The Natural West
Check out these fantastic landscapes of the American West! Thanks to all participants who submitted and voted on these images.
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Winning Entry
203
Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park
by Aaron Merritt — Photo I took of the Grand Prismatic Spring while visiting Yellowstone National Park.
After the Storm
North Face of the Grand Teton. Photo taken just after a thunderstorm from the shoulder of Mt. Moran on our attempt to climb the peak via the CMC route.
Black Canyon Tree
Weathered tree on the north rim of the Black Canyon above the Gunnison River in Colorado.
Patience
This bob cat waited for 3-4 hours for a hare to stir in the doorway of its hole. she was joined by her adult cub who shared the stake out and stole the prey. I photographed and filmed the entire successful hunt and you can see it here- or HCN can link to it if you prefer. http://www.vimeo.com/9265181
bloom and bust
The sad history of the desert around Rock Springs, Wyoming with its ever hopeful return to the rejuvenation that only nature promises.
Morning Ambience of Western Larch
In the Northern Rocky Mountains and Eastern Cascades, the western larch (a deciduous conifer tree) provides us with beautiful autumn displays. This was taken in the Selkirk Mountains in northeastern Washington.
Wolf Moon
The full "Wolf" Moon rising above the snow covered California Sierra Nevada Mountains is always awesome, but the addition of the simultaneous brilliant red sunset than was reflecting off the snow, rocks, and trees was a bonus. The photo was taken on Hwy 88's Bear River Scenic Overlook in Amador County, California. Moon rise was just south of Lake Tahoe from this vantage point. What a view it was!
Ferns & Aspen
This was along the road near Horse Ranch Park west of Kebler Pass. The light filtered through the fall aspen leaves on the now yellow ferns was captivating.
Shadow of the Cross
A rustic cross marks the final Resting place of an early pioneer, near Dos Cabazos, Arizona.
Ladder of Light
A Kiva Ladder provides access to a reconstructed Kiva at ancestral Pueblo ruins located at Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Oxbow Bend, Revisited
Surrounded in all four directions by forest fires, the smoke resulted in a beautiful sunset at Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park.
the wave
The wave is a compressed sandstone formation in the vermillion cliffs wilderness. Northern Arizona.
Gunnison River in Black Canyon
View from the north rim of the Black Canyon looking west and down to the Gunnison River.
Taking it back ~ St. Elmo
A crumbling cabin in the ghost town of St. Elmo, Co, with aspen trees trying to surround it.
hairy woodpecker unfazed by maurading scrub jay
Mini drama captured in the juniper tree in my front yard near Dolores Colorado.
aspen and snowberry tapestry
This photo was captured on the west side of the La Plata mountains in October of 2008.
Burrowing Owl
Burrowing owls were living in burrows in a pasture no longer cultivated. As I walked along the irrigation ditch, this one would perch on the pipe fence and shout at me. Very impressive display of defense.
The topic: Do you have an image that reflects a quintessential example of the West's intrinsic natural beauty? Submit it here!
About submitting images: Entrants may submit up to three (3) photos for each photo contest, in JPEG, PNG and GIF file formats only; each image submitted may be no larger than 2 megabytes in size.
About voting on images: Instead of making you choose only one entry to vote for, we decided to allow viewers to vote positively for any entry they want to -- one vote per viewer, per image. But be careful - you can't undo your vote once you've clicked the "vote" button, so CHOOSE CAREFULLY!
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