Sossusvlei Salt Pan, Namib Desert, Namibia

This unusual salt pan located in the middle of the red dunes of the Namib Desert is the drainage basin for the ephemeral Tsauchab stream. Its name roughly translates to “dead-end marsh”.

Batiscan River, Quebec, Canada

The winding path of Canada’s Batiscan River begins in Lake Edward and pours out into the Saint Lawrence River.

Humpback whales, Bahia Solano, Colombia

In July each year humpback whales travel from the South Pole up to Colombia’s warm coastal waters. The waters off the township of Bahia Solano are a prime place to spot them as they mate and calve their young.

Atlantic coast, Tayrona National Park, Colombia

The 150sq.km of Tayrona NP features a range of habitats, from arid zones along the coast to sub-tropical climates in the cloud forests on the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Driftwood, Bahia Solano, Colombia

The North Pacific coastline off the township of Bahia Solano is a world away from the Caribbean coast on Colombia’s other side – but it has its own charms and features humpback whales from July to November and hatchling Vulnerable Olive Ridley turtles between September and January.

Snow-dusted forest, Akita, Japan

Snow settles on some tall cedars and mountain forest in the Akita province on the northwestern coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu.

Angel falls, Canaima, Venezuela

Shrouded in mist is the world’s highest uninterrupted waterfall, dropping from a height of 979m over the Auyantepui mountain in World Heritage-listed Canaima National Park.

Tepui, Canaima National Park, Venezuela

Plateaus are often biological arcs, untouched by the processes that have marked the more connected habitats below. The plateaus of Canaima NP (called tepuis locally) which cover roughly 65 per cent of the park are recognised for this significance, and are World Heritage-listed.

Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina

Waterfalls that dived the upper and lower portions of the Iguazu River, they fall on the border of Brazil and Argentina. Legend has it that they were the result of a jealous God who wanted to marry a beautiful woman who fled in a canoe with her lover. The God is said to have sliced the river in half and condemned the lovers to falling eternally.

Cordillera del Paine, Torres Del Paine National Park, Chile

The Cordillera del Paine in Torres Del Paine National Park are granite monoliths carved by glacial ice, and surrounded by blue/green waters coloured by the reflection of tiny particles of rock created by glacial movements.

Early morning, east coast, Japan

Although it looks peaceful, this picture was taken on Japan’s east coast which, located close to the Pacific and North American plates, is a tsunami prone area.