Keith Ramos took this stellar photo of the Arora Borealis over the Nowitna River in the Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. This photo was submitted to the 2012 National Wildlife Refuge Association photo contest. To see more entries, click here.
Yosemite National Park is just as beautiful in the winter as it is in warmer months.
Photo: National Park Service
The distant mountains, as seen here from the Continental Divide, are the Absaroka Mountains which border the eastern side of Yellowstone National Park.
Photo: National Park Service
![One of the most #spectacular areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has to be the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah, which spans nearly 1.9 million acres of America’s public lands. From its awe-inspiring Grand Staircase of cliffs and terraces, across the rugged Kaiparowits Plateau, to the wonders of the Escalante River Canyons, the Monument’s size, resources, and remote character provide extraordinary opportunities for geologists, paleontologists, archeologists, historians, and biologists in scientific research, education, and exploration.Photo: Bob Wick, BLM](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130213212140im_/http://25.media.tumblr.com/22a027b1461fffaccc9085d45a1663cd/tumblr_mhi46pWZA51r81c8do1_500.jpg)
One of the most #spectacular areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has to be the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah, which spans nearly 1.9 million acres of America’s public lands. From its awe-inspiring Grand Staircase of cliffs and terraces, across the rugged Kaiparowits Plateau, to the wonders of the Escalante River Canyons, the Monument’s size, resources, and remote character provide extraordinary opportunities for geologists, paleontologists, archeologists, historians, and biologists in scientific research, education, and exploration.
Photo: Bob Wick, BLM
A photograph taken at Thorofare Mountain Overlook on September 9, 2012 in Shenandoah National Park. The dead tree in the foreground was one of the most beloved subjects in the park because of the great composition that it set up: a compliment of old life and new sunrises. This was the last picture that we captured of this iconic tree before it fell over. It’s amazing how much of a connection you can feel towards something that would be quickly overlooked in a different setting.
Photo: National Park Service
Some images are just plain extraordinary — and often, the photographer has invested a great deal of time and effort to make that image happen. Photographer Dave Morrow describes the process of making this image from Mount Rainier National Park in early October 2012:
“I went up to Sunrise Point at Mt. Rainier last weekend with my buddy Keith. After a lame sunset, we waited for the Milky Way to come out. The placement was just perfect & the sky was pitch black! Time to jack up the ISO and shoot some stars… This was one of many from the night:)”
Visit Rainier on a beautiful day, and you’ll get a great photograph. Stick around for the sunset, and you’ll often get an exceptional photograph. Wait till the chill of October sets in on a clear night, and stand around fiddling with your camera for a few hours in the dark… and the results just might be extraordinary.
Photo by Dave Morrow - www.DaveMorrowPhotography.com
Sometimes there are no words to describe the view in our national parks. This photo from Arches National Park is no exception.
Photo: Jacob W. Frank
Pastel Sunrise Overlook of Upper Beaver Meadows, Rocky Mountain National Park, Dec. 25, 2012
Photo: VIP Hahn
Dennis Davenport’s photo of a great horned owlet from Ridgefield National WIldlife Refuge in Washington was a finalist in the National Wildlife Refuge Association’s 2012 photo contest. See more amazing finalist photos here.