a sea lion
camel thorn trees
elephants
a wheat field fire
a spring
a little goby
a butterfly
hay
fields
workers harvesting celery
a rhino and a conservationist
a drought-stricken dam
Phoenix
a house damaged after a hurricane
trash in Manila Bay
plastic on a fence
salt flats
a family picnicing
penguins
a couple
a reef
kids looking through garbage
harvesting palm
wildflowers
salt water pools
a girl splashing
a retreating glacier
sand mining
rail cars with coal
a volcano
a solar panel
a polar bear
a farmer
deforestation
a girl with a new stove
meat at a grocery store
a woman drying plastic
Picture inside a cave
a mine
sequoias
cobalt winged parakeets
traffic at night
a family putting on masks
a power plant
night sky
a bear eating
a fishery worker
fireflies
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A California sea lion hunts for fish on a kelp paddy at Cortes Bank, a seamount off the coast of San Diego. It's a trove of marine life that deserves protection, conservationists say. (See 50 dramatic photos from Earth)
Photograph by Brian Skerry, Nat Geo Image Collection

On World Environment Day, soak in these amazing Earth photos

It's a day to see the environment through what may be a slightly different lens: 50 incredible images of our planet.

ByLori Cuthbert
June 05, 2019

Created in 1974 by the UN, World Environment Day happens every June 5. Hosted by a different country each year—this year it’s China—the day seeks to raise public awareness of environmental issues.

“The celebration of this day provides us with an opportunity to broaden the basis for an enlightened opinion and responsible conduct by individuals, enterprises and communities in preserving and enhancing the environment,” says the UN’s website.

In celebration of World Environment Day, we’ve collected 50 of our most stunning photos of the natural world.

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