America's beautiful wilderness – in pictures
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the US’s Wilderness Act, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC is exhibiting winners of the Wilderness Forever photography competition, run in collaboration with Nature’s Best Photography magazine. Here are some of our favourite images
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Grand prize: Wonder Lake, Denali, Alaska
‘On my final morning in Denali’s back country, I found myself in front of a stunning scene. Fall colours had started to dapple the landscape and in the distance there was a trumpeter swan and the reflection of Mount McKinley, perfectly still.’’Photograph: Rodney Lough Jr/Nature's Best Photography
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Wildlife winner, amateur: Mount Evans, Colorado
‘After several hours of photographing a herd of goats at the top of Mount Evans, a 4,348 m peak, a storm rolled across the valley. Soon the lightning started and the kid goats became very anxious, running and jumping over the rocks – and over each other.’Photograph: Verdon Tomajko/Nature's Best Photography
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Bald cypress dome, Florida Everglades
‘Stepping into this cypress dome [swamp] felt like entering another world. Bromeliads adorned many of the tree trunks and gave it a tropical flavour. The stark quiet combined with stoic tree trunks created a cathedral-like atmosphere.’Photograph: Bill Lea/Nature's Best Photography
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Mount Whitney, California
‘After an agonising ascent of Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the contiguous United States, I watched the full moon rise behind the Inyo mountains. This photo was taken just below the summit, at 4,421 metres. You can see the Alabama Hills and Death Valley national park.’Photograph: Nolan Nitschke/Nature's Best Photography
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Valley of Solace, Yosemite national park, California
‘As I walked along the Merced river at sunrise I saw golden light spreading across the trees and the monolithic mountains reflected in the glass-like water. All was silent except for the sound of trickling water.’Photograph: William Patino/Nature's Best Photography
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Bisti/De-Na-Zin, New Mexico
‘This is a magical place to stay for hours or days, exploring the fascinating canyons and strange rock formations. This day was very cloudy and a storm had just passed. Due to the strong wind, the light was quick to move. It evoked an aurora borealis effect of moving lights.’Photograph: Samuel Feron/Nature's Best Photography
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Lava Beds National Monument, California
‘To descend into Fossil Cave, in a remote area of the Lava Beds wilderness, requires a 50-foot rope. Its biggest attraction is the forest of ferns below the entrance. These moisture-loving plants thrive in the humid cave and contrast with the small scrub plants above the ground in this arid region.’Photograph: David E Bunnell/Nature's Best Photography
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Mount Sneffels, Colorado
‘After a day of shooting the fall colours around Mount Sneffels, a steady rain settled in, and it seemed there would be no more photography that day. But at sunset, the storm started to clear and a rainbow appeared in the east.’Photograph: Phillip Noll/Nature's Best Photography
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Flower meadow, Jackson, Wyoming
‘Walking through this field on the Teton Crest trail was like something out of a fairy tale. In places, flowers grew as tall as my six-year-old daughter. The record-setting snowpack of the previous winter had set the stage for a bountiful bloom, and I was lucky to arrive at the perfect time.’Photograph: John Richter/Nature's Best Photography
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Great Sand Dunes, Colorado
‘Although my primary purpose was to photograph the interplay of light, shadow and form that the dunes offer in the early morning, I couldn’t resist capturing this solitary hiker struggling to ascend a large dune.’
• Wilderness Forever: 50 Years of Protecting America’s Wild Places runs until summer 2015.Photograph: Richard Hebhardt/Nature's Best Photography
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