surfer is waiting for the set waves to pass before paddling out into some big swell.

Megiddo

Photograph by Greg Girard, National Geographic

Tourists explore Megiddo, an ancient city north of Jerusalem where archaeologists found ruins of a palace and stables—evoked by a metal horse sculpture. They were first attributed to Solomon, but evidence now suggests the stables were built at least a century after the Bible says he died.

Explore an unparalleled treasury of iconic images and groundbreaking photography in National Geographic Image Collection, 2010 People's Voice Webby Award Winner.

The best photos December 2010.

The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world.

Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history.

The National Geographic Society’s logo is a yellow portraitframe - rectangular in shape - which appears on the margins surrounding the front covers of its magazines.

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The GNOME art team needs your help with icons, visual design on the desktop and websites for GNOME projects.

2012-01-16T10:12:00.006-06:00

Hi everyone, this is my wallpaper collection that I made. These are nowhere else on the web, for I made them myself and haven't shared them yet.

In the coming days, I plan to make more and add them to the list. If you have any suggestions or comments good or bad let me know!

GNOME (abbreviation of GNU Network Object Model Environment) is a desktop environment—a graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system—composed entirely of free and open source software.

It was created by two Mexican programmers, Miguel de Icaza and Federico Mena.

It is an international project that includes creating software development frameworks, selecting application software for the desktop, and working on the programs that manage application launching, file handling, and window and task management.

GNOME is part of the GNU Project and can be used with various Unix-like operating systems, most notably GNU/Linux, and as part of the Java Desktop System in Solaris.

The name “GNOME” is an acronym of GNU Network Object Model Environment. It refers to GNOME’s original intention of creating a distributed object framework similar to Microsoft’s OLE.

This no longer reflects the core vision of the GNOME project, and the full expansion of the name is now considered obsolete. As such, some members of the project advocate dropping the acronym and re-naming "GNOME" to "Gnome".

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Laogai, it is estimated that in the last fifty years more than 50 million people have been sent to laogai camps.

2012-01-14T03:48:00.007-06:00

Aggiungi didascalia

Laogai, which means "reform through labor," is a slogan of the Chinese criminal justice system and has been used to refer to the use of prison labor and prison farms in the People's Republic of China (PRC).

It is estimated that in the last fifty years more than 50 million people have been sent to laogai camps. Laogai is distinguished from laojiao, or re-education through labor, which is an administrative detention for a person who is not a criminal but has committed minor offenses, and is intended to reform offenders into law-abiding citizens.

Persons detained under laojiao are detained in facilities which are separate from the general prison system of laogai. Both systems, however, involve penal labor.

In 1990 China abandoned the term laogai and started labelling the facilities as "prisons" instead.[why?]China's 1997 revised Criminal Procedure Law brought an end to official laogai policy, but some prisons in the Tibet Autonomous Region and in Qinghai still practice forced labor and amount to a continuation of laogai.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Chinese prisons, similar to organized factories, contained large numbers of people who were considered too critical of the government or "counter-revolutionary." However, many people arrested for political or religious reasons were released in the late 1970s at the start of the Deng Xiaoping reforms.

There are accusations that Chinese prisons produce products that are often sold in foreign countries, with the profits going to the PRC government. Products include everything from green tea to industrial engines to coal dug from mines. In addition to the fact that the same practice is found in Western countries (the making of license plates in the US for example), the products made in laogai camps make up only an insignificant amount of mainland China's export output and gross domestic product, according to researchers James D. Seymour and Richard Anderson.

It has been argued that the use of prison labor for manufacturing is not itself a violation of human rights and that most prisoners in Chinese prisons are there for what are generally regarded as crimes in the West. Western criticism of the laogai centers not only on the export of products made by forced labor, but also on the claims of detainees being held for political or religious violations, such as leadership of unregistered Chinese House Churches.

While the laogai has attracted widespread criticism for the poor conditions in the prisons, Seymour and Anderson claim that reports are exaggerated, stating that "even at its worst, the laogai is not, as some have claimed, 'the Chinese equivalent of the Soviet gulag.'"

The downfall of socialism has reduced revenue to local governments, increasing pressure for local governments to attempt to supplement their income using prison labor. At the same time, prisoners usually do not make a good workforce, and the products produced by prison labor in China are of extremely low quality and have become unsalable on the open market in competition with products made by non-imprisoned paid labor.

An insider's view from the '50s to the 1990s is detailed in the books of Harry Wu, including Troublemaker and Laogai. Wu spent nineteen years, from 1960 to 1979, as a prisoner in these camps for criticizing the government while he was a young college student. Almost starving to death, he eventually escaped to the US.

In Mao: The Unknown Story, Mao biographer Jung Chang and historian Jon Halliday estimate that perhaps 27 million people died in prisons and labor camps during Mao Tse-tung's rule. They claim that inmates were subjected to back-breaking labor in the most hostile wastelands, and that executions and suicides by any means (like diving into a wheat chopper) were commonplace.Jean-Louis Margolin writing in The Black Book of Communism, which describes the history of repressions by Communist states, claims that perhaps 20 million died in the prison system. Professor R.J. Rummel puts the number of forced labor "democides" at 15,720,000, excluding "all those collectivized, ill-fed and clothed peasants who would be worked to death in the fields."Harry Wu puts the death toll at 15 million.

Currently, the Laogai Research Foundation, a human rights NGO located in Washington, DC, estimates that there are approximately 1,045 laogai facilities in China, containing an estimated 6.8 million detainees, although the actual number of detainees is uncertain.

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The best photos from National Geographic July 2011.

2011-08-14T13:50:00.003-05:00

Blacktip Reef Shark, Maldives

Photograph by Paul Wilkinson

Smaller fish keep their distance when a blacktip reef shark swims amongst them in shallow water in the Maldives.

Blue-Tongued Lizard, Australia

Photograph by Kathy Parker

Australian blue-tongued lizards are widespread over our great country. This particular species is a "common" or "Eastern" blue-tongued lizard, found in the eastern parts of Australia. Living on a farm in the South East of South Australia, we find many of these lizards lazily crawling around our yard, especially during the warmer months. This lizard was courtesy of our hunter-gatherer cat, which is brave enough to bring all sorts of amazing creatures to our back door for inspection and approval.

Seagull and Boats

Photograph by Diane Jones

Walking the line

(This photo and caption were submitted to the 2011 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest).

Caiman and Turtles, Guatemala

Photograph by Anthony Davis

A caiman rescued by the ARCAS organization in Guatemala gets the eye from a ring of turtles. Founded in 1989, ARCAS strives to rehabilitate animals seized from poachers and illegal pet traders, eventually releasing most back into the wild. As one of hundreds of travelers fortunate enough to volunteer at ARCAS each year, I spent long, hot, but enjoyable days cleaning and feeding parrots, scarlet macaws, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, and other species under pressure in Central America.

Parrotfish, Great Barrier Reef

Photograph by David Doubilet, National Geographic

The clownish grin of a bridled parrotfish reveals its power tools: grinding teeth used to scrape algae from rock. Though sometimes destructive to individual corals, the fish's efforts are mostly beneficial. Without them, algal growth could smother the reef. Scarus frenatus

Hawaiian Green Turtle, Maui

Photograph by Jose Cardona

At a Maui aquarium a Hawaiian green turtle makes a guest appearance. Members of this threatened species are unique among sea turtles for their herbivorous diet, thought to imbue their fat with a greenish hue.

Gecko and Palm Frond

Photograph by Lorenzo Menendez

A small gecko pokes his head out from between the ridges of a palm leaf. How I ever saw him I will never know.

Blue Heeler, San Miguel de Allende

Photograph by Jay Koppelman

I grabbed this shot of a blue heeler dog in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Sometimes it seems that there are two completely separate worlds that are in existence: that of the humans and the other, which belongs to the animals. In this photo the humans are definitely unaware of all the interaction that goes on in the animal world just feet away. I wonder what's going through this dog's mind.

Deer, Japan

Photograph by Angie Sin

Deer in Nara, Japan, are revered as holy messengers of God and are allowed to roam freely. They are well known for their bowing gestures for food.

Explore an unparalleled treasury of iconic images and groundbreaking photography in National Geographic Image Collection, 2010 People's Voice Webby Award Winner.

The best photos July 2011.

The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world.

Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history.

The National Geographic Society’s logo is a yellow portraitframe - rectangular in shape - which appears on the margins surrounding the front covers of its magazines.

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Luján is best known for its large neo-gothic Basilica, built in honor of the Virgin of Luján, the patron saint of Argentina.

2011-08-14T13:15:00.000-05:00

Luján is a city in the Buenos Aires province of Argentina, located 68 kilometres north west of the city of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1755 and has a population of 94,000.

Luján is best known for its large neo-gothic Basilica, built in honor of the Virgin of Luján, the patron saint of Argentina. Every year, more than six million people make pilgrimages to the Basilica, many walking there from Buenos Aires.

The city is known as 'La Capital de la Fe' (Capital of the Faith). It is popular day-trip for non-believers too, with abundant grill restaurants (like most places in Argentina) and souvenir shops with kitsch religious memorabilia.

The church was designed by the French architect Ulderico Courtois and started in 1889, completed by 1937.

Its towers stand 106m high and it has a copper roof and bronze doors. The huge church towers over the surrounding flat country and houses the tiny 38 cm high statue of the Virgin.

A large and important organ by French builder Cavaille-Coll stands in the gallery in a state of deterioration, although efforts are underway to see to its restoration.

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African National Parks: the mammals, birds and reptiles of the great African tableau.

2011-07-23T13:18:00.001-05:00

Massai Mara (Kenya)

Namib-Naukluft National Park (Namibia)

Chobe National Park (Bostwana)

Bénoué National Park (Burundi)

Serengeti National Park (Tanzania)

Zaramba National Park (Congo)

Massai Mara (Kenya)

Lake Nakuru National Park (Kenya)

Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania)

Chimanimani (Zimbabwe)

Golden Gate Highlands National Park (south Africa)

Chobe National Park (Botswana)

Bontebok National Park (South Africa)

Liwonde National Park (Malawi)

Victoria Falls / Zambezi (Zimbabwe)

Katonga Wildlife Preserve Uganda)

Chobe National Park (Bostwana)

Mosi-oa-Tunya Victoria Falls (Zambia)

The nature of the parks varies considerably not only between countries but also within some nations – the degree of protection, accessibility and type of environment for which it is intended to deliver protection.

Some parks have been cleared of their original human population, others have always been essentially uninhabited, while yet others contain significant population centres.

National parks can be found in a large majority of African countries, being most numerous in Gabon, Kenya and Tanzania.

Some nations also have considerable areas designated as private parks, game reserves, forest reserves, marine reserves, national reserves and natural parks.

These are not included in the list below, even though some of these may resemble some national parks. For more information on such zones, see the individual articles on each country.

This is what makes surreal photos a challenge for the designers and in the same time, an awesome adventure for the viewers. Yes, all of that in a picture.

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Surreal Photo Manipulation: 40 Amazing Artwork, Chapter 2.

2011-05-30T15:30:00.000-05:00

source: Hongkiat

Surreal photo is basically displays of a designer’s rich imagination of subjects which then injected into real pictures.

Most of these surreal pictures are captivating be it pleasant or not because it is not what we experience in our daily life hence it is out of norm.

Given it is not an event we could not possibly experience, it leaves a huge dimension for viewers to interpret what does the designer was trying to convey through their work.

This is what makes surreal photos a challenge for the designers and in the same time, an awesome adventure for the viewers. Yes, all of that in a picture.

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Save the Children lists 10 countries where motherhood is a daily, life-or-death struggle.

2011-05-07T12:40:00.000-05:00

This week, Save the Children released its annual report on the State of the World's Mothers, which ranks the status of mothers in countries worldwide using a wide set of criteria including female life expectancy, lifetime risk of maternal death, women's economic equality, child mortality, and working conditions for mothers.

Topping this year's index is Norway, the developed country with one of the highest ratio of female-to-male earned income, the world's highest contraception rate, and one of the most generous maternity leave policies anywhere. Northern Europe dominated the top 10 with the United States coming in at a not particularly impressive 31st, thanks in part to its 1 in 2,100 maternal death ratio -- the highest of any industrialized nation-- and its maternity leave policies, the shortest and least well-supported financially of any wealthy nation.

This Mother's Day, it's worth remembering the struggling moms in the following 10 countries, who make up the bottom of the list.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

AFGHANISTAN
In the world's hardest country to be a mother, a typical woman has fewer than five years of schooling and is only expected to live to 45. Fewer than 16 percent of women use modern contraception, and one child in five dies before reaching age 5. At that rate, every mother in Afghanistan is likely to suffer the loss of at least one child.

Measures to improve women's health and safety during the NATO-led occupation have often come under attack from religious extremists. In one well-publicized instance, the government had to take control of the country's women's shelters after a popular broadcaster suggested they were fronts for prostitution.

Afghanistan's strictly enforced gender separation combined with the lack of midwives and female doctors in the country also frequently prevents mothers from getting the medical care they need.
NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images

NIGER
A typical woman receives fewer than four years of education in Niger. Only a third of births are attended by a skilled health professional, resulting in one of the world's highest infant mortality rates.

With the assistance of UNICEF, the country recently began offering free prenatal care like insecticide-treated bed nets, medicine to prevent malaria and tetanus, as well as vitamins. With the average woman in Niger giving birth to seven children and most living far from a health center, help can't come too soon.
MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images

GUINEA-BISSAU
Only two girls for every three boys are enrolled in school in Guinea-Bissau, one of the lowest rates in the world. Women, on average, can expect fewer than five years of education, and only 6 percent of women have access to modern contraception.

It's not uncommon for women to be married as young as 13 or 14, and the World Bank estimates that nearly one-third of homes are polygamous. Pregnant women in Guinea-Bissau often work right up until the time they begin feeling labor pains.
SEYLLOU/AFP/Getty Images

YEMEN
In a country where women earn only about 25 cents for every dollar a man makes and the proportion of women taking a role in government is one of the lowest in the world, it's not surprising that gender roles in marriage, too, would be drastically skewed. Yemen has no minimum age for marriage, and the taking of child brides as young as 8 is widespread.

Mothers are often powerless to prevent their daughters from being married off, as Yemeni law gives custodianship to fathers.
Brent Stirton/Reportage by Getty Images

CHAD
Motherhood in Chad is riddled with illness. Fewer than 15 percent of births are attended by skilled medical personnel and 1 in 14 women die during childbirth. As of 2007, 18,000 pregnant women were living with HIV in the country and 19,000 children were living with the virus -- the vast majority of whom received it from their mothers.
THOMAS COEZ/AFP/Getty Images

DEMOCRACTIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
The Congo has been torn by the use of rape as a weapon, with long-term impacts on mothers and children both physically and psychologically. More than 40,000 women were raped by fighters in the country between 1998 and 2004 alone -- the real number is likely far higher, as most go unreported.

There are no reliable statistics of the number of children born from rape in the Congo, where abortion is banned by law, but it's thought to be in the thousands. Rape victims as well as their children often face severe social discrimination.
LIONEL HEALING/AFP/Getty Images

ERITREA
Violence against women is pervasive in Eritrea, including all forms of sexual violence. Eritrean women are required to participate in national service but are often subjected to sexual harassment or abuse after being drafted. Those who become pregnant during their military service as a result of sexual abuse are discharged and often subjected to social ostracism when they return home.

According to the U.S. State Department, authorities often respond to allegations of rape by encouraging the perpetrator to marry the victim.
PETER MARTELL/AFP/Getty Images

MALI
An estimated 85 percent of women between 15 and 49 in Mali have undergone some form of genital mutilation. The life expectancy for women is only 50, and a third of Malian children under five are moderately to severely underweight.

Reforms to the country's health sector in recent years have helped cut the maternal mortality rate, but it remains high, with women facing a 1 in 22 lifetime risk of death. The government has focused efforts on encouraging women to attend checkups during their pregnancies.
JEAN-NOEL GILLET/AFP/Getty Images

SUDAN
Things are bad enough in Sudan, where around 42 percent of the population has no access to clean drinking water, but conditions in the soon-to-be-independent nation of South Sudan (not included in this ranking) are particularly dire. There are 509 maternal deaths per 100,000 births in the south -- the highest rate in the world.

Fewer than 5 percent of births are attended by health professionals. With little in the way of central government or public health infrastructure, the world's newest nation has an unfolding crisis on its hands.
PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

The average life expectancy for women in CAR is only 49 and the average woman receives only five years of education. Amnesty International has reported the widespread use of rape as a weapon during the country's' 2002-2003 civil war. Forty-two percent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced, or widowed. Wives generally have few legal rights over the raising of their children.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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War Dog, there's a reason they brought one to get Osama bin Laden.

2011-05-07T12:11:00.000-05:00

Dogs have been fighting alongside U.S. soldiers for more than 100 years, seeing combat in the Civil War and World War I. But their service was informal; only in 1942 were canines officially inducted into the U.S. Army. Today, they're a central part of U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan -- as of early 2010 the U.S. Army had 2,800 active-duty dogs deployed (the largest canine contingent in the world). And these numbers will continue to grow as these dogs become an ever-more-vital military asset.

So it should come as no surprise that among the 79 commandos involved in Operation Neptune Spear that resulted in Osama bin Laden's killing, there was one dog -- the elite of the four-legged variety. And though the dog in question remains an enigma -- another mysterious detail of the still-unfolding narrative of that historic mission -- there should be little reason to speculate about why there was a dog involved: Man's best friend is a pretty fearsome warrior.

Above, a U.S. soldier with the 10th Special Forces Group and his dog leap off the ramp of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter during water training over the Gulf of Mexico as part of exercise Emerald Warrior on March 1.

Tech. Sgt. Manuel J. Martinez, U.S. Air Force/ DoD

Daredevil dogs: The question of how the dog got into bin Laden's compound is no puzzle -- the same way the special ops team did, by being lowered from an MH-60s helicopter. In fact, U.S. Air Force dogs have been airborne for decades, though the earliest flying dogs accompanied Soviet forces in the 1930s.

Dogs usually jump in tandem with their trainers, but when properly outfitted with flotation vests they can make short jumps into water on their own. A U.S. Navy SEAL, Mike Forsythe, and his dog, Cara -- pictured above -- recently broke the world record for "highest man/dog parachute deployment" by jumping from 30,100 feet.
Courtesy K9 Storm Inc.

The scent of war: According to Mike Dowling, a former Marine Corps dog handler who served in Iraq, there's a simple explanation for why the Navy SEALs took a dog along on the Osama raid: "A dog's brain is dominated by olfactory senses." In fact, Dowling says, a dog can have up to 225 million olfactory receptors in their nose -- the part of their brain devoted to scent is 40 times greater than that of a human.
"When you're going on a mission," Dowling says, "a raid or a patrol, insurgents are sneaky -- they like to hide stuff from you. But a dog can smell them. .... [Think about] Saddam Hussein ... what if Osama had been [hiding] in a hole in the ground? A dog could find that. A dog could alert them to where he's hiding because of the incredible scent capabilities. ... You can only see what you can see. You can't see what you don't see. A dog can see it through his nose."

Above U.S. Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade wait for helicopter transport as part of Operation Khanjar at Camp Dwyer in Helmand Province in Afghanistan on July 2, 2009.

MANPREET ROMANA/AFP/Getty Images

It's not the gear that makes the dog: Military working dogs (MWDs in Army parlance) may not enjoy all the privileges of being full-fledged soldiers, but the U.S. military no longer considers them mere equipment. (The war dogs deployed to Vietnam during that conflict were classified as "surplus equipment" and left behind.) Today, MWDs are outfitted with equipment of their own -- a range of specialized gear that includes Doggles (protective eye wear), body armor, life vests, gas masks, long-range GPS-equipped vests, and high-tech canine "flak jackets."

Photo Courtesy of K9 Storm Inc.

In August 2010, The Register, a British online tech publication, reported that "top-secret, super-elite U.S. Navy SEAL special forces are to deploy heavily armoured bulletproof dogs equipped with infrared nightsight cameras and an 'intruder communication system' able to penetrate concrete walls." The article also reported that the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Group had "awarded an $86,000 contract to Canadian firm K9 Storm Inc. for the supply of 'Canine Tactical Assault Vests' for wear by SEAL dogs." The K9 catalogue boasts an array of high-tech canine devices, from storm lights to long lines and leads to an assortment of vests -- assault, aerial insertion, and patrol-SWAT -- which are rated from "excellent" to "good" in protecting the animal from harm due to everything from bullets to ice picks.

Photo Courtesy of K9 Storm Inc.

Lethal weapons: Not all military dogs are trained to kill. According to the U.S. Air Force, a dog only enters advanced training after a basic obedience program is successfully completed. The focus of this more intensive training is "controlled aggressiveness" in which the dog is "taught to find a suspect or hostile person in a building or open area; to attack, without command, someone who is attacking its handler; to cease an attack upon command at any point after an attack command has been given..." Make no mistake, these animals can be lethal weapons: "The average German Shepherd's bite exerts between 400 and 700 pounds of pressure," according to the U.S. Air Force.

Above, a U.S. Army soldier trains an attack dog at Camp Forward Operating Base Wilson in Zari district in southern Kandahar province on Oct. 21, 2010.

MASSOUD HOSSAINI/AFP/Getty Images

Fierce protectors: Military dogs and their handlers often form deep bonds -- it's an essential part of the canine-handler relationship that is specifically built into their training regimen. The personal attachments are often so intense that it can take weeks of training before a dog can begin working with a new handler.
Not only are these dogs fierce assault weapons, they are loyal guardians.

When Private First Class Colton Rusk was shot after his unit came under Taliban sniper fire during a routine patrol in Afghanistan, Rusk's bomb-sniffing dog, Eli, crawled on top of his body, attacking anyone -- including Rusk's fellow Marines -- who tried to come near him. Rusk did not survive the assault, but Eli was granted early retirement so he could live with Rusk's family.

In the photo above, Staff Sgt. Erick Martinez, a military dog handler uses an over-the-shoulder carry to hold his dog, Argo II, at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, on March 4. The exercise helps build trust, loyalty, and teamwork.

U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Allen Stokes

The nose knows: A canine's olfactory powers are well known -- dogs are now even being used to sniff out rare types of cancer -- and that natural ability hasn't gone unnoticed by the U.S. military. When President Barack Obama traveled to Asia last fall, an elite team of 30 bomb-sniffing dogs were part of his security entourage. (All in all, it was a pretty cushy assignment: The dogs stayed in 5-star hotels and rode in vehicles tailored to their comfort and safety.)

More remarkable still are vapor-wake dogs. Scientists at Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine have genetically bred and specially trained canines to not only detect stationary bombs or bomb-making materials, but identify and alert their handler to the moving scent of explosive devices and materials left behind in the air, say, as a suicide bomber walked through a crowd -- all without ever tipping off the perpetrator. While not as expensive as some military-trained dogs, the cost of breeding and training these dogs cost is not cheap at around $20,000 each.

Above, U.S. sergeant Matthew Templet and his bomb-sniffing dog Basco search for the explosives in an abandoned house in Haji Ghaffar village during a clearance patrol in Zari district of Kandahar province on Dec. 27, 2010.

BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images

The best of the best: U.S. and allied forces have been fighting a losing battle against improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Afghanistan. In the first eight months of 2010 there were more roadside bombs in Afghanistan than in the same period in 2009.

In October 2010, the Pentagon announced that after six years and $19 billion spent in the attempt to build the ultimate bomb detector technology, dogs were still the most accurate sniffers around. The rate of detection with the Pentagon's fanciest equipment -- drones and aerial detectors -- was a 50 percent success rate, but when a dog was involved it rose 30 percent.

DMITRY KOSTYUKOV/AFP/Getty Images

A canine surge: Over the last two years, there has been an effort to rapidly increase the number IED detection dogs in Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently, the Marine Corps has 170 bomb-sniffing dogs, but has plans to deploy as many as 600 dogs to their program before September 2012. In late 2010 the Marines have also awarded a contract to American K-9 Interdiction for "as much as $35 million" to train and kennel their dogs.

In February, Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos stated that he'd like to see "a dog with every patrol."
Above, U.S. Marines attached to 1st Battalion, 6th regiment, Charlie Company relax with their bomb-sniffing dogs Books and Good one in Huskers camp on the outskirts of Marjah in central Helmand on Jan. 25, 2010.

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Unusual Dirty Car Art by Scott Wade.

2011-05-07T09:05:00.001-05:00

1. Two Thumbs Up – Portrait of Scott Wade

2. Uncle Albert

“Saw Uncle Albert on the cover of a magazine and thought he might appreciate the relativity of dirty car art…” – S.W.

3. Ronaldinho

“When Brazil’s TV Globo asked to do a piece for their show, Fantastico,” I wondered what image would be recognized and appreciated by their viewers.I figured I couldn’t go wrong with soccer (football in every other country in the world), and who better to use as my subject than the great Ronaldinho Ga?cho. I received many wonderful emails from Brazil. There’s apparently something about dirty car art that strikes a chord with many Brazilians. I hope they enjoy this” – S.W.

4. Girl With A Pearl Earring

“Felt a little bold taking on a Vermeer (not sure why I had no qualms about Da Vinci or Van Gogh), but I couldn’t resist “Girl With A Pearl Earring.” This one was tricky. I did it over a previous drawing that had been rained on. There were places where the dust had been caked on, and it didn’t brush off evenly at all. I had to kind of stab the clods with a bristle brush to break it up enough to get some intermediate tones. That’s what gives this one a sort of stipple effect.” – S.W.

5. On the Road

6. Happy Holidays

“Guess I did this one in December…Some of these early pieces were done very quickly, just really getting used to the medium” – S.W.

7. Friend in Need

8. American Gothic

“Grant Wood’s famous painting wwas a real challenge and great fun to attempt in dust.” – S.W.

9. Rapture of Pop and Fresh

10. Hylas & the Nymphs

“From the marvelous Waterhouse painting. I did this for the Seatlle Art Car Blowout at the Fremont Fair. What a wonderful time with some very cool & wacky people!” – S.W.

11. Mona Lisa / Starry Night

“This image featuring Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa” with Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” is shown at its peak. These images drawn in the dust are obviously quite impermanent. One of the cool things about them is how they change over time. More dust accumulates as the car is driven down the road. Early morning dew streaks and dots the image, creating a patina. A light shower creates a deeper patina…” – S.W.

12. The Hay Wain

“This one was also from my appearance on the Richard & Judy show. I had 4 days in London, only one of which was a working day, so I got to see a lot of great stuff. Spent a lot of time in the British Museum & the National Gallery. I’ve been very fortunate to get to travel some with Dirty Car Art. As my friend’s like to say, “who’d a thunk it?” –S.W.

13. Pet Fest

“My ex-hometown of San Marcos is host to a great event: Pet Fest. Every year, San Martians (some call them San Marcoans, but they’re just not cool) bring their pets to City Park for a day of music, contests, demonstrations, food and fun. In my role as local drummer, I often play with various musical acts there, and one year I also demonstrated some dirty car art. “– S.W

14. Mt. Rushmore

15. Trapped!

“Thought it would be funny to have a kid in the rear window, yelling for help. When I decided to try this, I took a picture of my 12 y/o daughter. Turned out kinda creepy. Might try this again with a younger, male kid, and do it more cartoony.”-S.W.

16. Wild Flowers

17. The Birth of Venus

“It was just a matter of time before I had to do a nude “Dirty Picture,” don’t you think? This one was a little ambitious for me to do in the usual hour or less. I didn’t time myself, but I’m sure I worked on this one for at least 90 minutes. Trying to pay homage to Botticelli’s brilliance in dust, I really appreciate the Master’s amazing talent and abilities. And if ‘Beauty’ isn’t a fitting subject for the art of impermanence, I don’t know what is.”-S.W.

18. Texas Women

19. Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

P.S: I do not wash my car lately, waiting for Scott to pass by.

Meet Scott Wade – a talented artist, who like every creative and curious person can’t resist a dirty rear car window. We suspect that Scott started off with clever sayings, like, “wash me”, however his later works became much more sophisticated.

He lives on a mile and a half of dirt road – caliche, as the locals call it, road-base: a blend of limestone and gravel clay.

Driving over this surface results in a fine, white dust that billows up behind any vehicle driven faster than a galloping turtle, coating the rear window. Being an experienced artist it wasn’t long before Scott started experimenting with techniques to achieve these amazingly detailed and shaded drawings.

Now let’s have a look at his amazing dirty car art, and if some of you’d like Scott at your event, you can always contact him here.

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Animal Conservation: Projects and Initiatives.

2011-04-30T16:24:00.000-05:00

African Bat Biodiversity Project.

In October of 2008, a NGS/Waitt grant enabled Michael Curran and his team to join a Darwin Initiative expedition to two isolated mountains in northern Mozambique. They were part of a large team of researchers whose aim was to explore the biological diversity and conservation importance of these mountains.

Rising out of relatively featureless plains like islands in the sea, these mountains have evolved complex, yet fragile ecosystems where a bewildering number of plant and animal species coexist. The team surveyed the bat communities of these mountains and assessed their biological importance. Historically, very little research has been conducted on the Afromontane bat communities due to the inaccessibility of mountainous areas.

The team’s research in 2007 included an investigation of diversity patterns of bats on the magnificent Mount Mulanje, in southern Malawi, the country’s only UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The findings from this research gave them an indication of the importance of Afromontane ecosystems to threatened and forest-restricted bat species. Since then they have been working to discover more about these fascinating ecosystems and the bats that rely on them for survival. The expanses of evergreen (“Afromontane”) forest are particularly threatened by growing human populations driving unsustainable exploitation. As the forests and other important ecosystems dwindle across Africa under increasing human pressures, basic research is needed to document and understand what would be lost, before it is too late.

Using a standardized methodology that includes the use of mist nets, canopy nets, harp traps and acoustic monitoring (recording ultrasonic bat calls using a bat detector), Curran discovered that these Afromontane forests support a very large proportion of the region’s bat diversity within a very small geographic area. Visiting eight sites across three mountains in Mozambique and Malawi, they captured 245 bats representing about 27 species.

This includes two new records for Mozambique that add to the countries burgeoning species list, the long-eared bat, Laephotis botswanae, and a forest-restricted woolly bat, Kerivoula sp. The team also discovered a horseshoe bat that represents a completely new scientific species. This species appears to be an Afromontane endemic, recorded within the montane forest of a single mountain.

The expedition also conducted the first survey of the isolated Mount Mabu, which contains the most expansive and intact area of montane rain forest known in southern Africa. Discovered only in 2003, Mount Mabu testifies to how little is known about the planet and the biodiversity it contains.

Panama's Adaptable Bats.

Sixty million years ago, on a planet crawling with mammals, one tree dweller rose above the crowd on paper-thin wings. So goes the story of ancestral bats, which, equipped with flight and a sixth sense called echolocation, mastered the night sky and flourished.

Having since exploded into more than 1,100 species worldwide, bats are still finding unique ways to evade the masses—and each other. Barro Colorado Island, a Key West–size knob of land in the Panama Canal, is a showplace of bat innovation. This patch of tropical forest is home to at least 74 distinct bat species; the entire United States has only 47, and all of Amazonia, with perhaps the highest bat diversity on Earth, logs about 160. With many thousands of individual bats sharing the island's 3,800 acres (1,500 hectares), it's a wonder their jagged wings don't entangle as they struggle to meet life's basic needs.

How do they all live in peace, skirting competition that would drive some to extinction? By finding their own niches in the forest's many layers. Where they roost, what they eat, when they feed, how they use their senses, where in the forest canopy they fly—each species has its own special how-to list inscribed on its genes, its own ways to exploit the island's endless summer. One bites through the lateral veins of a leaf to fold the sides down—creating a tentlike shelter for up to 15 of its kind to share. Another chews out a home for its harem in the heart of a termite nest, prompting the insects to move over and make room. (These bats choose only occupied nests as roosts; scientists are trying to find out why.) Some species chase down insects in the air, while others lick nectar and pollen from night-blooming flowers. Some use short pulses of sonar-like echolocation to find perched insects amid forest clutter; others send out longer calls to pinpoint airborne bugs, staying high above the tangled canopy.

Physical differences reflect these distinctive habits. Take greater bulldog bats, with their dagger-like claws and cheek pouches, in which they can carry fish they don't eat on the wing. Or herbivorous bats, some equipped with bristled tongues and grooved chins to pick up nectar and pollen as they nuzzle blossoms. Long, thin wings suit the bat that soars on high; broad, compact wings allow quick turns for the one dodging trees down low. Ample ears? Tiny eyes? Flesh-ripping canines? A nose flap? Each feature is a clue to how a species makes its living.

The tropical forest not only supports this immense diversity, it also depends on it. Bats spread seeds and pollen, keep a cap on herbivorous pests that might decimate forest flora, and themselves become meals for other forest animals—monkeys, owls, falcons, other bats, even large spiders. Such a healthy ecosystem can sustain quite a crowd, especially when each species knows its place.

Common Vampire Bat.

Bats are the only mammals that can fly, but vampire bats have an even more interesting distinction—they are the only mammals that feed entirely on blood.

These notorious bats sleep during the day in total darkness, suspended upside down from the roofs of caves. They typically gather in colonies of about 100 animals, but sometimes live in groups of 1,000 or more. In one year, a 100-bat colony can drink the blood of 25 cows.

During the darkest part of the night, common vampire bats emerge to hunt. Sleeping cattle and horses are their usual victims, but they have been known to feed on people as well. The bats drink their victim's blood for about 30 minutes. They don't remove enough blood to harm their host, but their bites can cause nasty infections and disease.

Vampire bats strike their victims from the ground. They land near their prey and approach it on all fours. The bats have few teeth because of their liquid diet, but those they have are razor sharp. Each bat has a heat sensor on its nose that points it toward a spot where warm blood is flowing just beneath its victim's skin. After putting the bite on an animal, the vampire bat laps up the flowing blood with its tongue. Its saliva prevents the blood from clotting.

Young vampire bats feed not on blood but on milk. They cling tightly to their mothers, even in flight, and consume nothing but her milk for about three months.

The common vampire bat is found in the tropics of Mexico, Central America, and South America.

Ozark Big-Eared Bat.

The Ozark big-eared bat is an endangered species found only in a small number of caves in the southern central United States. Also known as the western big-eared bat, the long-eared bat, and the lump-nosed bat, its appearance is defined by a pair of outsize ears and a lump-adorned nose.

These bats, whose bodies are normally less than 4 inches (10 centimeters) long, have ears that extend more than an inch (2.5 centimeters) in length. Their ears are generally held erect, except during hibernation, when some bats coil them like ram’s horns.

Beyond the mythical ears, these bats have two distinctive facial glands on either side of their nose resembling a pair of mittens. Their fur is light to dark brown, and their bellies are tan. They have a sizeable wingspan as well, measuring some 12 to 13 inches (30 to 34 centimeters).

The Ozark big-eared bat feeds primarily on moths but may also eat other bugs in and around its forested hunting grounds. It makes its home in caves, relying on their protection during hibernation and maternity.

Mating among these bats is initiated with ritualized calls and affectionate head nuzzling. The female stores the male’s sperm until spring, when ovulation, fertilization, and gestation occur. A single baby, or pup, is born in May or June, already weighing one-fourth of an adult's body weight. Baby bats mature quickly becoming fully independent and able to fly within two months.

The Ozark big-eared bat once lived in caves in Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. However, they have apparently abandoned their Missouri habitat due to human encroachment and cave disturbance, and estimates put the remaining wild population at around 1,800. Conservationists are currently working to protect these numbers by minimizing human intrusions.

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Monsters of the deep: Marine biologist reveals alien world deep under the arctic ice

2011-03-20T02:45:00.001-05:00

Many would assume that the icy depths of the sea off the northwestern coast on Russia would have little to offer nature photographers.

But one man has braved the freezing elements to capture the beautiful monsters of the deep who display a surprising variety of colourful speices.

Marine biologist Alexander Semenov spent two years in the hostile environment at the ultra-remote White Sea Biological Station to create his bizarre collection of images.

Up close and personal: A skeleton shrimp shows its pincers and antennae. It most likely male because of its elongated head

Give us a kiss: A Ragworm showing its mouthparts. They are marine annelid worms that burrow in wet sand and mud using parapodia (limb-like outgrowths).

The lead undetwater photographer breaks through arctic sea ice dropping into -2degree water from a -30 degree world above.

He has documented striking differences between these species who have evolved cut off from their cousins that live in warmer waters elsewhere in the world.

Mr Semenov said the marine fauna of this cold sea bears no resemblance to anything he has seen before.

'It's a unique place for marine biologists,' he said.

'When I went underwater for the first time I was absolutely shocked. White Sea showed me another world with it's own aliens, and some of them were really amazing creatures.'

Sea butterfly: A swimming predatory marine sea snail. They have two wing-like outgrowths (lower right) derived from their foot, which they continually flap to swim through the water

Sea angel: A small swimming sea slug makes it way through the -2C waters

Included in his works are the bright pink skeleton shrimp, the weird sea angel, and the odd sea butterfly - a type of snail that spins a web to capture small creatures.

'Most of these creatures are known and seen only by a few specialists and marine biologist,' Mr Semenov said.

'They all live in cold seas in remote regions inside the Arctic circle.

'These are hard places to reach for most divers - under ice in low temperatures.

'Some of these creatures are so small divers just can't notice them and see them with the naked eye.'

Sandworms: These marine worms move through the water suing their bristles

A marine worm fluorescing: Polychaetes are a class of annelid (segmented) worms. Each segment has a pair of fleshy limb-like appendages (parapodia) which help them to move.

The White Sea, where these pictures were taken, is one of the most remote and untouched places left on Earth.

Located in the north east Atlantic Ocean it is twice the size of Denmark and is only recently being explored by divers attracted by it's crystal clear waters that allow divers to see an astonishing 40 metres underwater.

A cousin to coral: The tentacled feeding structures of a Hydrozoan, which is related to corals and sea anemones

Meet the neighbours: Amphipod crustaceans shelter amongst the tentacled feeding structures of a hydrozoan colony.

Mr Semenov's biological research station is 12 miles from the nearest village, which means if he runs short of supplies he can't simply jump in the car and drive there - because no road exists.

'Our station is a educational and research centre,' he said.

'Communication with the nearest village is possible only by boat during the summer and snow mobile during the winter.

'But our location is an ideal place to study the marine environment.

'The creatures I photograph are so bright and unusual that you want to explore and learn something about their lives.'

True blue: A Polychaete marine worm that is made up of segments and displays a startling blue flash

Sonic hedgehog of the seas: This is a nudibranch - which is a shell-less marine mollusc.

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The fascination of the Badain Jaran Desert.

2011-03-19T06:25:00.000-05:00

The Badain Jaran Desert is a desert in China which spans the provinces of Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. It covers an area of 49,000 sq. kilometers (19,000 sq. miles).

This desert is home to the tallest stationary dunes on Earth. Some of the dunes reach a height of 500 meters (1,600 ft.). The dunes are kept in place in the arid, windy region by an underground water source. Analyses of the ground water indicates that it is snowmelt that flows through fractured rock from mountains hundreds of kilometers away.

The desert also features over 100 spring-fed lakes that lie between the dunes, some of which are fresh while others are extremely saline. These lakes give the desert its name which is Mongolian for "mysterious lakes". It is also crossed by one river, the Ruo Shui ("weak water"), which has formed a great alluvial plain in the desert

Humanoid traces (fossil remains, stone implements, etc.) from the Paleolithic ("Old Stone Age", or from about 2.6 million years ago to about 10 thousand years ago, which latter date marks the beginning of the Neolithic ("New Stone Age")) have been unearthed here, as well as the fossil remains of prehistoric members of the ostrich family (Struthionidae) and much, much older fossils belonging to dinosaurs.

The aforementioned Tangut (táng gǔ tè 唐古特) tribes that resided here during China's earliest dynastic period, the Xia (BCE 2000-1500) Dynasty (xià cháo 夏朝), conducted trade with the Bactrians (BCE 2200-1700) of Central Asia (corresponding to the northern part of present-day Afghanistan, the western part of Tajikistan, most of present-day Turkmenistan, and the southern part of present-day Uzbekistan). The present-day camel of the Badain Jaran Desert is a descendant of the Bactrian camel.

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In more recent times, the city of Alxa (Alashan in Tangut) and the He Xi Corridor formed part of the northern route of the ancient Silk Road. The Tang (CE 618-907) Dynasty poet, Wang Wei (wáng wéi 王维), wrote couplets on the subject of Alxa, and even the renowned Italian traveler and explorer, Marco Polo, left his own personal "Kilroy Was Here" on Alxa in the form of mention of Alxa's merits in his travel diaries.

Later, Badain Jaran was occupied by the Mongols, and in particular, by nomadic desert tribes such as the Tuerhute (tǔ ěr hù tè 土尔扈特) and Heshuote (hé shuò tè 和硕特), who were excellent horsemen. Foreign and Chinese Archeology teams have unearthed numerous finds of stoneware pottery lying around the perimeter of the desert's many lakes, highlighting the importance of the lake as a site of early human habitation. Some of the later period pottery unearthed here had be

The Badain Jaran Desert has a well-preserved Tibetan-Buddhist temple – Badain Jaran Desert Temple, which was built in 1868. Since the temple lies in the heart of the desert - and, naturally, on the shores of a lake - it has remained untouched by the many wars that have marred or destroyed temples in other parts of the country.

Badain Jaran Desert Temple, which measures some 300 square meters, has a modest library, several Buddhist frescoes, statues and wood carvings, as well as brick carvings and several other ancient artifacts related to the history of the temple. There is also a white pagoda standing to the west of the temple proper.

carajo

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Reports say Japan quake, tsunami death toll expected to exceed 1,000

2011-03-11T14:41:00.000-06:00

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The biggest earthquake to hit Japan since records began 140 years ago struck the northeast coast, triggering a 10-metre tsunami that swept away everything in its path, including houses, ships, cars and farm buildings on fire.

The Red Cross in Geneva said the wall of water was higher than some Pacific islands and a tsunami warning was issued for the whole of the Pacific basin, except for the United States and Canada, but Hawaii ordered the evacuation of coastal areas.

At least 22 people were killed in the quake and tsunami, Kyodo news agency said, and the extent of the destruction, and the forecast for the tsunami, suggested the death toll could rise significantly.

The 8.9 magnitude quake caused many injuries, sparked fires and the wall of water, prompting warnings to people to move to higher ground in coastal areas.

"I was terrified and I'm still frightened," said Hidekatsu Hata, 36, manager of a Chinese noodle restaurant in Tokyo's Akasaka area. "I've never experienced such a big quake before."

Some nuclear power plants and oil refineries were shut down and a refinery and a major steel plant was ablaze.

Cabinet ministers were meeting about nuclear issues after media reports said the government would declare a nuclear power emergency, which occurs if there is confirmation of radioactivity leaks or a reactor cooling system breakdown.

Electronics giant Sony Corp, one of the country's biggest exporters, shut six factories, Kyodo reported, as air force jets raced towards the northeast coast to determine the extent of the damage.

The Bank of Japan, which has been struggling to boost the anaemic economy, said it would do its utmost to ensure financial market stability as the yen and Japanese shares fell.

The Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia all issued tsunami alerts, reviving memories of the giant tsunami which struck Asia in 2004. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued alerts for countries to the west and across the Pacific as far away as Colombia and Peru.

There were several strong aftershocks. In Tokyo, buildings shook violently. An oil refinery near the city was on fire, with dozens of storage tanks under threat.

Stunning TV footage showed the tsunami carrying the debris and fires across a large swathe of coastal farmland near the city of Sendai, which has a population of one million. Ships in once coastal area were lifted from the sea into a harbour where they lay helplessly on their side.

Sendai is 300 km (180 miles) northeast of Tokyo and the epicentre at sea was not far away.

NHK showed flames and black smoke billowing from a building in Odaiba, a Tokyo suburb, and bullet trains to the north of the country were halted. Thick smoke was also pouring out of an industrial area in Yokohama's Isogo area. TV footage showed boats, cars and trucks tossed around like toys in the water after a small tsunami hit the town of Kamaichi in northern Japan.

An overpass, location unknown, appeared to have collapsed and cars were turning around and speeding away. Kyodo news agency said there were reports of fires in Sendai where waves carried cars across the runway at the airport.

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7 Stunning Towns on Cliff's Edge.

2011-02-06T10:02:00.001-06:00

7. Oia, Greece

The town of Oia perches on 700-foot high volcanic sea cliffs at the north end of Santorini Island. It is the second largest town in the island. It hosts the most fantastic views on Santorini and its famous sunset is worth to be seen even if it gets a little crowded during the high season.

Moonlight over Oia

Many of the buildings are niches in the volcanic rock and it is easy to get yourself lost in this village. Tranquillity, serenity, pastel colours, houses hanging on the cliffs, Ioa is the perfect place to relax.

6. Al Hajara, Yemen

Al Hajara, sometimes spelt Al Hajjara or Al Hajjarah, is a town in Yemen. It is located in the Al Bayda' Governorate, in the Hajjaz Mountains.

photo source

Lying 5km west of Manakhah, and a little higher up the mountain, is the 11th-century village of Al-Hajjarah. The Ottomans found its strategic position useful when defending the roads from the coast to San’a. Nowadays its spectacular setting and century-old stone and whitewashed tower houses (some up to eight storeys) have caught the eye of visitors with mountain-walking in mind.

5. Manarola, Italy

photo source

Manarola is a small town, a frazione of the comune (municipality) of Riomaggiore, in the province of La Spezia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is the second smallest of the famous Cinque Terre towns frequented by tourists.

Manarola at night

A town is the oldest in the region of Cinque Terre in Italy, and is located on the tip of a ravine down to the wild and rugged coastline of the Ligurian Sea. It’s the second of the smallest town in Cinque Terre that’s very popular with tourists for its colorful houses and a picturesque view of the sea.

4. Azenhas do Mar, Portugal

Azenhas do Mar is the name of this town. It is near the cape named Cabo da Roca, the most western point of the European Continent. Except for the islands, the nearest village to the left (west) is somewhere in North America.

Azenhas do Mar is situated in a picturesque valley, its white houses perched on the North Slope, is one of the most appreciated and interesting beaches, with swimming pools dug out of the rock. The miradouro das Azenhas do Mar is built on cliffs that drop fearlessly to the ocean. It is a popular place both in Summer and Winter, due to the grandeur of the view it offers.

3. Castellfollit de la Roca, Spain

Castellfollit de la Roca is a municipality in the comarca of Garrotxa, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The urban area is bordered by the confluence of the Fluvià and Toronell rivers, between which the town's basalt cliff rises. The town is in an area of less than a square kilometre, making it one of the smallest towns in Catalonia.

The basalt crag where the town is situated is over 50 m high and almost a kilometre long. It was formed by the overlaying of two lava flows.

2. Ronda , Spain

Ronda is a city in the Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is 35,515.

Ronda is situated in a very mountainous area about 750 m above mean sea level. The Guadalevín River runs through the city, dividing it in two and carving out the steep, 100 plus meters deep El Tajo canyon upon which the city perches. The Spanish Fir (Abies pinsapo) is endemic to the mountains surrounding Ronda.

Puente Nuevo bridge, Ronda, Spain

Main sights of Ronda are three bridges, Puente Romano, Puente Viejo and Puente Nuevo, span the canyon. The term "nuevo" is a bit of a misnomer, as the building of this bridge commenced in 1751 and took until 1793 to complete. The Puente Nuevo is the tallest of the bridges, towering 120 metres (390 ft) above the canyon floor, and all three serve as some of the city's most impressive features.

1. Bonifacio, France

Bonifacio is a commune at the southern tip of the island of Corsica, in the Corse-du-Sud department of France. This town is located directly on the Mediterranean Sea, separated from Sardinia by the Strait of Bonifacio.

The city and its fortifications also extend for some distance along the cliff-tops, which are at about 70 meters (230 ft) elevation. The cliffs have been undercut by the ocean so that the buildings, which have been placed on the very lip of the precipice, appear to overhang it. The appearance from the sea is of a white city gleaming in the sun and suspended over the rough waters below.

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The town's charm and proximity to idyllic beaches makes it a popular tourist destination in the summer, predominantly for residents of mainland France.

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Ani – Ghost City of 1001 Churches.

2011-01-09T03:25:00.001-06:00

Ani – some call it the City of 1001 Churches, others the City of Forty Gates. Yet no one has called it home for more than three centuries.

Abandoned by its once prosperous and powerful inhabitants, it is situated on the Turkish side of a militarised zone between the border of Turkey and Armenia.

The city of Ani is no stranger to death, destruction and desertion.

It is a ghost city today but once its Armenian inhabitants numbered close to 200 thousand. In its heyday it was a metropolis which rivalled Constantinople, Cairo or Baghdad as a center of culture and enterprise. Although it was never on traditional trade routes its sheer size and power commanded visits by merchants from all directions. Yet what happened to reduce this once magnificent and regionally dominant city to virtually dust?

The city is the victim of a colossal and centuries old struggle for power between various factions in the region. Founded in the fourth or fifth century AD the following millennium saw Armenians, Kurds, Georgians, Mongols and Turks struggle for and ascend to power in the city-state.

Almost each time a faction rose to power the city was ransacked almost to the point of obliteration. Ani finally wheezed its metaphorical last breath by the middle of the eighteenth century, exhausted to extinction, as it were, by the constant struggle for supremacy over its dominion.

The city was originally Armenian and the territory on which it stands is still disputed between modern day Turkey and Armenia. It was first mentioned in the annals of the Armenian Kamsarakan dynasty in the fifth century AD. They were one of the seven great houses of Parthia and their origins went back to the Persian Arsacid – a major Iran based power.

The name of the city seems to have come from Ani-Kamakh, an Armenian fortress but was also known as Khnamk though historians do not really know why. The best suggestion is that it comes from the Armenian for to take care of. Certainly, the city was designed for just that – to protect and shelter its citizens. It is situated on a triangular plain. At its height it must have been an extraordinarily visually striking sight for approaching visitors. Chosen for its naturally defensive situation, to the east it is protected by a ravine and river, to the west a steep valley.

The early ninth century saw the decline of the Kamsarakans and they were replaced by another Armenian dynasty, the Bagratuni. Their leaders referred to themselves as ishkhan or princes and they ruled over perhaps the most peaceful period of Ani’s history. A pivotal point for the success of the city came in 992 when the head Bishops of the Armenian Church moved their sear to the thriving city state. Its population doubled within a century, which while not remarkable in modern terms must have seemed like a golden age of growth for the Bagratuni.

A pair of quarrelling siblings would start Ani’s protracted but inexorable decline. When King Gagik I died in 1020 neither of his sons would defer to the other and so the kingdom was split apart. The older, Hovhannes Smbat took over Ani and the younger, Ashot, the rest of the Bagratuni principality.

Hovannes Smbat wanted and needed peace in his time so struck a deal which meant just that but would have terrible long term consequences for the city. He knew that the neighboring Byzantine Empire regarded his lands with envious eyes and that slowly and surely they were drawing plans against him. So he did something quite remarkable. To avoid invasion he promised his kingdom after his death to the Byzantine Emperor, Basil, and made him his heir.

When Hovannes Smbat died in 1041, Basil’s successor, Michael IV, obviously wanted what had been promised and claimed sovereignty. The new King of Ani, Gagik II, was having none of this and managed to fight back no less than three armies sent to capture the city. However, the still living Ashot was captured and although he had never been king of Ani, this final humiliation led to the surrender of the city.

The city was ‘rediscovered’ by archaeologists during the next century. Several excavations took place but further damage would be done after the First World War. Turkey and Armenia continued to militarily fight over territory until 1921 when Ani, much to the chagrin of the Armenians, was contained within the borders of Turkey.

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Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest freestanding mountain as well as the 4th most prominent mountain in the world.

2010-11-14T10:42:00.000-06:00

Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is an inactive stratovolcano in north-eastern Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895 metres or 19,341 ft above sea level (the Uhuru Peak / Kibo Peak).

Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest freestanding mountain as well as the 4th most prominent mountain in the world, rising 5,882 metres or 19,298 ft from the base.

Mt. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and fourth highest of the Seven Summits. It is the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, with Uhuru Peak rising to an altitude of 5,895 m (19,341 ft) AMSL (Above Main Sea Level).

Kilimanjaro is composed of three distinct volcanic cones: Kibo 5,895 m (19,341 ft); Mawenzi 5,149 m (16,893 ft); and Shira 3,962 m (13,000 ft). Uhuru Peak is the highest summit on Kibo's crater rim.

Kilimanjaro is a giant stratovolcano that began forming a million years ago, when lava spilled from the Rift Valley zone. Two of its three peaks, Mawenzi and Shira, are extinct while Kibo (the highest peak) is dormant and could erupt again. The last major eruption has been dated to 360,000 years ago, while the most recent activity was recorded just 200 years ago.

Although it is dormant, Kilimanjaro has fumaroles that emit gas in the crater on the main summit of Kibo. Scientists concluded in 2003 that molten magma is just 400 m (1,310 ft) below the summit crater.[citation needed] Several collapses and landslides have occurred on Kibo in the past, one creating the area known as the Western Breach.

Being a sky island, Kilimanjaro has unique vegetation such as the water holding cabbage in the tussock grassland and other plants like this all adapted to living in alpine conditions.

Kilimanjaro has a large variety of forest types over an altitudinal range of 3,000 m (9,843 ft) containing over 1,200 vascular plant species. Montane Ocotea forests occur on the wet southern slope. Cassipourea and Juniperus forests grow on the dry northern slope. Subalpine Erica forests at 4,100 m (13,451 ft) represent the highest elevation cloud forests in Africa.

In contrast to this enormous biodiversity, the degree of endemism is low. However, forest relicts in the deepest valleys of the cultivated lower areas suggest that a rich forest flora inhabited Mt Kilimanjaro in the past, with restricted-range species otherwise only known from the Eastern Arc mountains.

The low degree of endemism on Kilimanjaro may result from destruction of lower altitude forest rather than the relatively young age of the mountain. Another feature of the forests of Kilimanjaro is the absence of a bamboo zone, which occurs on all other tall mountains in East Africa with a similarly high rainfall. Sinarundinaria alpina stands are favoured by elephants and buffaloes. On Kilimanjaro these megaherbivores occur on the northern slopes, where it is too dry for a large bamboo zone to develop.

They are excluded from the wet southern slope forests by topography and humans, who have cultivated the foothills for at least 2000 years. This interplay of biotic and abiotic factors could explain not only the lack of a bamboo zone on Kilimanjaro but also offers possible explanations for the patterns of diversity and endemism. Kilimanjaro's forests can therefore serve as a striking example of the large and long-lasting influence of both animals and humans on the African landscape.

Early maps of Kilimanjaro were published by the British Government's Directorate of Overseas Surveys (DOS 422 Y742) in 1963. These were based on air photography carried out as early as 1959 by the RAF. These were on a scale of 1:50,000 with contours at 100 ft intervals. These are now unavailable.

Tourist mapping was first published by the Ordnance Survey in England in 1989 based on the original DOS mapping (1:100,000, 100 ft intervals, DOS 522). This is now no longer available. EWP produced a map with tourist information in 1990 (1:75,000, 100 m contour intervals, inset maps of Kibo and Mawenzi on 1:20,000 and 1:30,000 scales respectively and 50 m contour interval). In the last few years, numerous other maps have become available of various qualities

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Images That Changed The World ?

2010-11-13T14:04:00.001-06:00

Some people might be offended or upset by these images but this isn't my intentions I just want it to be thought provoking and enlightening, and for people to talk about the past and to never forget, because we need to learn from past events other wise we will keep repeating history.

If the image has a link it will take you to a video/documentary about the history of the image and the title of the image will take you to Wikipedia.

Execution of a Viet Cong Guerrilla [1968]

This picture was shot by Eddie Adams who won the Pulitzer prize with it. The picture shows Nguyen Ngoc Loan, South Vietnam's national police chief executing a prisoner who was said to be a Viet Cong captain. Once again the public opinion was turned against the war.

By Eddie Adams

Soweto Uprising [1976]

It was a picture that got the world's attention: A frozen moment in time that showed 13-year-old Hector Peterson dying after being struck down by a policeman's bullet.

By Sam Nzima

Hazel Bryant [1957]

It was the fourth school year since segregation had been outlawed by the Supreme Court. Things were not going well, and some southerners accused the national press of distorting matters. This picture, however, gave irrefutable testimony, as Elizabeth Eckford strides through a gantlet of white students, including Hazel Bryant (mouth open the widest), on her way to Little Rock's Central High.

By Will Counts
Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire [1911]

The Triangle Shirtwaist Company always kept its doors locked to ensure that the young immigrant women stayed stooped over their machines and didn't steal anything. When a fire broke out on Saturday, March 25, 1911, on the eighth floor of the New York City factory, the locks sealed the workers' fate. In just 30 minutes, 146 were killed. Witnesses thought the owners were tossing their best fabric out the windows to save it, then realized workers were jumping, sometimes after sharing a kiss (the scene can be viewed now as an eerie precursor to the World Trade Center events of September, 11, 2001, only a mile and a half south). The Triangle disaster spurred a national crusade for workplace safety.

Phan Thá»‹ Kim PhÃºc [1972]

Phan Thá»‹ Kim PhÃºc known as Kim Phuc (born 1963) was the subject of a famous photo from the Vietnam war. The picture shows her at about age nine running naked after being severely burned on her back by a napalm attack.

By Huá»³nh CÃ´ng Ãšt
Kent State [1970]

The news that Richard Nixon was sending troops to Cambodia caused a chain of protests in the U.S. colleges. At Kent State the protest seemed more violent, some students even throwing rocks. In consequence, The Ohio National Guard was called to calm things down, but the events got out of hand and they started shooting. Some of the victims were simply walking to school. The photo shows 14-year-old Mary Ann Vecchio kneeling over the body of Jeffrey Miller who had been shot by the Ohio National Guard moments earlier.

By John Paul Filo

Tiananmen Square [1989]

This is the picture of a student/man going to work who has just had enough. The days leading up to this event thousands of protesters and innocent by standers were killed by their own government because the Chinese people wanted more rights. He tries to stop the tanks in Tiananmen Square by standing in front of them and blocking them from passing, the tank driver didn't crush the man with the bags as a group of unknown people came and dragged him away, we still don't know if the man is alive or dead as the Chinese government executed many of the protesters involved. China is still controlled by a communist regime.

There are two well know photos taken of the protester by two different photojournalist, so I thought I would show both images and give both photographer credit for there work as many people think that both images where taken by the same person.

By Stuart Franklin

By Jeff Widener
ThÃch Quáº£ng Ä�á»©c [1963]

ThÃch Quáº£ng Ã�á»©c was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon intersection on June 11, 1963. His act of self-immolation, which was repeated by others, was witnessed by David Halberstam, a New York Times reporter, who wrote:

" I was to see that sight again, but once was enough. Flames were coming from a human being; his body was slowly withering and shriveling up, his head blackening and charring. In the air was the smell of burning human flesh; human beings burn surprisingly quickly. Behind me I could hear the sobbing of the Vietnamese who were now gathering. I was too shocked to cry, too confused to take notes or ask questions, too bewildered to even think.... As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him."

By Malcolm Browne
Portrait of Winston Churchill [1941]

This photograph was taken by Yousuf Karsh, a Canadian photographer, when Winston Churchill came to Ottawa. The portrait of Churchill brought Karsh international fame. It is claimed to be the most reproduced photographic portrait in history. It also appeared on the cover of Life magazine.

By Yousuf Karsh
Albert Einstein [1951]

Albert Einstein is probably one of the most popular figures of all times. He is considered a genius because he created the Theory of Relativity, and so, challenged Newton's laws, that were the basis of everything known in physics until the beginning of the 20th century. But, as a person, he was considered a beatnik, and this picture, taken on March 14, 1951 proves that.

By Arthur Sasse
Nagasaki [1945]

This is the picture of the "mushroom cloud" showing the enormous quantity of energy. The first atomic bomb was released on August 6 in Hiroshima (Japan) and killed about 80,000 people. On August 9 another bomb was released above Nagasaki. The effects of the second bomb were even more devastating - 150,000 people were killed or injured. But the powerful wind, the extremely high temperature and radiation caused enormous long term damage.

Hiroshima, Three Weeks After the Bomb [1945]

Americans -- and everyone -- had heard of the bomb that "leveled" Hiroshima, but what did that mean? When the aerial photography was published, that question was answered.

And here is a ground view of the destruction.

Dead on the Beach [1943]

Haunting photograph of a beach in Papua New Guinea on September 20, 1943, the magazine felt compelled to ask in an adjacent full-page editorial, "Why print this picture, anyway, of three American boys dead upon an alien shore?" Among the reasons: "words are never enough . . .

By George Strock

Anne Frank [1941]

Six million Jews died in the Holocaust. For many throughout the world, one teenage girl gave them a story and a face. She was Anne Frank, the adolescent who, according to her diary, retained her hope and humanity as she hid with her family in an Amsterdam attic. In 1944 the Nazis, acting on a tip, arrested the Franks; Anne and her sister died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen only a month before the camp was liberated. The world came to know her through her words and through this ordinary portrait of a girl of 14. She stares with big eyes, wearing an enigmatic expression, gazing at a future that the viewer knows will never come.

V-J Day, Times Square, [1945]

or "The Kiss", at the end of World War II, in US cities everybody went to the streets to salute the end of combat. Friendship and unity were everywhere. This picture shows a sailor kissing a young nurse in Times Square. The fact is he was kissing every girl he encountered and for that kiss, this particular nurse slapped him.

By Alfred Eisenstaedt
Casualties of war [1991]

Image of a young US sergeant at the moment he learns that the body bag next to him contains the body of his friend, killed by "friendly fire".

The widely published photo became an iconic image of the 1991 Gulf war - a war in which media access was limited by Pentagon restrictions.

By David Turnley
The Falling Man [2001]

The powerful and controversial photograph provoked feelings of anger, particularly in the United States, in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks. The photo ran only once in many American newspapers because they received critical and angry letters from readers who felt the photo was exploitative, voyeuristic, and disrespectful of the dead. This led to the media's self-censorship of the photograph, preferring instead to print photos of acts of heroism and sacrifice.

Drew commented about the varying reactions, saying, "This is how it affected people's lives at that time, and I think that is why it's an important picture. I didn't capture this person's death. I captured part of his life. This is what he decided to do, and I think I preserved that."9/11: The Falling Man ends suggesting that this picture was not a matter of the identity behind the man, but how he symbolized the events of 9/11.

By Richard Drew

U.S. Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima [1945]

Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is a historic photograph taken on February 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal. It depicts five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman raising the flag of the United States atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.

The photograph was extremely popular, being reprinted in thousands of publications. Later, it became the only photograph to win the Pulitzer Prize for Photography in the same year as its publication, and ultimately came to be regarded as one of the most significant and recognizable images of the war, and possibly the most reproduced photograph of all times.

By Joe Rosenthal

Lunch atop a Skyscraper [1932]

Lunch atop a Skyscraper (New York Construction Workers Lunching on a Crossbeam) is a famous photograph taken by Charles C. Ebbets during construction of the GE Building at Rockefeller Center in 1932.

The photograph depicts 11 men eating lunch, seated on a girder with their feet dangling hundreds of feet above the New York City streets. Ebbets took the photo on September 29, 1932, and it appeared in the New York Herald Tribune in its Sunday photo supplement on October 2. Taken on the 69th floor of the GE Building during the last several months of construction, the photo Resting on a Girder shows the same workers napping on the beam.

Here's a rare image by the same photographer showing the workers sleeping on the crossbeam.

By Charles C. Ebbets

Migrant Mother [1936]

For many, this picture of Florence Owens Thompson (age 32) represents the Great Depression. She was the mother of 7 and she struggled to survive with her kids catching birds and picking fruits. Dorothea Lange took the picture after Florence sold her tent to buy food for her children. She made the first page of major newspapers all over the country and changed people's conception about migrants.

By Dorothea Lange
Omayra SÃ¡nchez [1985]

Red Cross rescue workers had apparently repeatedly appealed to the government for a pump to lower the water level and for other help to free the girl. Finally rescuers gave up and spent their remaining time with her, comforting her and praying with her. She died of exposure after about 60 hours.

By Frank Fournier
A vulture watches a starving child [1993]

The prize-winning image: A vulture watches a starving child in southern Sudan, March 1, 1993.
Carter's winning photo shows a heart-breaking scene of a starving child collapsed on the ground, struggling to get to a food center during a famine in the Sudan in 1993. In the background, a vulture stalks the emaciated child.

Carter was part of a group of four fearless photojournalists known as the "Bang Bang Club" who traveled throughout South Africa capturing the atrocities committed during apartheid.

Haunted by the horrific images from Sudan, Carter committed suicide in 1994 soon after receiving the award.

By Kevin Carter
Biafra [1969]

When the Igbos of eastern Nigeria declared themselves independent in 1967, Nigeria blockaded their fledgling country-Biafra. In three years of war, more than one million people died, mainly of hunger. In famine, children who lack protein often get the disease kwashiorkor, which causes their muscles to waste away and their bellies to protrude. War photographer Don McCullin drew attention to the tragedy. "I was devastated by the sight of 900 children living in one camp in utter squalor at the point of death," he said. "I lost all interest in photographing soldiers in action." The world community intervened to help Biafra, and learned key lessons about dealing with massive hunger exacerbated by war-a problem that still defies simple solutions.

By Don McCullin
Misery in Darfur [2004]

It's an image which depicts a depressed, shoulders-down figure of a child in a cluster of what remains of her family.

The very weather-beaten arm of her mother goes over her left shoulder and there are the very small weather-beaten hands of the child, who is about five or six, clinging on to this one piece of security that she has, which is the weather-beaten hand of her mother.

The mother is not in the image, she's in the background. But then slightly further in the background you see the other hands of her brothers and sisters as they wait in this village.

By Marcus Bleasdale
Tragedy in Oklahoma [1995]

The fireman has taken the time to remove his gloves before receiving this infant from the policeman.

Anyone who knows anything about firefighters know that their gloves are very rough and abrasive and to remove these is like saying I want to make sure that I am as gentle and as compassionate as I can be with this infant that I don't know is dead or alive.

The fireman is just cradling this infant with the utmost compassion and caring.

He is looking down at her with this longing, almost to say with his eyes: "It's going to be OK, if there's anything I can do I want to try to help you."

He doesn't know that she has already passed away.

By Chris Porter
How Life Begins [1965]

In 1957 he began taking pictures with an endoscope, an instrument that can see inside a body cavity, but when Lennart Nilsson presented the rewards of his work to LIFE's editors several years later, they demanded that witnesses confirm that they were seeing what they thought they were seeing. Finally convinced, they published a cover story in 1965 that went on for 16 pages, and it created a sensation. Then, and over the intervening years, Nilsson's painstakingly made pictures informed how humanity feels about . . . well, humanity. They also were appropriated for purposes that Nilsson never intended. Nearly as soon as the 1965 portfolio appeared in LIFE, images from it were enlarged by right-to-life activists and pasted to placards.

By Lennart Nilsson
First Flight [1903]

December 17, 1903 was the day humanity spread its wings and rose above the ground - for 12 seconds at first and by the end of the day for almost a minute - but it was a major breakthrough. Orville and Wilbur Wright, two bicycle mechanics from Ohio, are the pioneers of aviations, and although this first flight occurred so late in history, the ulterior development was exponential.

By John T. Daniels
Earthrise [1968]

The late adventure photographer Galen Rowell called it "the most influential environmental photograph ever taken." Captured on Christmas Eve, 1968, near the end of one of the most tumultuous years the U.S. had ever known, the Earthrise photograph inspired contemplation of our fragile existence and our place in the cosmos. For years, Frank Borman and Bill Anders of the Apollo 8 mission each thought that he was the one who took the picture. An investigation of two rolls of film seemed to prove Borman had taken an earlier, black-and-white frame, and the iconic color photograph, which later graced a U.S. postage stamp and several book covers, was by Anders.

By William Anders

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Surreal Photo Manipulation: 40 Amazing Artwork, Chapter 1.

2010-11-01T04:19:00.001-05:00

source: Hongkiat

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Castel del Monte is situated on a small hill close to the monastery of Santa Maria del Monte (Italy), at an altitude of 540 m.

2010-10-31T10:39:00.001-05:00

Castel del Monte (Italian: Castle of the Mount) is a 13th century castle situated in Andria in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It was built by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II some time between 1240 and 1250; it has been despoiled of its interior marbles and furnishings in subsequent centuries.

It has neither a moat nor a drawbridge and might in fact never have been intended as a defensive fortress.

The fortress is an octagonal prism with an octagonal bastion at each corner. Each floor has 8 rooms and an eight-sided courtyard occupies its centre.

The octagon is thought to be an intermediate symbol between a square (representing the earth) and a circle (representing the sky). Frederick II may have been inspired to build to this shape by either the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, which he had seen while on Crusade, or by the Palace Chapel of Aachen Cathedral.

The main wall is 25 m high and the eight bastions each 26 m. The sides of the main octagon are 16.5 m long and those of the octagonal towers each 3.1 m. The castle has a diameter of 56 m. Its main entrance faces due east.

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The best photos from National Geographic Agosto 2010.

2010-10-23T06:03:00.000-05:00

Rajasthan, India

Photograph by April Maciborka

"This portrait was taken in a city called Bundi in Rajasthan, India. This man shone in the setting sun, his skin glistening, his eyes vibrant and his turban matching the color of the old painted wall behind him. I just couldn't let the photographic opportunity pass me by."—April Maciborka

Lionfish

Photograph by Alex Tattersall

A venomous lionfish breaks into a huge ball of swirling baitfish.

Hills Palouse, Washington

Photograph by Anil Sud

Sunrise lights up the verdant hills of Palouse, Washington, beneath the watchful gaze of a lone early bird.

Dwarf Minke Whale

Photograph by Steffen Binke

A dwarf minke whale cuts through the water, its many throat grooves clearly visible.

Lake of the Moon, India

Photograph by Dhurjati Chatterjee

The azure waters of Chandra Tal—Lake of the Moon—in Himachal Pradesh, India, reflect the vivid hues of a bright Himalayan day.

Patten Pond, Maine

Photograph by Christine Guinness

"My daughter and her friend were flipping their hair, and I started taking photos and was delighted with the result. We are at the lovely Patten Pond in Maine in the summer of 2009."—Christine Guinness

Fly Geyser, Nevada

Photograph by Stephen Oachs

The rising sun illuminates Black Rock Desert and the Fly Geyser, which sends a continuous stream of scalding, mineral-laden water sky-high.

Mahout and Elephant

Photograph by Cesare Naldi

Nazroo, a mahout (elephant driver), poses for a portrait while taking his elephant, Rajan, out for a swim at Radha Nagar Beach in Havelock, Andaman Islands.

Mahó Beach, St. Maarten

Photograph by Kent Miller

Landing at Princess Juliana International Airport, a looming 747 thrills visitors on Mahó beach, a famous plane-watching spot.

Explore an unparalleled treasury of iconic images and groundbreaking photography in National Geographic Image Collection, 2010 People's Voice Webby Award Winner.

The best photos August 2010.

The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world.

Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history.

The National Geographic Society’s logo is a yellow portraitframe - rectangular in shape - which appears on the margins surrounding the front covers of its magazines.

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Mývatn is a shallow eutrophic lake situated in an area of active volcanism in the north of Iceland.

2010-10-03T12:52:00.001-05:00

Mývatn is a shallow eutrophic lake situated in an area of active volcanism in the north of Iceland, not far from Krafla volcano.

The lake and its surrounding wetlands have an exceptionally rich fauna of waterbirds, especially ducks.

The lake was created by a large basaltic lava eruption 2300 years ago, and the surrounding landscape is dominated by volcanic landforms, including lava pillars and rootless vents (pseudocraters).

The effluent river Laxá is known for its rich fishing for Brown Trout and Atlantic Salmon.

The name of the lake (Icelandic mý ("midge") and vatn ("lake"); the lake of midges) comes from the huge numbers of flies (midges) to be found there in the summer.

The name Mývatn is sometimes used not only for the lake but the whole surrounding inhabited area. The River Laxá, Lake Mývatn and the surrounding wetlands are protected as a nature reserve (The Mývatn-Laxá Nature Conservation Area).

Since the year 2000, a marathon around the lake takes place in summer.

The lake is fed by nutrient-rich springwater and has a high abundance of aquatic insects (Chironomidae) and Cladocera that form an attractive food supply for ducks. Thirteen species of ducks nest here. The duck species composition is unique in the mixture of Eurasian and North American elements and of boreal and arctic species. Most of the ducks are migratory, arriving in late April - early May from north-western Europe. The most abundant is the Tufted Duck, which immigrated to Iceland at the end of the 19th century. The Greater Scaup is the second most common duck species.

Other common species include the Barrow's Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Common Scoter, Long-tailed duck and Teal. The outflowing Laxá river has a dense colony of Harlequin Ducks and there is a large colony of Eiders at the river mouth some 50 km away from Lake Mývatn.

The Barrow's Goldeneye is special in being the only nearctic duck in the area (and Iceland as a whole). Its population of about 2000 birds relies entirely on the habitat provided by the Mývatn-Laxá water system and its surrounding lava fields. Most of the Barrow's Goldeneyes overwinter there, using ice-free areas kept open by emerging spring water (both warm and cold) and in the strong river current.

This species is a hole-nester, in North America using tree-holes, but at Mývatn the birds use cavities in the lava for nesting. The other duck species nest abundantly in the numerous islands of the lake and the surrounding marshlands. There is a long tradition of harvesting duck eggs for home use on the local farms. To ensure sustainability, the harvesting follows strict age-old rules of leaving at least four eggs in a nest for the duck to incubate.

Other common waterbirds include the Slavonian Grebe, Red-necked Phalarope, Great Northern Diver, Red-throated Diver and Whooper Swan.

The waterbird situation has been monitored annually since 1975 by the Mývatn Research Station.

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The Chilean Patagonia embraces the southern part of the region of Los Lagos, and the regions of Aisén and Magallanes.

2010-09-25T12:20:00.000-05:00

Gilbert Islands

Messier Channel

Drake Passage

Beagle Channel

Cockburn Channel

Gulf of Corcovado

Guaitecas Island

Reloncavi Island

Mornington Island

Londonderry Island

Grande Chiloè Island

Cuernos del Paine from Pehoé Lake, Chile.

The Chilean part of Patagonia embraces the southern part of the region of Los Lagos, and the regions of Aisén and Magallanes.

The climate is less severe than was supposed by early travelers.

The east slope is warmer than the west, especially in summer, as a branch of the southern equatorial current reaches its shores, whereas the west coast is washed by a cold current.

At Puerto Montt, on the inlet behind Chiloé Island.

The mean annual temperature is 11 °C (52 °F) and the average extremes 25.5 °C (78 °F) and −1.5 °C (29.5 °F), whereas at Bahía Blanca near the Atlantic coast and just outside the northern confines of Patagonia the annual temperature is 15 °C (59 °F) and the range much greater.

At Punta Arenas, in the extreme south, the mean temperature is 6 °C (43 °F) and the average extremes 24.5 °C (76 °F) and −2 °C (28 °F).

The prevailing winds are westerly, and the westward slope has a much heavier precipitation than the eastern in a rainshadow effect;the western islands close to Torres del Paine receive an annual precipitation of 4,000 to 7,000 mm, whilst the eastern hills are less than 800 mm and the plains may be as low as 200 mm annual precipitation.

The depletion of the ozone layer over the South Pole has been reported as being responsible for blindness and skin cancer in sheep in Tierra del Fuego, and concerns for human health and ecosystems.

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The Museo del Prado is a museum and art gallery located in Madrid, the capital of Spain.

2010-09-07T01:29:00.000-05:00

The Museo del Prado is a museum and art gallery located in Madrid, the capital of Spain. It features one of the world's finest collections of European art, from the 12th century to the early 19th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection.

Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture, it also contains important collections of more than 5,000 drawings, 2,000 prints, 1,000 coins and medals, and almost 2,000 decorative objects and works of art. Sculpture is represented by more than 700 works and by a smaller number of sculptural fragments.

The painting collection comprises about 7,800 paintings, of which only about 1,300 are at public display, mainly because of the museum's lack of space. A new, recently opened wing enlarged the display area by about 400 paintings, and it is currently used mainly for temporary expositions. El Prado is one of the most visited sites in the world, and it is considered to be among the greatest museums of art.

The collection currently comprises around 7,600 paintings, 1,000 sculptures, 4,800 prints and 8,200 drawings, in addition to a large number of works of art and historic documents. At the present time, the Museum is displaying less than 1000 works in the main building, while around 3,100 works are on temporary loan to various museums and official institutions. The remainder are in storage.

The best known work on display at the museum is Las Meninas by Velázquez. Velázquez not only provided the Prado with his own works, but his keen eye and sensibility was also responsible for bringing much of the museum's fine collection of Italian masters to Spain.

Pablo Picasso's renowned work Guernica was exhibited in the Prado upon its return to Spain after the restoration of democracy, but was moved to the Museo Reina Sofía in 1992 as part of a transfer of all works later than the early 19th century to other buildings for space reasons.

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The best photos from National Geographic July 2010.

2010-08-30T09:58:00.001-05:00

King Penguins

Photograph by David Schultz , My Shot

Strikingly colored, an adult king penguin stands out in a sea of chicks on South Georgia Island.

(This photo was submitted to My Shot.)

Baboon, Bronx Zoo

Photograph by Richard Conde, My Shot

A baboon in the Bronx Zoo, New York

(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)

Stretching Tiger, India

Photograph by Michel Zoghzoghi, Your Shot

A tiger stretches its powerful form on a branch in Bandhavgarh National Park in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

(This photo was submitted to Your Shot.)

Bowerbird, Australia

Photograph by Tim Laman, National Geographic

The gunk on the beak of this satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus minor) is plant matter, which he mashed up to paint his bower's inner sanctum in a rain forest in Queensland, Australia. The pulp adds a hint of color and perhaps flavor: Females sometimes take a taste during the male's display.

Black-Headed Gull, England

Photograph by Christopher Hoyle, Your Shot

I was taking pictures of the scenery near Lake Windermere in the U.K. This black-headed gull was flying straight at me. It was oblivious to the camera for a while but then put the brakes on and flared its wings before it hit me in the lens. That intense look must be the last thing many small creatures see.

(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)

Tokay Gecko

Photograph by Erin Yard, Your Shot

A Tokay gecko hangs upside down in its terrarium at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)

Grizzly Bear

Photograph by Carol Bock, My Shot

A wet grizzly takes a break and dries off on a log.

(This photo was submitted to My Shot.)

Frog, New Guinea

Photograph by Tim Laman, National Geographic

Hylarana aurata, found in the Foja Mountains of New Guinea, one of the remotest and most difficult to reach places on Earth.

Lion’s Mane Jellyfish

Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic

A lion's mane jellyfish nestled in a kelp frond.

Cheetahs, Kenya

Photograph by Mauro Mozzarelli, My Shot

Most wild cheetahs are found in eastern and southwestern Africa. Perhaps only 12,000 of these big cats remain, and those are under pressure as the wide-open grasslands they favor are disappearing at the hands of human settlers.

(This photo was submitted to My Shot.)

Explore an unparalleled treasury of iconic images and groundbreaking photography in National Geographic Image Collection, 2010 People's Voice Webby Award Winner.

The best photos July 2010.

The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world.

Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history.

The National Geographic Society’s logo is a yellow portraitframe - rectangular in shape - which appears on the margins surrounding the front covers of its magazines.

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The volcano or Paricutin is the youngest volcano in the world and appears in some versions of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

2010-08-29T10:41:00.001-05:00

Parícutin (or Volcán de Parícutin, also accented Paricutín) is a cinder cone volcano in the Mexican state of Michoacán, close to a lava-covered village of the same name. It appears on many versions of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Paricutín is part of the Michoacán-Guanajuato Volcanic Field, which covers much of west central Mexico.

The volcano began as a fissure in a cornfield owned by a P'urhépecha farmer, Dionisio Pulido on February 20, 1943. Pulido, his wife, and their son all witnessed the initial eruption of ash and stones first-hand as they plowed the field. The volcano grew quickly, reaching five stories tall in just a week, and it could be seen from afar in a month. Much of the volcano's growth occurred during its first year, while it was still in the explosive pyroclastic phase. Nearby villages Paricutín (after which the volcano was named) and San Juan Parangaricutiro were both buried in lava and ash; the residents relocated to vacant land nearby.

At the end of this phase, after roughly one year, the volcano had grown 336 meters (1,102.36 ft) tall. For the next eight years the volcano would continue erupting, although this was dominated by relatively quiet eruptions of lava that would scorch the surrounding 25 km² (9.65 mi²) of land.

The volcano's activity would slowly decline during this period until the last six months of the eruption, during which violent and explosive activity was frequent. In 1952 the eruption ended and Parícutin went quiet, attaining a final height of 424 meters (1,391.08 ft) above the cornfield from which it was born. The volcano has been quiet since. Like most cinder cones, Parícutin is believed to be a monogenetic volcano, which means that now that it has finished erupting, it will never erupt again. Any new eruptions in a monogenetic volcanic field erupt in a new location.

Volcanism is a common part of the Mexican landscape. Parícutin is merely the youngest of more than 1,400 volcanic vents that exist in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and North America. The volcano is unique in the fact that its formation was witnessed from its very inception. Three people died as a result of lightning strikes caused by the eruptions, but no deaths were attributed to the lava or asphyxiation.

Shots of the volcano during its active phase were included in 20th Century Fox's film Captain from Castile, released in 1947.

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The Physalis looks like a jellyfish but is actually a colony of organisms. tentacles that reach ten meters.

2010-08-28T16:10:00.001-05:00

The Portuguese Man o' War (Physalia physalis), also known as the bluebottle, man-of-war, or the Portuguese man of war, is a jelly-like, marine invertebrate of the family Physaliidae.

The common name comes from a Portuguese war ship type of the 15th and 16th century, the man-of-war or caravel (in Portuguese, Caravela), which had triangular sails similar in outline to the bladder of the Portuguese Man o' War.

While the Portuguese Man o' War resembles a jellyfish, it is in fact a siphonophore – a colony of four kinds of minute, highly modified individuals, which are specialized polyps and medusoids. Each such zooid in these pelagic colonial hydroids or hydrozoans has a high degree of specialization and, although structurally similar to other solitary animals, are all attached to each other and physiologically integrated rather than living independently.

Such zooids are specialized to such an extent that they lack the structures associated with other functions and are therefore dependent for survival on the others to do what the particular zooid cannot do by itself.

A similar group of animals are the chondrophores, which are specialised hydroids that float at the surface of the open ocean.

The Portuguese Man o' War is infamous for having a painful sting, and for swarming in many hundreds.

Habitat and location.

The Portuguese Man o' War lives at the surface of the ocean, with its float above the water, serving as a sail, and the rest of the organism hanging below the surface. It has no means of propulsion, but is moved by a combination of winds, currents, and tides.

It is found in open ocean in all of the world's warm water seas but most commonly in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Pacific and Indian oceans, and the northern Atlantic Gulf Stream. Strong onshore winds may drive them into bays or on beaches.

Physalia physalis is found in tropical Atlantic waters and occasionally as far north as the Bay of Fundy and the Hebrides and also the Mediterranean Sea. P. utriculus (La Martiniere), commonly known as the bluebottle, occurs in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

They are reported abundantly off the Karachi coast in Pakistan, particularly at the Sandspit and Hawkes Bay beaches during the months of June, July and August, and are also common in the ocean off parts of Australia and New Zealand. During these months, they are also found to come ashore in the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) after rain, where they are known as agua(s) mala(s) by local Mexicans.

They are known to come ashore all along the northern Gulf of Mexico and both east and west coasts of Florida as well as around the Hawaiian Islands. They are also frequently found along the east coast of South Africa, on the KwaZulu-Natal beaches (particularly if the wind has been blowing steadily on shore for a number of hours) and on the Cape South Coast (Bettie's bay to Gans bay), also driven by onshore winds during winter storms. The Portuguese Man o' War has also been spotted in the Mediterranean sea, after first being spotted off the coast of Spain, later in Corsica.

In the summer of 2009, Pembrokeshire County Council warned bathers in its waters that the organisms had been sighted in Welsh waters.

In Ireland, there were dozens of confirmed sightings (in 2009-2010), from Termonfeckin in Co Louth to Ballymoney in Co Wexford.

There is also an abundance of Portuguese Men o' War in the waters of Costa Rica. Congregations of them can be found in the March and April months.

They are also found in Guyana, South America. They wash up on the seashore during certain months of the year.

It is rare for only a single Portuguese Man o' War to be found; the discovery of one usually indicates the presence of many as they are usually congregated by currents and winds into groups of thousands.

Attitudes to the presence of the Portuguese Man o' War vary around the world. Given their sting however, they must always be treated with caution, and the discovery of a number of blue bottles washed up on the beach might lead to the closure of a whole beach.

In 2010, sightings of the bluebottle were recorded around the small island of Malta in the Mediterranean.

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The best photos from National Geographic June 2010.

2010-07-31T15:46:00.000-05:00

Explore an unparalleled treasury of iconic images and groundbreaking photography in National Geographic Image Collection, 2010 People's Voice Webby Award Winner.

The best photos June 2010.

The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world.

Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history.

The National Geographic Society’s logo is a yellow portraitframe - rectangular in shape - which appears on the margins surrounding the front covers of its magazines.

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland
Photograph by Jim Richardson, National Geographic

The craggy Cliffs of Moher wrap around the western coast of County Clare, providing a stunning view of the Atlantic Ocean. The rocky cliffs reach 702 feet (214) meters at their highest point and stretch nearly five miles (eight kilometers) across.

Green Sea Turtle, Hawaii

Photograph by Lorenzo Menendez, My Shot

A Hawaiian green sea turtle swims in just a few feet of water.

Baobab Trees, Tanzania

Photograph by Tom Schwabel, My Shot

Baobab trees frame a serene view of night skies in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania. Some species of baobab trees can live for a thousand years—potentially reaching a stunning height of 80 feet (25 meters) and a diameter of 40 feet (12 meters).

Mongolian Man

Photograph by Charles Meacham, My Shot

A man in western Mongolia wears a fur-trimmed hat as protection from the bitter cold of winter. Sprawled across mountains and plateaus, Mongolia has an average elevation of 5,180 feet (1,580 meters).

Terraced Rice Field, China

Photograph by Thierry Bornier, My Shot

Yunnan, China, is a beautiful place for shooting rice field terraces.

Scottish Sheep

Photograph by Marc Lanciaux, My Shot

Sheepherding in Scotland has a long history, not all of it pleasant. Many of the pastures in the Western Highlands—where these sheep peer through a fence—were created during the "clearances" of the late 1800s, when wealthy landowners seeking greater profits brutally evicted their tenants and converted their subsistence farmland to pasture.

Boatman, Philippines

Photograph by Gerardo Sabado, My Shot

A boatman paddles his bamboo raft along the river at Wawa Dam, Philippines.

Potato Field, India

Photograph by Johnny Haglund, My Shot

Women in the village of Mawsynram in the Indian state of Meghalaya (known as the wettest place on the planet), use homemade "umbrellas" when they work in the potato field.

Mambukal Mudpack Festival

Photograph by Alfonso Lizares, My Shot

Held at the height of monsoon season, the Mambukal Mudpack Festival in Murcia, Negros Occidental, celebrates the harmony of man and nature and encourages environmentalism among young people. To get in the spirit, participants cover themselves with the rich soil known as Mambukal clay.

Noodles, Thailand

Photograph by Dean McCartney, My Shot

A strainer full of noodles, fresh off an open fire, commands the total concentration of a cook in Bangkok's Chinatown. The skill of such street chefs, and the aroma of their creations, proves irresistible to many passersby.

source: National Geographic Photography

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Animals of the Galápagos.

2010-07-23T09:04:00.003-05:00

Blue-Footed Booby

Photograph by Tim Laman

Not just attractive physical features, the blue feet of this booby can be used to cover its chicks and keep them warm.

Bottlenose Dolphin Peaking Above Water

Photograph by Bill Curtsinger

Their intelligence, friendly disposition, and "smiling" faces make dolphins popular in large aquariums and with divers.

Hammerhead Shark

Photograph by Brian J. Skerry

Hammerheads are aggressive hunters, feeding on smaller fish, octopuses, squid, and crustaceans. They do not actively seek out human prey, but are very defensive and will attack when provoked.

Red-Footed Booby on a Tree Branch

Photograph by Tim Laman

Smallest of the boobies, the red-foot feeds at sea, nests on the ground, and perches in coastal trees.

Green Sea Turtle

Photograph by Tim Laman

Green sea turtles are reptiles whose ancestors evolved on land and took to the sea to live about 150 million years ago. They are one of the few species so ancient that they watched the dinosaurs evolve and become extinct.

Black-Browed Albatross

Photograph by Steve Raymer

Wide-winged and long-lived, albatrosses are rarely seen on land, preferring to stay out on the ocean except to mate and raise their young.

Marine Iguana Basking in the Sun

Photograph by Rob Stewart/Animals Animals—Earth Scenes

Found only on the Galápagos Islands, marine iguanas often wear distinctive white "wigs" of salt expelled from glands near their noses.

Galápagos Tortoise With Neck Outstretched

Photograph by Tim Laman

The largest of the tortoises, the endangered Galápagos tortoise is incredibly long-lived. One captive tortoise lived over 150 years.

Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Photograph by Nick Caloyianis

A hawksbill turtle swims just above the seafloor with flippers spread like wings. Hawksbills get their name from their tapered heads, which end in a sharp point resembling a bird's beak.

The Galápagos islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a biological marine reserve. The principal language on the islands is Spanish. The islands have a population of around 23,000.

The islands are geologically young and famed for their vast number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.

The first crude navigation chart of the islands was done by the buccaneer Ambrose Cowley in 1684. He named the individual islands after some of his fellow pirates or after the English noblemen who helped the privateer's cause. More recently, the Ecuadorian government gave most of the islands Spanish names. While the Spanish names are official, many users (especially ecological researchers) continue to use the older English names, particularly as those were the names used when Charles Darwin visited.

The group consists of 15 main islands, 3 smaller islands, and 107 rocks and islets. The islands are located at the Galapagos Triple Junction. It is also atop the Galapagos hotspot, a place where the Earth's crust is being melted from below by a mantle plume, creating volcanoes. The oldest island is thought to have formed between 5 million and 10 million years ago. The youngest islands, Isabela and Fernandina, are still being formed, with the most recent volcanic eruption in April 2009 where lava from the volcanic island Fernandina started flowing both towards the island's shoreline and into the center caldera.

In 1959, the centenary year of Charles Darwin's publication of The Origin of Species, the Ecuadorian government declared 97.5% of the archipelago's land area a national park, excepting areas already colonised. The Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) was founded the same year. The core responsibility of CDF, an international non-governmental organization constituted in Belgium, is to conduct research and provide the research findings to the Government of Ecuador for effective management of Galápagos. CDF´s research efforts work began with the establishment of the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island in 1964. During the early years conservation programs, such as eradication of introduced species and protection of native species, were carried out by research station personnel. Now much of that work is accomplished by the Galapagos National Park Service using the research findings and methodologies developed by CDF.

In 1986 the surrounding 70,000 square kilometers (27,000 sq mi.) of ocean was declared a marine reserve, second only in size to Australia's Great Barrier Reef. In 1990 the archipelago became a whale sanctuary. In 1978 UNESCO recognised the islands as a World Heritage Site, and in 1985 a Biosphere Reserve. This was later extended in December 2001 to include the marine reserve.

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