Photo of the Day: June 2021
Peruvian scientists found fossils of giant penguins on this desert beach in Paracas, Peru. The discoveries, documented in the February 2008 issue, suggest that the birds would have been five feet tall and tolerant of a hot climate.
A kid locks eyes with a brown bear in Yellowstone National Park. This picture originally appeared in a July 1966 story called, "Today and Tomorrow in Our National Parks."
Teammates on a synchronised swimming team practice in a pool in Laguna Hills, California. They're both in their sixties—this photo ran in a November 1997 story about ageing.
A man paddles his canoe near Kongou Falls in Gabon. The falls are almost two miles wide, surrounded by the rainforests of Ivindo National Park.
Women dressed in traditional garb dance near Khor Virap Monastery. The performance was part of a celebration recognising 1,700 years since the baptism of King Tiridates III, which made Armenia the world's first Christian nation.
Spain's Costa Brava teems with millions of tourists every summer. This picture originally appeared in a January 1984 story about Catalonia, a region in northeast Spain.
A story in the February 2017 issue documented the lives of widows across the world. Here, lifelong friends walk arm in arm, both of them having lost their husbands in the Bosnian war in the mid-1990s.
Women participate in a yoga class on the beach of Bay Head, New Jersey. A story in the August 2004 issue traveled the 127 miles of beaches that make up the Jersey Shore, documenting all kinds of colourful characters along the way.
The January 1999 issue featured a story about T.E. Lawrence, the British army officer who led Arab troops in World War I. In the background of this photo, Khalaf Abu Tayi sits next to a portrait of his father Zaal, who was one of Lawrence's right-hand men.
A story in the February 1977 issue looked at the vibrant past and present of Harlem in New York City. Here, kids play in a gushing fire hydrant on a hot summer day.
Off the coast of South Africa, a copper shark rounds up a school of sardines before moving in for the kill. The South African coast, where the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean meet, is one of the most biologically diverse and complex marine environments on Earth.
A grid of straw prevents sand dunes from overtaking a railroad in China's Tengger Desert. This picture appeared in the March 1980 issue, in which representatives from the National Geographic Society traveled from Beijing to the far west Xinjiang Province.
A Shingon Buddhist meditates under frigid waterfalls in Toyama, Japan. The practice, which can last for hours, is called takigyo, and it is meant to cleanse the mind, body, and soul.
The December 1975 issue featured a story called "Can We Harness the Wind?" about the possibilities for wind energy. Here, 91-year-old Emil Gehrke poses with just a few of the 300 decorative windmills he built for his yard in Grand Coulee, Washington.
American flags adorn a former coal-company house in Shallmar, Maryland, in this picture from the October 1976 issue. In coal mining communities, the company would buy or build houses that their workers would then rent.
A man hangs a paper duck lamp in Alfama Quarter of Lisbon, Portugal, to celebrate the Feast of St. Anthony. The holiday celebrates the patron saint of Lisbon, and the streets are strung with colorful paper decorations of all kinds.
Enslaved child labourers peer from behind a textile loom where they work in Uttar Pradesh, India. A story in the September 2003 issue documented 21st-century slavery across the globe.
The winning teams in Hong Kong's International Dragon Boat Races celebrate with a massive water fight in Victoria Harbour. The sport's roots go back more than 2,000 years, and has been a modern, worldwide sport since the 1970s.
Holding food in their beaks, a group of bee-eaters keep an eye on their nearby nests in Sáránd, Hungary. As their name suggests, bee-eaters primarily eat bees and wasps, grinding out their stingers against a hard surface before consuming.
In South Miami Beach, an artist cruises down Ocean Drive in her convertible. This photo appeared in a January 1992 story about Miami after it experienced a boom in the late '80s.
Hard corals in the Great Barrier Reef vie for sunlight off the coast of Cairns, Australia. More than half of the reef's corals have died since 1995, due to climate change and warming seas.
The January 1979 issue contained this photo of Frances Hostetter celebrating her graduation from the University of California, Los Angeles, at the age of 71. The photo was part of a larger story about the culture and identity of Los Angeles.
The June 2002 issue featured "The Untold Stories of D-Day." Here, Evelyn Kowalchuk, a veteran of the Army Nurse Corps, poses with her favorite recruitment poster and a picture of herself. Kowalchuk was a nurse on Omaha Beach, treating the wounded after D-Day— June 6, 1944.
A story in the February 2009 issue documented the management of wild horses in the American West. Here, wild mustangs flee a Bureau of Land Management round-up in Nevada. Eventually, horses that were caught would be sold or adopted out.
Koko the gorilla cuddles her pet cat, All Ball, in this cover photo from the January 1985 issue. Koko, who died in 2018 at the age of 46, was famous for communicating in sign language with her handlers.
On Rarotonga, the most populous of the Cook Islands, a teenage girl adjusts books on the back of her bike after a stop at the local library. A story in the August 1967 issue looked at the Cook Islands' self-governance in connection with New Zealand.
A crop duster sprays for weevils in a sea of sunflowers in Red River Valley, North Dakota. This picture appeared on the cover of the March 1987 issue, which featured a story about the economic struggles of North Dakota called "Tough Times on the Prairie."
People crowd an open fruit market on a beach in Panama City, Panama. This picture originally appeared in the June 1921 issue, in a story called, "Across the Equator with the American Navy."
