Palm trees cast lacy contours against a star-speckled sky in Coromandel Forest Park, New Zealand. Sprawled across 180,387 acres (73,000 hectares) in northeastern New Zealand, Coromandel Forest Park is home to stunning vistas: luxuriant forests, velvety fields, gnarled volcanoes, and rushing rivers. (Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Case of the Missing Carbon," February 2004, National Geographic magazine)Photograph by Peter Essick(意译)：棕榈树呈现花边的轮廓，相反产于印度东部的乌木（Coromandel）森林公园有一些斑点样的星空，新西兰。乌木蔓生180，387英亩在新西兰东北地区，乌木森林公园是极好的街景：丰产的森林，天鹅绒般的原野，扭曲的火山，和许多急流。

Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) ride out high surf on blue-ice icebergs near Candlemas Island in the South Sandwich Islands. Safe for the moment from predaceous leopard seals, chinstrap penguins are the second most abundant species in Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic.意译：南极洲的企鹅都聚结在纯洁冰的冰山上，靠近圣烛节岛的南部三文治岛内。为了安全免受海豹的攻击，南极企鹅是第二类盛产于南极洲或亚南极区。

The tentacles of a box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri) trail behind it and can reach 15 feet (4.6 meters) in length. Found in northern Australia and adjacent waters, a sting from this species can be deadly. This species of box jellyfish, the largest, can have as many as 60 tentacles. Photograph by David Doubilet意译：在澳大利亚北部发现一种盒状形水母，并且跟踪到这种水母之后，它的触角的长度达到15英尺（4.6米），水母生长的触角刺人时会感到疼痛，其毒液还可以致人死亡。其最大的盒状形水母的触角可以达到60条触须。

"Spanning a West Virginia canyon 3,000 feet [914 meters] wide, the New River Gorge Bridge transformed 44,000 tons of steel and concrete into structural art as graceful as the morning mists drifting below it. Opened in 1977, it replaced an 1889 trestle—and 40 white-knuckled minutes on one-lane switchbacks—with 40 seconds on cruise control." —From “New River’s Deep Soul,” June 1999, National Geographic magazine Photograph by Susie Post Rust意译：在美国西维吉尼亚峡谷，峡谷有3000英尺（914米）广阔，新建一座山峡大桥，使用了44000 吨的钢铁和混凝土做为结构材料。每当早晨薄雾漂移到大桥下面是那么的优美。大桥在1977年开放，它取代了1889年的老式高架桥。

Minerals, algae, and cyanobacteria give this geyser in Nevada's Black Rock Desert its brilliant colors.Photograph by Jack Dykinga/Getty Images意译：矿物、藻类和蓝绿色细菌给予这些间歇泉灿烂的色彩。美国西部的内华达州的黑石沙漠区。

A school of salema attempts to outmaneuver a hungry sea lion near the Galａpagos Islands by circling to confuse the predator. Galａpagos sea lions dive down some 120 feet (37 meters) on average to feed, returning to the surface after a minute or two to breathe. Photograph by David Doubilet意译：一群深水海鱼正在以策略制胜的机动战术，抵御一只饥饿的海狮接近并想吞食深海鱼群。事情发生在一个叫：“Galapagos Islands”岛屿。鱼群组成环形，使得海狮糊里糊涂。但是海狮为了觅食能够潜进到120英尺（37米），然后浮出水面进行呼吸1～2分钟后又潜入海水里觅食。

Paintlike swirls surround the Great Red Spot, a high-pressure area on Jupiter.Photograph by NASA意译：图片来自美国宇航局（NASA）。好像油漆样的漩涡形包围那伟大的红色地点，在木星区域有很高的压力

At twighlight, Miami’s MacArthur Causeway Bridge is illuminated in nightclub-like hues of pink and purple.Photograph by Rudy Sulgan/Corbis意译：主标题——麦克阿瑟大桥。在迈阿密（美国佛罗里达州东南部港口市），麦克阿瑟的堤道大桥十分明亮，那是夜总会发出的粉红色和紫色色调，使得大桥装饰的更加灿烂光芒。

A colony of sea squirts forms a colorful landscape, ample hiding place for an Eastern cleaner-clingfish (Cochleoceps orientalis) in the Tasman Sea off the coast of Australia. The tiny fish, which cleans parasites from the bodies of larger fish, fights strong currents by anchoring itself with a sucker disc on its abdomen. Photograph by David Doubilet意译：一批海洋生物群体造就华美的风景线，充沛的食物和良好的隐匿环境为一批东方的清洁器——小喉盘鱼创造条件，它们生活在澳大利亚塔斯曼海并远离海岸。这些小鱼会清洁大鱼身体上的寄生虫，有时它们还互相打斗显示强壮，它们都有一个吸盘在其腹部以固定自己，然后开展清道夫样的工作。

In a world of clouds and crystalline blue, a pair of stingrays glides just below the surface in the waters of French Polynesia's Tuamotu archipelago. The creatures find safe haven here under the protection of one of UNESCO's Man and Biosphere reserves. Photograph by David Doubilet意译：在世界上的云彩像水晶般的蓝色，一对黄貂鱼悄悄地在水面下滑行，这是在法国玻利尼西亚群岛，它们寻找避难所，因为这里是联合国教科文组织规定的生物圈。

Black-and-white stripes ripple across the hide of a Grant's zebra. Photograph by Tim Laman意译：黑和白色相间的斑纹像波纹那样越过斑马的躯体上。

Valley of the Moon, Chile, 2003Photograph by Joel SartoreTourists career down a mountainous sand dune in the aptly named Valley of the Moon region of Chile's Atacama Desert.This stark landscape between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains is considered the driest place on Earth, and some areas here have not received a drop of rain in hundreds of years. The terrain is so arid and forbidding, scientists came here to test the prototype for a rover destined for Mars.(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Driest Place on Earth," August 2003, National Geographic magazine)意译：智利，月亮谷，2003年。旅游者愿意速滑下到山一样的沙丘，最合适的是智利的“月亮谷”。这是在风景如画的太平洋和安第斯山脉之间，是地球上一处干燥的地方。在这里已经有一百多年没有下过一滴雨水。这地形令人十分可怕的，科学家曾到此处测试。

Goby and Bubble Coral, Indonesia, 2005Photograph by Tim LamanA goby fish with brilliant orange streaks stands out on a bit of gray bubble coral in Maumere Bay off Indonesia's Flores Island. In most of the ocean, turbid or murky waters force creatures to use nonvisual means of communication—smell, taste, touch, and sound. But in the clear, sunlit waters of coral reefs, light abounds, vision predominates, and animals drape themselves in blazing color. (Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish," May 2005, National Geographic magazine) 意译：虾虎鱼和泡沫的珊瑚虫，印度尼西亚，2005。一条虾虎鱼有灿烂的橙色条纹，停止在一小块灰色泡沫珊瑚虫上，在（Maumere）海湾，远离印度尼西亚的升华岛。许多海洋里，那混浊或者黑暗中水的力量，动物会用各种手段来传达信息——嗅觉、味觉、触觉和声音保护自己。但是在清晰的、阳光照射的水中的珊瑚虫暗礁，阳光充满，视力优良，动物它们自己闪耀强烈的颜色展示自己。

A school of fish swims past the underwater research laboratory Aquarius, located 62 feet (19 meters) beneath the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.Photograph by Brian J. Skerry意译：一群小海鱼游泳到水下研究实验室宝瓶宫，它们在62英尺（19米）之下，寻找那个水下避难所——美国佛罗里达州国家的海运业的钥匙。

A gossamer parasol spreads its feathery arms to catch plankton in the Caribbean waters of the Cayman Islands.Photograph by Emory Kristof意译：犹如薄纱那样展开它的柔软如羽毛的肢体，去捕捉浮游生物，这是在加勒比海的鳄鱼岛。

Sunlight sneaks through a crevice in Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona. 意译：阳光悄悄的通过一处裂缝，在羚羊峡谷靠近（Page）地方，美国亚利桑那州。

An airplane casts a shadow over Lake Natron in Tanzania. The lake's color comes from a red pigment in cyanobacteria, which feed on high levels of salt in the lake.Photograph by George Steinmetz意译：一架飞机投射其影像在坦桑尼亚（东非国家）的天然碳酸钠湖面上，这个湖面的颜色来自蓝绿色细菌所产生的红色素，湖内的含盐量是高水平的。

Water ripples over sand in the Virgin Islands.Photograph by Todd Gipstein意译：海浪在沙滩上面泛起涟漪，处女岛。

A snowflake's shape depends on the temperature at which it forms. This type of snowflake, called a sectored plate, forms when the temperate dips below about 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 degrees Celsius).Photograph by Kenneth Libbrecht意译：雪花的外形依靠温度高低会形成不同的造型。这种雪花型叫做盘子状扇形雪花，它在摄氏负十五度时形成。

Garden of the Gods, Hawaii, 1996.Photograph by Jim RichardsonA time-exposed photograph turns car headlights into luminous trails winding through the Garden of the Gods on Hawaii's Lanai Island. In the foreground sits a cairn of red-brown volcanic stones, likely built by tourists. Locals usually dismantle the visitors' handiwork though. (Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Hiding Away in Lanai," January/February 1997, National Geographic Traveler magazine)意译：主标题——上帝的花园，夏威夷，1996年。这幅图片显露一辆小汽车的前灯发出明亮的轨迹，一直穿过那上帝的花园，在夏威夷的（Lanai）岛屿。最为显著的景观是堆石界标是由红褐色的火山岩石群，它们很可能是旅游者修建的。当地的居民通常会拆除旅游人的手艺。