The crystal clear waters of Banff National Park’s Moraine Lake in Alberta, Canada are fed primarily by the nearby Fay glacier.
Cordillera del Paine is a small but spectacular set of mountains in the Chilean Pantagonia located in Torres del Paine National Park. Referred to as the Torres del Paine (Towers of Paine), the three massive summits photographed above are gigantic granite monoliths that are UNESCO-declared biosphere reserves.
Known by many as “the river that ran away from paradise” and the most beautiful river in the world, Colombia’s Caño Cristales or The River of Five Colors is a veritable biological wonder. For most of the year, the river remains nondescript: clear currents, greyish rocks, cool waters. However for a brief period of time the Macarenia clavigera, a plant that lines the river floor, turns a brilliant shade of red that is only complemented by radiant shades of yellow and green sand, blue water, and many other hues in the color spectrum.
Stromatolites — photographed above in Shark Bay, Australia — are fossils that are the earliest record of life on Earth. Stromatotlites are layered structures that form in shallow water over millions in years as sedimentary grains become trapped and cement by micro-organisms.