An aerial view shows the vibrant colors of Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park. The spring is 370 feet in diameter, and can reach up to a temperature of 189 °F.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL NICHOLS, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
A pair of readers luxuriate in the warm waters of Radium Hot Springs in Canada's Kootenay National Park. This photo originally appeared in the September 1966 issue, which highlighted the rugged beauty of the Canadian Rockies.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMES L. STANFIELD, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
An American crocodile swims through the waters of the Gardens of the Queen National Marine Park in Cuba. Male American crocodiles can grow to be 20 feet long, and weigh as much as one ton.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JENNIFER HAYES, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
An April 2000 story called "Nature's Rx" documented people's use of natural remedies all around the globe. In this photo, a woman in Maine harvests white water lily roots, which will be used in a tincture to treat cervicitis.
PHOTOGRAPH BY LYNN JOHNSON, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
The cover story of the September 1992 issue was called "Dolphins in Crisis," and it featured this photo of Atlantic spotted dolphins swimming in tight formation near the Bahamas. Even today, several species of dolphin are in danger of extinction because of humans.
PHOTOGRAPH BY FLIP NICKLIN, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
In Morton, Pennsylvania, riveters assemble the fuselage of a Piasecki helicopter in the early 1950s. This picture originally appeared in a 40-page story in the July 1952 issue, following life along the Delaware River.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT SISSON, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
When sea ice ages, the salt sinks into the ocean, leaving fresh, drinkable water on top. In this picture from the September 2019 issue, a young Inuit girl fills a teapot with water to take back to her family's hunting camp in northern Canada.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ACACIA JOHNSON, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
Members of the Palmer Society, a campus women’s organization, celebrate their graduation from Whittier College in California. This picture originally appeared in the July 2018 issue, in a story called, "How Latinos are Shaping America's Future."
PHOTOGRAPH BY KARLA GACHET AND IVAN KASHINSKY, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
A family harvests onions in Mahārāshtra, India. This picture appeared in a November 2009 story about the ways Indian farmers have created watersheds to improve reliable access to water.
PHOTOGRAPH BY LYNSEY ADDARIO, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
People dive into a river in El Yunque National Forest, an hour outside San Juan, Puerto Rico. This picture appeared in a March 2003 story about the culture and political future of Puerto Rico.
PHOTOGRAPH BY AMY TOESNING, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
Most of the stories in the April 1917 issue centered on what was happening in the Great War—what would later be known as World War I. This photo of Red Cross nurses using microscopes to conduct research appeared in a story called "The Burden France Has Borne."
PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL THOMPSON, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
This photograph of young Japanese girls posing with cherry blossom branches was taken sometime before 1918 by Eliza Scidmore. Scidmore was the first woman to sit on the National Geographic Society's board of trustees, and she is also considered to be Nat Geo's first female photographer.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ELIZA R. SCIDMORE, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
A story in the February 1993 issue followed the Mekong River from its origins in western China to the delta in Vietnam. Here, a house on stilts stays safe from floods in southern Cambodia, in which the Mekong rose 25 feet.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL S. YAMASHITA, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
This photo of a high school basketball game in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, appeared in the May 1974 issue. The story centered on life in northern Kentucky, also known as the Bluegrass region.
PHOTOGRAPH BY J. BRUCE BAUMANN, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
A story in the August 1978 issue looked at the many uses of aluminum. Here, a woman in Cape Coral, Florida, collects beer cans for recycling.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMES L. AMOS, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
A mother panda tends to her infant at Bifengxia Panda Center in Sichuan Province, China. This photo appeared in an August 2016 story about China's efforts to raise pandas and release them into the wild.
PHOTOGRAPH BY AMI VITALE, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
Pilgrims climb Croagh Patrick in County Mayo, Ireland, on Reek Sunday. The tradition, which occurs on the last Sunday in July, is in honor of St. Patrick, and dates back hundreds of years.
PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS HILL, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION