When GOD made HIS artwork

HORSESHOE BEND, COLORADO

The Colorado River flows 1,470 miles (2.366 kilometers) from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California's Sea of Cortez—or did when its waters were more plentiful. Reduced rainfall and the growing water demands of some 30 million thirsty Westerners have sucked some of the life from the Colorado, and these days its delta is often dry.

Some scientists warn that changing climatic patterns and unchecked human use could dry up the river’s reservoirs within a couple decades.

Photograph by Frans Lanting

SUNSET AT LOWER LEWIS RIVER FALL, WA

The sun sets over Lower Lewis River Falls in Washington State’s Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The falls mark a wild and scenic stretch of the river, but other sections of the Lewis, which drains the state’s mighty Cascade Range, boast large dam and reservoir systems.

Hydroelectric plants produce power, but they’ve changed the river’s natural character—to the special detriment of migratory fish like salmon. Utilities have agreed to begin trucking fish around the dams along the Lewis River, moving them from below these looming barriers to prime habitat upstream, above the dams.

Photograph by Scottyboipdx Weber, My Shot

BERING SEA SUNSET
Water from the Bering Sea crashes on the rocks of Margaret Bay in Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
Photograph by Christopher Zimmer, My Shot

ICE CANYON, GREENLAND
Meltwater has carved a canyon 150 feet (45 meters) deep.
Photograph by James Balog, National Geographic

AURORA BOREALIS, ICELAND
Photograph by Olgeir Andresson, Your Shot

HOH RAIN FOREST, OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK
Most people know about the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park, but only a few are lucky to discover the wonder near Sol Duc.
Photograph by Wai Chee Wong, Your Shot

HOT SPRINGS, EAST AFRICA
Sulfur and algae turn hot springs into pools of living color. The water is condensation from hot gases rising from magma chambers. As the water evaporates, salts and minerals form a vivid crust.
Photograph by George Steinmetz, National Geographic