2023年5月

加利福尼亚州圣克鲁斯的天然桥州立公园 Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, California (© Jim Patterson/Tandem Stills + Motion)

通往太平洋之窗 A window to the Pacific

天然桥州立公园，加利福尼亚州，美国

天然桥州立公园位于美国加利福尼亚州的圣克鲁斯市。初期，这里有三座海水侵蚀而成的拱桥，其中一座于1905年倒塌，后来又有一座于1980年倒塌，剩下我们如今看到的这座拱桥。然而，海浪的侵蚀是无情的，因此仅剩的这座拱桥最终也会倒塌。除了拱桥，这个公园还有君主斑蝶，因此也吸引了不少游客。

Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, California

California brown pelicans, cormorants, and gulls enjoy jostling for position on top of this stunning rock formation in Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz. It is the sole surviving natural 'bridge' in this state park. Once three bridges stood side-by-side here, carved by waves into cliffs that jutted out into the Pacific. This one stood in the middle, but the outermost bridge collapsed in 1905 and the innermost one disappeared in 1980.

The erosion of the waves is relentless, so eventually the final arch will collapse, and the birds will have to find another favorite perch. But there are plenty of other views on offer. The park is also a seasonal home to migratory monarch butterflies, which flutter through the air or cluster together in its eucalyptus grove. And if you're lucky, you might spot a migrating whale or see seals and otters playing offshore.

在奥克弗诺基国家野生动物保护区划独木舟 Canoe paddling in Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia (© Brad Beck/Tandem Stills + Motion)

一片平静的水域 Serene waters on a 'trembling earth'

美国 湿地月

五月是美国湿地月，旨在关注湿地在当地和全球生态系统的重要性。湿地值得我们去关注，这些多样性生态系统有固碳功能，改善水质，并为至少三分之一的濒危物种提供栖息地。然而如今，湿地自身也面临威胁。美国本土48个州的2.21亿英亩湿地，超半数已遭到破坏。

奥克弗诺基沼泽是一个繁茂的湿地，也是北美现存最大的黑水生态系统。这里有几十种鸟类，还有许多两栖动物、爬行动物及其他小型生物。奥克弗诺基这个名字来自于原住民的语言，意思是“震颤的大地”。

American Wetlands Month

It's American Wetlands Month, a time to celebrate swamps, marshes, bogs, and other types of these important ecosystems. Wetlands play a vital role in storing carbon, improving water quality, and serving as habitat for many endangered plants and animals, including American crocodiles and whooping cranes. And yet, wetlands are threatened. Over the centuries, they have been drained to provide land for farming, industry, and housing. Pollution and invasive plants pose further threats. Since the late 1700s, more than half of the 221 million acres of wetlands that once existed in the 48 contiguous states have disappeared.

Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, seen here, is a thriving wetland that is home to dozens of bird species, American alligators. and other critters. It is also the largest blackwater swamp in North America—the water appears almost black due to tannins from decaying vegetation. All looks calm in our homepage image, but the swamp gets its name from a Native American word that is often translated as 'trembling earth' or 'bubbling water.'

莫罗哈夫莱海滩和科罗拉达斯海滩，富埃特文图拉岛，西班牙加那利群岛 Morro Jable and Playa del Matorral, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain (© Gavin Hellier/Getty Images)

文化交汇的岛屿 An island crossroad of culture

加那利群岛

数千年的时光里，加那利群岛一直是各种文化的交汇地。早在公元前40年，这片火山群岛就引起了罗马人的兴趣；999年，阿拉伯商人又来到了这里。几百年间，热那亚、马略卡、葡萄牙和法国的殖民者也纷至沓来。这里的农业种植历史悠久，香蕉、番茄及土豆是主要农作物。如今，加纳利群岛是西班牙的一部分。最初的航海者来这里寻找贸易机会，而如今的游客来这里探索国家公园、躺在沙滩上放松、以及欣赏壮丽的落日。

The Canary Islands, Spain

Welcome to Fuerteventura, one of Spain's Canary Islands, found nearly 70 miles off the northwestern coast of Africa. For thousands of years, the volcanic islands have served as an international crossroads, attracting the interest of the Romans, Arab traders, and European navigators. Agriculture has long been important here, with bananas, tomatoes, and potatoes among the main crops. But while the first voyagers came in search of trade, today's visitors come to explore the many beautiful national parks and relax on beaches like the Playa del Matorral on Fuerteventura, seen here during a spectacular sunset.

曼海姆水塔，德国 (© tichr/Getty Images)

供水系统的历史

曼海姆水塔，德国

曼海姆水塔是德国曼海姆的一座有名的地标建筑。这座水塔位于腓特烈广场，建于1886年至1889年之间，高60米，直径19米，是曼海姆的第一座城市水塔。

曼海姆水塔伫立在腓特烈广场上，周围是曼海姆玫瑰园、曼海姆美术馆以及一些拱廊建筑。围绕着水塔还有一个半圆形的公园，这个公园是夏天约会见面的热门地点，每年冬天这里还会举办圣诞集市。

紫色和蓝色的野生羽扇豆 Wild lupine in purple and blue (© silverjohn/Getty Images Plus)

蝴蝶最好的朋友 A butterfly's best friend

野生羽扇豆

野生羽扇豆，俗称鲁冰花，是最美丽的一年生草本植物之一。羽扇豆于早春或初夏开放，花朵通常呈蓝色、粉色或紫色，当它们在草地和路边尽情绽放时，即使是最平凡的风景也变得亮眼起来。野生羽扇豆也是卡纳蓝蝴蝶用来保护卵的唯一一种植物，卡纳蓝蝴蝶的幼虫孵化后就以羽扇豆的叶子为食。

Wild lupines

These stunning wild lupines bring shades of blue, pink, and purple to meadows and roadsides from early spring. They are not just a stunning addition to the landscape—they are crucial for the survival of the rare Karner blue butterfly. The larvae of the short-lived species will only feed on wild blue lupines, crawling up their stems to eat new leaves when they hatch. Once widespread across much of eastern North America, wild lupines have been in decline since the Industrial Revolution and human development has reduced their range. This has had a knock-on effect on the butterflies, which are now an endangered species. Conservation efforts have focused on replanting areas of wild blue lupines to boost butterfly numbers.

亨宁斯韦尔体育场，挪威 Henningsvær Stadium, Norway (© Morten Falch Sortland/Getty Images)

这个体育场建在你意想不到的地方 Sports where you least expect it

亨宁斯韦尔体育场，挪威

如果你想同时欣赏一场有趣的足球比赛和挪威海壮丽的美景，那么挪威的亨宁斯韦尔足球场就是你的目的地。这座球场坐落在一个只有几百人的小渔村里，在其广阔的绿地上，你可能永远看不到一场欧冠联赛，球场内甚至没有观众看台，但它仍然是世界上最引人注目的足球场之一。亨宁斯韦尔足球场位于一个小岛之上，被裸露的岩石和湛蓝的海水包围，在这里看球会是一种永生难忘的梦幻体验。

Henningsvær Stadion, Norway

If you want to take in a soccer game and the grandiose beauty of the Norwegian Sea at the same time, this place is pitch perfect. Squeezed into a small Norwegian fishing village, it's fair to say that Henningsvær Stadion's grounds will probably never host a UEFA Champions League. But, while it lacks stands for spectators, there's still plenty of atmosphere to soak up in this striking location. Those who play here do so surrounded by the sound of waves, seabirds, and the smells of salt air and cod, drying on the racks surrounding the pitch.

Cod fishing is central to the economy here in Henningsvær, in the Lofoten Islands–but partly due to drone photography, this scenic pitch has become an important tourist attraction. Resting on a rugged island, surrounded by bare rocks and deep blue waters, watching a game here can make for a surreal and unforgettable experience.

科尔杜昂灯塔，罗扬市，夏朗德省，法国 Cordouan Lighthouse, Royan, Charente, France (© FRTimelapse/Getty Images)

金光中的灯塔 A beacon in the golden light

科尔杜昂灯塔，法国

建于1611年的科尔杜昂灯塔堪称海上奇迹，它矗立在法国大西洋中吉伦特河口湾的一块巨石上。这座灯塔在18世纪经历了改造，因为集宫殿、堡垒和大教堂于一身，所以它被誉为“海上凡尔赛宫”。

目前，科尔杜昂灯塔是法国海岸唯一有人看守的灯塔，也是法国最古老的功能性灯塔。到访科尔杜昂灯塔，它会带你踏上梦回过去的旅程，站在灯塔上，你还可以俯瞰周围海洋和陆地的壮丽景色。

Cordouan Lighthouse, France

Built between 1584 and 1611, the Cordouan Lighthouse is France's oldest working lighthouse and the only one in the country that is still inhabited by keepers. For centuries, this maritime marvel has watched over the Gironde Estuary, on France's Atlantic coast, a treacherous area where shipwrecks were once common.

Designed by engineer Louis de Foix and remodeled in the 18th century, this stunning lighthouse with its stained-glass windows and Renaissance architecture is sometimes known as the Versailles of the Seas, after the famous French palace. Others call it the King of Lighthouses.

A visit to this historic landmark will take you on a journey to a bygone era, concluding with a climb up more than 300 steps to the lighthouse's pinnacle, where you can enjoy a commanding view of the coast and Atlantic Ocean.

天堂的一角 A little corner of paradise

卡韦希环礁，波利尼西亚

卡韦希环礁是法属波利尼西亚的土阿莫土群岛的一个珊瑚环礁。它距离塔希提岛450公里，面积非常小，长24公里，宽18公里，人口约200人。岛上的居民主要以干椰子肉为生。

要到访这个环礁，你得有耐心，因为这里平均每周只有1次航班落地，岛上只有一家旅游住宿。卡韦希环礁是法属波利尼西亚的土阿莫土群岛的七大环礁之一，已被联合国教科文组织列为生物圈保护区，也是一种高度濒危的涉水鸟类（土阿莫土骑士）栖息地。

藏在精致拱门里的百年时光 Centuries of time in a Delicate Arch

拱门国家公园，美国 犹他州

精致拱门是美国最受欢迎的地质景点之一。在犹他州拱门国家公园的2000个石拱门中，精致拱门是最有名的那一座，也是这里最大的岩石拱门。犹他州的车牌和邮票也有印有精致拱门。只需徒步三英里，就能到达这座拱门，这也是公园里最棒的徒步旅行路线之一。每年都有近140万人前往拱门国家公园，只为一睹精致拱门的全貌。

Arches National Park, Utah

This stunning structure is Delicate Arch, the most famous of 2,000 stone arches scattered around Arches National Park in Utah. It is made up of Entrada Sandstone, the grains of which once formed a massive desert. They were cemented together by minerals, forming sandstone riddled with tiny holes. Over millennia, the rain seeped in and slowly dissolved the rock from the inside, forming these eye-catching sculptures. Most of the arches in the national park are formed from Entrada Sandstone and were once buried by other rock layers. They won't last forever, but over time, new shapes will emerge from the layers of rock below to replace them. Every year, close to 1.4 million people visit the park to see Delicate Arch and this slowly shifting landscape for themselves.

绝对的紫色山峰 Positively purple peaks

韩国黄前山上盛开的杜鹃花

随着夏天的临近，大片皇家杜鹃花将韩国黄前山的两侧涂成了鲜艳的紫色。游客们成群结队地观看这片引人注目的粉红色和紫色的花朵地毯，它是随着奶牛和绵羊吃掉草和植物而逐渐形成的，但留下了遍布山上的有毒杜鹃花。

对于那些想攀登的人来说，黄前山还拥有巨大的岩层、令人惊叹的景色，以及一个传说，任何在山顶祈祷的人都会实现他们的愿望。它的海拔高度约为3650英尺，为徒步旅行者和露营者提供了一个逃离城市生活的宁静之地。那些想在杜鹃花中漫步的人应该在五月杜鹃花盛开的时候去那里。但是，如果穿着得体，在峰会上仍然会感到寒冷。

Azaleas blooming on Hwangmaesan Mountain, South Korea

Vast colonies of royal azaleas paint the sides of South Korea’s Hwangmaesan Mountain a vibrant purple as summer approaches. Sightseers flock to see this striking pink and purple carpet of flowers which was created gradually as dairy cows and sheep ate the grass and plants, but left behind the poisonous azaleas which spread across the mountain.

For those who want to climb it, Hwangmaesan also features massive rock formations, stunning views, and a legend that anyone who prays at the summit will have their wish granted. It reaches an altitude of around 3,650 feet and offers a peaceful escape from city life for hikers and campers. Those who want to walk among the azaleas should head there in May, when they come into bloom. But dress appropriately, it still gets chilly up at the summit.

星空迷