Photos and English scripts are from Nationalgeographic.com
May 11, 2008
Mother Camel and Baby, Sahara, Chad, 1999
Photograph by George Steinmetz
A young dromedary camel peeks underneath its mother as she casually drinks in the Guelta Archeï, a steep canyon in the Chadian Sahara. But camels beware. These isolated waters hold a zoological surprise: Algae, fertilized by camel droppings, are eaten by fish that are preyed upon by a group of crocodiles.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Journey to the Heart of the Sahara," March 1999, National Geographic magazine)
May 12, 2008
Iceberg With Meltwater Pool, Jakobshavn Fjord, Greenland, 2007
Photograph by James Balog
Icebergs, including one with a sapphire pool of meltwater, clutter Greenland's Jakobshavn Fjord near the village of Ilulissat. The glacier that produced this flotilla has receded some four miles (six kilometers) since the year 2000.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Big Thaw," June 2007, National Geographic magazine)
May 13, 2008
Tiny Orange Crab, Panay Island, Philippines, 2002
Photograph by Tim Laman
An orange crab crawls on a leaf on Panay Island in the Philippines. The islands of the Philippines have some 12,000 plant and 1,100 land vertebrate species. But habitat loss threatens to erase much of this ecological diversity.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Hotspots: The Philippines," July 2002, National Geographic magazine)
May 14, 2008
Snow and Mountains, Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, 1998
Photograph by Gordon Wiltsie
Jagged peaks pierce the icy expanse of Antarctica's Queen Maud Land. These stark granite formations are the visible tips of mountains that lie buried beneath an ice sheet some 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) thick.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "On the Edge of Antarctica: Queen Maud Land," February 1998, National Geographic magazine)
May 15, 2008
Cattle Bones, Simpson Desert, Australia, 1992
Photograph by Medford Taylor
A multicolored sunset contrasts the bleached bones of dead cattle in Australia's Simpson Desert. Though forbiddingly dry, the Simpson Desert has aquifers and floodplains that make parts of it ideal livestock-grazing country.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Simpson Desert," May 1992, National Geographic magazine)
May 16, 2008
Snow-Dusted Peaks, Yosemite National Park, California, 1985
Photograph by Jonathan Blair
A quiet pond reflects snow-dusted trees and granite outcrops of the Sierra Nevada in California's Yosemite National Park. Solitude in Yosemite may seem like romantic nostalgia to its 3.5 million annual tourists. But opportunities to experience true wilderness are as plentiful and as varied as the park's natural treasures.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Yosemite—Forever?," January 1985, National Geographic magazine)
May 17, 2008
Artist Carving a Mask, Kyoto, Japan, 2004
Photograph by Justin Guariglia
An artist in Kyoto, Japan, carves a mask used in Noh, one of Japan's oldest theatre genres. The masks generally wear a deadpan expression. In Noh, the drama is conveyed through the music and the actors' symbolic movements.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Found in Translation," May/June 2004, National Geographic Traveler magazine)
May 18, 2008
Afar Herdsmen, Danakil Desert, Ethiopia, 2005
Photograph by Carsten Peter
A group of Afar nomads leads camels through Ethiopia's Danakil Desert. The Afar regard themselves as one ethnic group, though their population of about three million is divided among Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti. "We are the people who move," said one Afar woman. "From the beginning that has been our way."
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Africa's Danakil Desert: Cruelest Place on Earth," October 2005, National Geographic magazine)
May 19, 2008
Desert at Dawn, Saudi Arabia, 2003
Photograph by Reza
A lone man walks over sand dunes in the Saudi Arabian desert. This oil-rich kingdom on the Arabia Peninsula covers some 770,000 square miles (2 million square kilometers), more than 98 percent of which is desert.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Kingdom on Edge: Saudi Arabia," October 2003, National Geographic magazine)
May 20, 2008
Young Seahorses, New South Wales, Australia, 1994
Photograph by George Grall
A group of young seahorses drifts in shallow waters off Manly, New South Wales, Australia. From Canada to Tasmania, most coastal areas with sea grass beds, mangroves, or coral reefs can lay claim to a seahorse species or two.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Improbable Seahorse," October 1994, National Geographic magazine)