Photos of the Day Best of 2011

Photo of the Day: Best of 2011

,

Cottonmouth, North Carolina

While working as a field researcher for a biodiversity study on pine plantations in North Carolina, I found this Agkistrodon piscivorus in a drainage ditch. It's seen here displaying the classic defensive posture that gives it the common name "cottonmouth."

Lightning, Arizona

This is a time exposure of four lightning strikes over Scottsdale, Arizona.

Photo of the Day

Ten Years of Photo of the Day

Northern Spotted Owl

A tagged northern spotted owl swoops toward a researcher's lure in a young redwood forest.Nature's 

Aurora Borealis, Acadia National Park, Maine

Nature's light show—aurora borealis—bathes Maine's Acadia National Park in a pink glow. These dazzling patterns in nature, called aurora australis in the Southern Hemisphere, are created when charged particles outside the Earth's atmosphere collide with atoms in the upper atmosphere, producing a glowing display of curtains, arcs, and bands stretching across the sky., ,,,,

My City Celebrates: Sarah’s New York City

his year, inspired by our ever-popular “I Heart My City”

series on Intelligent Travel, we’re reveling in the holiday season by asking our readers to share their favorite ways to celebrate in their cities. Today’s city-lover is travel writerSarah Pruitt, who gives us a glimpse of New York City.

What to share the things that make your city special?

We’ve put together a festively-themed fill-in-the-blank questionnaire, and we’d love to hear your responses. So cut and paste the list, fill in your answers, and e-mail us your picks at intelligenttravel@ngs.org.

(Please include links and photos if possible). We’ll be featuring your “My City Celebrates” posts through the New Year, click here for a list of cities we’ve featured so far. Happy Holidays!

My City Celebrates: New York City

When I need a dose of holiday cheer, I always head to Union Square.

Kristina’s Santiago de Chile ; I Heart My City

I Heart My City: Kristina’s Santiago de Chile

,oday’s I Heart My City guide to Santiago comes courtesy of Chile expert and guidebook author Kristina Schreck. Check out Kristina’s insider picks of the best places to eat, drink, shop, and play in the capital city. And for more Chile travel advice, you can catch Kristina in Washington, D.C., on November 1 when she presents the seminar, “Explore Chile: From the Atacama Desert to Easter Island,” as part of the Smithsonian Institution’s Resident Associates Program.

Santiago de Chile Is My City

The first place I take a visitor from out of town is the Bellavista neighborhood, to enjoy its eclectic vibe and colorful facades, open air cafes, and arts & crafts shops.

When I crave ice cream I always go to Emporio La Rosa, which has homemade concoctions such as vanilla with rose, spicy chocolate, and mango with green tea.

Ksenia’s Moscow : I Heart My City

I Heart My City: Ksenia’s Moscow

Today’s I Heart My City comes from Intelligent Travel reader Ksenia Ryabukhina. Ksenia was born and raised in Moscow, Russia, and still calls the city home today. Check out her insider tips to the city, then tell us what you love about Moscow in the comments section below.

Moscow is My City

The first place I take a visitor from out of town is Red Square. Although it is one of the most famous sites in Moscow, it always gives visitors a unique impression. In the warm summer mornings when the sunlight is gentle, or on a frosty December evening when the square is beautifully decorated, you can sense the centuries of history that this place has witnesse,If you come to my city, get your picture taken with one of the many sculptures in the Ploshchad Revolyutsii metro station. There are 72 sculptures here, some depicting the glory of Soviet days. You will see sculptures of soldiers, farmers, athletes, writers, aviators, and industrial workers. People always rub different sculptures because it is believed to bring luck.