Beaches and Coasts
Lakes and Rivers
Forests
Mountains
Deserts
Wetlands
Prairies
Panoramas
From the rocky coasts of the Pacific Northwest’s mighty Pacific Ocean to the tops of the Canadian Rockies, through Florida Everglades’ River of Grass and across the painted deserts of the American Southwest then over the Appalachian Mountains … these galleries have a little bit of everything that the best of North American landscapes can offer.
Brushfoots
Gossamer Wings
Swallowtails
Skippers
Sulphurs and Whites
Moths
Metalmarks
North America is wildly rich in butterflies and moths. In the United States and Canada alone, there are roughly 750 species of butterflies and a whopping 11,000 species of moths! With careful and painstaking research, more new species are still being discovered all the time!
Birds A-M
Birds N-W
When it comes to birds, North America is fantastically rich in native species diversity. While some species are found all around the world, the vast majority are found only here and nowhere else.
Bison, Goats, Sheep
Squirrels, Chipmunks
Deer and Elk
Rabbits, Hares, Pikas
Rats, Mice, Voles
Seals and Sea Lions
Foxes, Wolves
Raccoons
Pigs
Pronghorns
Armadillos
Manatees
Bears
Weasels, Otters, Badgers
We mammals have come a long way since the time of the dinosaurs. We’ve conquered the land, sea and air. North America has more than 740 species alive today.
Dragonflies
Grasshoppers
Arachnids
Insects
Marine Invertebrates
Snails, Mollusks
Crustaceans
Myriapods
Alligators, Crocodiles
Lizards
Snakes
Turtles, Tortoises
Long before the first dinosaur walked the earth, reptiles ruled the world. 65 million years after the last dinosaur drew its final breath, North America’s modern crocodiles, alligators, snakes, lizards, and turtles and tortoises are still keeping our native natural history alive!
Tree Frogs
Toads
Spadefoots
True Frogs
Salamanders
Did you know the word “amphibian” means “two lives”? All amphibians start their lives in the underwater, but after they go through a series of metamorphosis stages to adulthood, most trade gills for lungs and live the rest of their lives out of the water.
Arethuseae
Calypsoeae
Cranichideae
Cymbidieae
Cypripedieae
Epidendreae
Malaxideae
Maxillarieae
Neottieae
Orchideae
Pogoniinae
Polystachyeae
Triphoreae
Vandeae
Vanilleae
One of the largest families in the plant kingdom with nearly 28 thousand species around the globe, orchids are also one of the most popular and most sought-after flowering plants in history. In Victorian times, entire foreign expeditions were sent around the world at great personal risk led by fearless (and often ruthless) orchid hunters to acquire the next new unknown exotic species from the most distant corner of the Earth. Luckily for us, North America is rich with unique native species found nowhere else in the world!
Wildflowers by Color
Wildflowers by Family
Pitcher Plants
Venus Flytraps
Bladderworts
Butterworts
Sundews
Light-spored Gilled Mushrooms
Brown-spored Gilled Mushrooms
Dark-spored Gilled Mushrooms
Polypore and Crust Fungi
Morels
Jelly-like Fungi
Unique & Unusual Mushrooms
Puffballs
Club, Coral and Fan-like Fungi
Cup-fungi
Boletes
Lichens
Slime Molds
Without the enormous and nearly invisible world of fungi, there would be no forests or plants as we know them, no animals living, feeding and hunting in the forests and nothing to break down what organic matter is left. It’s this wonderful (and often weird) group that keeps nutrients moving and cycling through our world’s ecosystems.
Fruits and Berries
Cacti
Ferns
Bromeliads
Agaves and Yuccas
Palms
Saprophytes
Mosses
Horsetails
Deciduous Trees
Coniferous Trees
Botanical Images
by Rich Leighton | Apr 19, 2019 | Amphibians, Frogs, Interesting Nature Facts, Natural History, Nature & Wildlife, Tree Frogs
Squirrel treefrogs are typically nocturnal, but often come out to enjoy the sights & sounds of the rain during the day. MORE PHOTOS OF AMPHIBIANS MORE INTERESTING NATURE FACTS Interesting Nature Facts is a series about the flora, fauna and places that make North...by Rich Leighton | Jul 8, 2018 | American Southwest, Amphibians, Frogs, Interesting Nature Facts, Natural History, Nature & Wildlife, Spadefoots
As suggested by the name, the American spadefoot toads have hard, keratinous protrusions on their feet, which help them to dig backwards into the ground. MORE PHOTOS OF AMPHIBIANS MORE INTERESTING NATURE FACTS Interesting Nature Facts is a series about the flora,...by Rich Leighton | Aug 18, 2017 | Amphibians, Florida, Florida Nature Photography, Frogs, NANP, Natural History, Nature & Wildlife, Nature Photography, Story, Tree Frogs
The Cuban treefrog is my #1 hated invasive species for a number of reasons ranging from ecological damage to personally anger-inducing events and even slightly barf-worthy situations. I’ll explain that last one in a moment. Cuban treefrogs are an invasive...by Rich Leighton | Jun 29, 2015 | Amphibians, Frogs, Herps, NANP, Natural History, Nature & Wildlife, Nature Photography, Photography, Texas
This is going to be a post of few words and a lot of pictures. This past spring, there was a massive thunderstorm the day I was traveling through New Mexico toward the Big Bend National Park of West Texas. By the time I arrived, the Chihuahuan Desert sun was back out...
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