Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is the largest hot spring in the United States and the third largest in the world. It’s almost 370 feet in diameter and 121 feet deep. Its vibrant color is the result of thermophilic (heat loving) organisms living along the edges of the steaming pool. This unique ecosystem is delicate and dangerous. To protect it and yourself, stay on the boardwalks when visiting and take the #YellowstonePledge: http://ift.tt/2j70UN7. Photo by Manish Mamtani (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

Amateur photographer Matthew Hanna won the Share The Experience photo contest night sky category for this beautiful pic of the Milky Way stretching above the seastacks at Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Spanning the Oregon coast, the wilderness islands and windswept headlands of Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge are celebrated for their abundant wildlife, rugged grandeur and amazing night skies. Submit your pics from public lands to this year’s Share The Experience photo contest now: http://ift.tt/2qDvotm! 

Photo by Matthew Hanna (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

This awesome shot of Fantasy Canyon in Utah took the scenic landscape prize in the 2016 Share the Experience Photo Contest. The intricate sandstone formations and terrific light make this unique area a photographer’s dream. If you have outstanding pictures from public lands, sign up and share them at http://ift.tt/18oFfjl for your chance to have your photo on the America the Beautiful public lands pass! Photo by John D’Onofrio (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). @mypubliclands

And the winner of the 2016 Share the Experience photo contest is… Craig McIntyre for this stunning glimpse into the natural world. This photo of a small green tree frog clinging to a plant at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas will appear on the 2018 Annual Federal Recreation Lands Pass and earn Craig $10,000. It’s a great reminder of the fragility and importance of wildlife on public lands. We’ll post other category winners in the coming days. Photo by Craig McIntyre (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

Visiting Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska is an epic experience. Seeing a humpback whale breach in the wild is one of the most exhilarating moments possible for nature lovers. These massive mammals swim 3,000 miles from their winter waters near Hawaii and Mexico to spend the summer feeding in the rich ocean waters off the Alaska coast. All the added blubber doesn’t seem to hurt their leaping ability. Photo by Dragana Connaughton (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

A true oasis in the desert of southwest New Mexico, Gila Lower Box Canyon Wilderness Study Area is a lush thicket of cottonwood, willows and wildflowers. The area provides excellent birding with one of the highest bird diversities in the state. Spring and summer visitors also enjoy river recreation including tubing and fishing. Photo by Mike Howard, Bureau of Land Management.

The sloping dunes and curving shadows at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado make this special park a photographer’s dream. Ranger Patrick Myers has been capturing amazing scenes here for years. With golden sunrises, epic blue skies and every color sunsets, taking pictures never gets old. Photo by Patrick Myers, National Park Service.

Be prepared for sunrise splendor at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. It’s a thrill watching the sun paint the sky from the park’s Pinnacle Overlook. Here you have views of Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee. On clear days, you can even see the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina – a sight that’s 100 miles away! Photo by Volunteer Harold Jerrell, National Park Service.

No, this isn’t another planet. It’s Skyline Rim, near Factory Butte in eastern Utah. Massive wrinkles in the rugged landscape give this place an otherworldly appearance, especially in the fading light of dusk. Photo courtesy of Brock Slinger.

Happy Arbor Day from Case Mountain – home of some of the largest trees on earth! Located about 7.5 miles southeast of the town of Three Rivers, California, Case Mountain was established to protect the giant sequoias. Comparable in size to a 26-story building, sequoias not only loom over their mixed conifer forest neighbors, but they also outlive them – reaching over 3,000 years. Check out more remarkable trees: https://on.doi.gov/trees

Photo by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management.