Migrating Monarchs, El Rosario Preserve, Mexico, 2004 Photograph by Peter Essick
A colony of monarch butterflies clings to a tree in the El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Preserve in the mountains of central Mexico. The Mexican government is working to encourage tourism and discourage illegal logging in the preserve, where millions of these delicate orange-and-black butterflies come to nest each winter.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, “Signs From Earth: Heating Up…Melting Down…” September 2004, National Geographic magazine)
Tie-Dyed Fabric, Jaipur, India, 1999 Photograph by Cary Wolinsky
Tie-dyed fabric is hung to dry from a roof in Jaipur, India. Such Indian textiles are among the richest craft legacies on Earth, encompassing literally thousands of local styles and techniques.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, “The Quest for Color,” July 1999, National Geographic magazine)
Afar Goat Herders, Ethiopia, 2005 Photograph by Carsten Peter
Afar goat herders use a reed mat to shield their campfire from the steady winds of the Ethiopian Danakil Desert. The Afar are a nomadic people who drive their camels, donkeys, and goats in search of the region’s scant pasturelands. Centuries of defending their territory and their herds has made them fierce. One Afar custom, now defunct, declared a man could not marry without first killing an enemy tribesman.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, “Africa’s Danakil Desert: Cruelest Place on Earth,” October 2005, National Geographic magazine)
Hatchling Alligators, Big Cypress Swamp, Florida, 1994 Photograph by Chris Johns
Hatchling alligators break free of their shells in Big Cypress Swamp in the Florida Everglades. Babies who have trouble emerging get a surprisingly delicate assist from the tooth-lined jaws of their mother.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, “Everglades: Dying for Help,” April 1994, National Geographic magazine)
Tundra Village, Moriusaq, Greenland, 2006 Photograph by David McLain
The tiny village of Moriusaq stands on the frozen landscape of northwest Greenland. The sea ice near this settlement used to be thick enough to travel and hunt on for hundreds of miles for up to ten months. Recently though, climate change has reduced this crucial window to just a few weeks each year.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, “Last Days of the Ice Hunters,” January 2006, National Geographic magazine)
