PLITVICE LAKES NATIONAL PARK IN AUTUMN Photograph by Maurizio Biancarelli / http://www.wild-wonders.com Plitvice Lakes National Park is the oldest national park in Southeast Europe and the largest national park in Croatia. The park was founded in 1949 and is situated in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia, at the border to…
THE MOST INCREDIBLE AURORA OF 2012 Photograph courtesy of Jónína Óskarsdóttir for NASA In this absolutely incredible image by Jónína Óskarsdóttir, we see an aurora spotted on March 8, 2012, shimmering over snow-covered mountains in Faskrudsfjordur, Iceland. Geomagnetic storms due to coronal mass ejections (CMEs) earlier in the week have increased in…
Photograph by Reuters/Daniel Munoz Rising flood-waters in New South Wales, Australia have not only displaced residents from their homes and caused widespread damage, but it has forced insects like the ground-dwelling wolf spider to seek higher ground to avoid certain death. The spiders instinctually climb blades of grass and other plants and are…
THE WATERFALL ISLAND AT IGUAZU FALLS Photograph by Andrew Murray on Flickr This stunning rock formation is located at Iguazu Falls. Apparently this particular view can be seen from the lookout on San Martin Island on the Argentinian side of the falls. Iguazu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River located on…
OVERGROWN RAILROAD TRACKS IN THE FOREST Photograph by T.-C on Flickr In this beautiful photograph by T.-C on Flickr, we visit the incredible Jiancing Historic Trail in Taipingshan National Forest in Taiwan. The trail was built along an old logging railway at an elevation of 1,950 meters (6,398 ft). According to T.-C,…
Being struck by lightning is a dangerous and scary experience and can even be fatal. Sometimes, the electrical discharge can leave a tattoo-like marking or scar known as a Lichtenberg figure. The patterns created are known to be examples of fractals. Lichtenberg figures are branching electric discharges that sometimes appear on the surface or…
CHICAGO CITY LIGHTS AT NIGHT Photograph by Jim Richardson for National Geographic | Purchase a print of this photo In this stunning capture above the clouds, photographer Jim Richardson shows us Chicago, USA at night. The image dramatically conveys how much artificial light we produce. This photograph was part of a feature…
Red Bull, the wing-giving purveyors of all things extreme, has graciously granted the Sifter total access to their incredible library of photographs and videos. Following up from the popular feature on the Cliff Diving World Series earlier this year, we explore the adrenaline-pumping sport of whitewater kayaking. The Sifter went through Red Bull’s…
7 HOURS IN ONE IMAGE Photograph by Isil Karanfil (isilkrnfl on deviantART) In a similar concept to Eirik Solheim’s incredible image of one year in one image, we see a fantastic capture of Porto, Portugal at the mouth of the Douro River. Apparently each vertical strip represents one hour in the day.…
DRAGON FALLS, VENEZUELA FROM ABOVE Photograph by Dmitry Moiseenko @ AirPano.ru In this incredible capture by Dmitry Moiseenko, we look down the jaw-dropping Dragon Falls in Venezuela. Known locally as Churun Meru, it’s apparently about 10 km south of Angel Falls in the same valley. This shot is from May 2011. The…