Etna Blows Her TopJutting 11,000 feet (3,350 meters) into the Sicilian sky, Mount Etna ranks among the planet's most active volcanoes. This eruption photographed last December was part of a cycle of activity that began in July 2006.
A Walk in the ParkAt the gates of Canada's Waterton Lakes National Park, southern Alberta's rolling, wildflower-freckled grasslands heave abruptly, thunderously skyward to meet the front range of the Rockies.
Sleeping GiantThe world's most dangerous volcano looms over the lives of three million people in southern Italy. An eruption in A.D. 79 buried the town of Pompeii (near the white spire, at center), but new research indicates the next blast could be much bigger.
Island HoppingJungled karst islands form the magical maze of Wayag at the northern reach of the Raja Ampat Islands. Its baroque geography is a microcosm of the archipelago.
Glaciers RuleChiseled promontories edging St. Mary Lake bear witness: Ice moved here. Glaciers ruled supreme 15,000 years ago, piled so deep that only the tops of the tallest peaks caught the warmth of sunrise.
Summer StormThe calendar said last day of summer, but the sky declared a January mood, with road-closing snowdrifts. In a landscape painted for millennia in the blue-white hues of cold, winter is never far away.
Papua PyrotechnicsLike a fireworks factory struck by lightning, Tavurvur—an active cone in the massive Rabaul caldera—spews incandescent, fist-to football-size bombs of glowing-hot volcanic material.
The Great DivideLong after its frothing tumble down the east side of Logan Pass, this water will stream into the Gulf of Mexico, and eventually join the Atlantic Ocean.
Lava LampThe infernal glow of a lava lake in the Ertale volcano rivals moonrise over the Danakil Desert. Molten surface temperatures range from 550°F (288ºC) near the 262-foot-high (80 meters) walls to nearly 1000°F (538ºC) at the center of the pit.
Going With the FlowA lone barracuda insinuates itself into a school of bluetail unicornfish. These fish congregate by the hundreds, following currents at the edge of reef drop-offs.
