Neon-green Sea Urchins

A nontoxic dye highlights water currents surrounding sea urchins (Astropyga sp.) off Vancouver Island, British Columbia. These small, spiny echinoderms are found in oceans all over the world.

Aerial View of Island Lagoon

As startling as a bright-blue eye, a central lagoon peers out from Rocas Baimbridgen in Ecuador's Galápagos Islands. The stark, rocky island teems with life at times—the brackish lagoon waters are favored by flamingos.

Aerial view of Bora-Bora ringed by reefs

Lacy breakers lap the coral reef that rings Bora-Bora, an ancient sunken volcano 165 miles (266 kilometers) northwest of Tahiti in French Polynesia's Society Islands. Surrounded by sugar-white beaches, an electric-blue lagoon, and some of the clearest water on the planet, Bora-Bora is home to hundreds of species of tropical fish.

"Mushroom cloud of stone erupts in the Ténéré desert, remnant of its watery past. This pedestal rock began as a mass of pebbly sandstone. Its sculptors were cycles of hot and cold, wet and dry, as well as blowing sand, which caused the sloughing off of shards scattered at the base."

The World is so Beautiful

Kelp Help!

Kelp rockfish navigate a towering kelp forest near California's Bodega Bay. Kelp is one of the world's fastest-growing plants, with some species adding up to a foot (31 centimeters) per day.

Spaghetti!

It's easy to see how the spaghetti worm (Loimia medusa) got its name. Also called the medusa worm, the spaghetti worm has tentacles that radiate out from its tube center to capture particles of food.