• Tagged animals, fish, leafy sea dragon, pipefish, scuba diving photography, seadragon, seahorse, underwater photography, weedy sea dragon

If you don’t live near an ocean or urban aquarium or even a zoo, then you might not have seen many seahorses and seadragons to realize how stunning these tiny sea creatures are. With a long face like a horse, they have an almost mythical appearance, but are far from immortal as none of the seahorse family are strong swimmers and they often die during storms. They excel at camouflage and many can change colors to hide themselves in their natural underwater surroundings. There are declining numbers as these creatures are used in Asian herbal medicines. Bizarrely, for seahorses, leafy and weedy sea dragons and even pipefish — a relative — males are responsible for childbearing. Here are some fun facts and sensational shots of these tiny “sea monsters” that are truly spectacular! [60 Photos]

• Tagged Australia, Cradle Mountain, environment, Great Wilderness of Tasmania, national parks, nature, Southwest National Park, Tasmania National Parks, Tasmanian Wilderness, Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Walls of Jerusalem National Park

Tasmania, the “Island of Inspiration,” is home to one of the last large areas of temperate wilderness in the world. The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area covers about 20% of Tasmania and is one of the largest conservation areas in Australia. About 3.4 million acres make up the Tasmanian Wilderness and it includes Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, Hartz Mountains National Park, Mole Creek Karst National Park, Southwest National Park, Walls of Jerusalem National Park, Central Plateau Conservation and Protected Areas, Devils Gullet State Reserve and South East Mutton Bird Islet. That network of six national parks and three reserves are the wild, green, and rugged Tasmanian Wilderness. It is one of the last true untamed wilderness areas remaining on Earth and has it all for nature lovers such as dense woods, lakes, rivers, mountains, waterfalls, steep gorges that underwent severe glaciation and caves. The Great Wilderness of Tasmania is beloved by hikers, climbers, bushwalkers, cavers, rafters and any other adventuresome souls. [42 Photos]

• Tagged bluebell woods, bluebells, enchanted forest, environment, flowers, nature, quotes, Spring

Every spring as the soil warms and the leaves begin to form a shade canopy over Europe’s ancient woodlands, there is a wildflower spectacle in the undergrowth. When millions of violet-blue bluebells stretch as far as the eye can see and their strong, sweet scent permeates the air, the forest seems almost magical. Because these woods take on an almost enchanted quality when carpeted by beautiful bluebells, it may be why bluebells have also been dubbed “fairy flowers.” If you are not fortunate enough to experience beautiful British bluebell woods in real life, we hope you can be inspired by these pictures of heavenly bluebells.
[38 Photos]

• Tagged historic photos, K-25, Little Boy, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project District Headquarters, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Lab, secret government town, security billboards, Tennessee, The Atomic City, WWII, Y-12

In 1942, as part of the Manhattan Project, the U.S. government created a top ‘Secret Town’ aka ”The Atomic City’ now called Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The government bought up about 68,000 acres of land and about 1,000 Tennessee families were given two weeks or less to vacate. All the while, other secret towns were created elsewhere in the US as part of the race to create an atomic weapon. These photos are a flashback into World War II and a treasure trove of Oak Ridge period history. Through these pictures we can peer into the past, previously shrouded in secrecy, into the atomic city where the Little Boy bomb was created before the Enola Gay dropped it on Hiroshima. It’s a story that involves Soviet atomic spies, espionage, compartmentalization to guard secrets, and government billboards encouraging secrecy among Oak Ridge workers. [60 Photos]

• Tagged Caño Cristales, Columbia, liquid rainbow, most beautiful river in the world, nature, phenomenon, river, river of five colors, river that ran away from paradise

A river in Columbia is beautifully exotic and home to a natural phenomenon that earned it many complimentary names like ‘the river that ran away from paradise.’ You can only visit the Caño Cristales river from July to December. Within that time frame is a shorter period when the conditions are perfect to cause blooms in the water that showcase a ‘liquid rainbow’ of ‘yellow, green, blue, black, and especially the red of the Macarenia clavigera.’ During the rest of the year, the water looks like any other river, surrounded by fantastic rock formations that are so steep they are said to hide away the view of numerous waterfalls and natural swimming holes. The rock formations look remarkably similar to Moon Valley in beautiful Brazil, but Rio Caño Cristales has been bestowed with many titles such as “The River of Five Colors,” “The Liquid Rainbow”, “the river that ran away from paradise,” and even “The Most Beautiful River in the World.” [37 Photos]

• Tagged basalt, cascade waterfalls, horsetail waterfalls, Iceland waterfalls, multi-step waterfalls, plunge waterfalls, punchbowl waterfalls, segmented waterfalls, waterfalls, waterfalls in Iceland

Iceland has some of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world. In fact, it seems everywhere you turn there are stunning falls of varied types such as plunge, horsetail, multi-step, segmented, punchbowl and cascade waterfalls. With frequent rain and snow and large glaciers, Iceland provides an ideal setting for falls. As snow and ice melt in summer, the volcanic and basalt Iceland is alive with magnificent and mighty waterfalls that would stun you. Winter waterfalls are sometimes frozen with an aurora borealis overhead . . . also gorgeous while looking unbelievably cold. Here are 25 different Iceland waterfalls. [60 Photos]