Pastel pinks and turquoise paint the sky above two of the three rocks found at Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge, offering 15 acres of wildness and mystery in Oregon. Designated by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907, Three Arch Rocks is the first Pacific Coast refuge and the oldest refuge west of the Mississippi River. Photo by Stefanie Crivella Bloomer (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).
North Cascades National Park in Washington is home to animals with fins, fur, feathers and scales; but the higher you go, the fewer animals you see. Up in this dramatic and beautiful environment, the mountain goat rules. Thanks to their specialized hooves and body shape, they can easily travel over the cliffs and mountains where few predators will follow. Photo by Andy Porter (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).
Sunlight plays amazing tricks at Yosemite National Park, illuminating the park’s towering granite rock formations and making them appear on fire. This pic shows El Capitan on a stormy day, glowing in sunset’s sweet light. Photo by Christine White Loberg, National Park Service.
On a clear, moonless night, visitors to Great Basin National Park in Nevada can see thousands of stars, five of our solar system’s eight planets, star clusters, meteors, man-made satellites, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the Milky Way – all with the naked eye. The area boasts some of the darkest night skies left in the United States. National Park Service photo.
Sig Nordal 