Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve Crystal pools glisten among drifts of mist in China’s Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve, high in the mountains of Sichuan Province. In an ancient love story, a Tibetan god gave a mirror polished by clouds and wind to a goddess, who dropped it. Shards scattered, forming Jiuzhaigou’s 118 lakes.

Diver A diver makes a slow decent into a vortex of 50,000 farmed salmon in British Columbia, Canada. As scuba divers sink deeper underwater, the weight of the water above them creates pressure. As the diver resurfaces, his body decompresses, and extra nitrogen escapes into the bloodstream, where it is carried to the lungs for excretion. If a diver surfaces too fast, bubbles can form in the blood and tissues, causing the bends.

 

Neptune Memorial Reef, Florida Tomtate grunts and yellowtail snapper swim through Neptune Memorial Reef, an underwater cemetery with decorative arches and columns installed on the ocean floor off Miami Beach. The cremated remains of about 200 people have been mixed with cement and molded into memorial sculptures.

 

Tidal Zone Treasures The rocks and pools of the intertidal zone are home to an array of creatures fancifully named for their shapes and colors...From top First row: red abalone, Cockerell’s dorid, ringed nudibranch, variegate amphissa, grainyhand hermit crab, ochre sea star, cabezon Second row: red octopus, opalescent nudibranch, mermaid’s cup, smooth iridescent seaweed, San Diego lamellaria, purple sea urchin, hammerhead doto, leather star Third row: red rock crab, calico sculpin, colorful dendronotus, stubby frond nudibranch, rough limpet, calico sculpin Fourth row: red sponge nudibranch, chink snail, woody chiton, nereid worm.