Climbers on Ertale Volcano, Ethiopia, 2005

Photograph by Carsten Peter

Climbers in Ethiopia's Danakil Desert prepare to descend into Ertale volcano. The volcano, which has been active for nearly a century, has a lake of molten lava at the center of its caldera.

Volcanic Soil, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, 2001

Photograph by Carsten Peter

A fisheye lens captures the desolate gray of a volcanic plain on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. Kamchatka is a scimitar-shaped spit of land on Russia's far east coast, home to more than a hundred volcanoes, 29 of which are active.

Sunset and Palm Trees, Captiva Island, Florida, 1992

Photograph by Raymond GehmanA fuchsia sunset backdrops a stand of palm trees on Florida's Captiva Island. Captiva is one of four quiet barrier islands on the Gulf coast of Florida—Sanibel, North Captiva, and Cayo Costa are the others—renowned as havens for boating, fishing, and seashell-collecting.

Puss Moth Larva, England, 1997

Photograph by Darlyne Murawski

A puss moth larva disposes of its old skin (left) and head capsule (right) after molting on a leaf in England. These disarmingly colorful critters actually pack some potent weaponry. A gland on the moth's thorax sprays formic acid, and its upright rear appendages sport noxious, pink tentacles.

Scottish Sea Town, Pennan, Scotland, U.K., 2006

Photograph by Jim Richardson

The uniformly whitewashed cottages of Pennan, Scotland, line up around a quiet cove in Moray Firth as boats rest within a small manmade harbor. The town has been in existence for over a thousand years but gained international fame in the 1980s as the fictional village of Ferness in the popular movie Local Hero.

Desert at Dawn, Saudi Arabia, 2003

Photograph by Reza

A lone man walks over sand dunes in the Saudi Arabian desert. This oil-rich kingdom on the Arabia Peninsula covers some 770,000 square miles (2 million square kilometers), more than 98 percent of which is desert.

Afar Herdsmen, Danakil Desert, Ethiopia, 2005

Photograph by Carsten PeterA group of Afar nomads leads camels through Ethiopia's Danakil Desert. The Afar regard themselves as one ethnic group, though their population of about three million is divided among Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti. "We are the people who move," said one Afar woman. "From the beginning that has been our way."

Artist Carving a Mask, Kyoto, Japan, 2004

Photograph by Justin GuarigliaAn artist in Kyoto, Japan, carves a mask used in Noh, one of Japan's oldest theatre genres. The masks generally wear a deadpan expression. In Noh, the drama is conveyed through the music and the actors' symbolic movements.

Snow-Dusted Peaks, Yosemite National Park, California, 1985

Photograph by Jonathan BlairA quiet pond reflects snow-dusted trees and granite outcrops of the Sierra Nevada in California's Yosemite National Park. Solitude in Yosemite may seem like romantic nostalgia to its 3.5 million annual tourists. But opportunities to experience true wilderness are as plentiful and as varied as the park's natural treasures.

Cattle Bones, Simpson Desert, Australia, 1992

Photograph by Medford TaylorA multicolored sunset contrasts the bleached bones of dead cattle in Australia's Simpson Desert. Though forbiddingly dry, the Simpson Desert has aquifers and floodplains that make parts of it ideal livestock-grazing country.

Snow and Mountains, Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, 1998

Photograph by Gordon WiltsieJagged peaks pierce the icy expanse of Antarctica's Queen Maud Land. These stark granite formations are the visible tips of mountains that lie buried beneath an ice sheet some 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) thick.