野牛在温泉边吃草,  黄石国家公园, 怀俄明州, 美国 Bison grazing at thermal hot springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (© Cheryl Ramalho/Getty Images)

古老血脉的兽群 Herds of heritage

黄石公园的野牛

野牛体现了一种矛盾：巨大的力量与沉静的气质并存。这些体型庞大的动物体重可达2000磅，身高6英尺（约1.8米），成群结队地漫游在北美的草原和河谷。这张照片拍摄于怀俄明州的黄石国家公园，它们的数量曾达数千万头，但在19世纪几乎灭绝——这一灭绝事件重塑了生态系统，扰乱了人们的生活方式。

对于无数原住民来说，这些动物一直被尊崇为导师、供养者和精神上的亲人，它们的每一部分都被精心利用，被用作食物、衣物、工具和燃料。正因如此，部落社区带头努力恢复草原、湿地和森林栖息地，形成由母牛、争吵的公牛和好奇的幼牛领导的社会群体。

站在它们面前，感受古老、中断与复兴在一瞬间交汇。野牛的幸存提醒我们，遗产不仅被铭记，它还被传承，交织在崎岖的地貌和经久不衰的传统之中。

National Bison Day

The bison embodies a paradox: immense strength paired with quiet calm. Weighing up to 2,000 pounds and standing 6 feet tall, these giants roam North America's grasslands and river valleys in mobile herds. Photographed here in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, they once numbered in the tens of millions but were nearly eradicated in the 19th century—a loss that reshaped ecosystems and disrupted lifeways.

Today, on National Bison Day, observed each year in early November, we honor this iconic species' persistence and profound significance. It's only fitting that this celebration falls at the start of Native American Heritage Month: for countless Native Nations, these animals have been revered as teachers, providers, and spiritual relatives, with every part used thoughtfully for sustenance, clothing, tools, and fuel. That's why tribal communities lead efforts to help them reclaim prairie, wetland, and forest habitats, forming social herds led by matriarchs, sparring males, and curious calves.

斯诺登尼亚国家公园，威尔士，英国 (© Sebastian Wasek/eStock Photo)

徒步旅行者的向往之地

斯诺登尼亚国家公园，威尔士

斯诺登尼亚国家公园占地2155平方公里，拥有迷人的风景和96公里的海岸线，徒步于此就像在听一篇漫长的童话故事，脚下的路满是传说。亚瑟王、梅林、沉睡的龙和失落的神秘宝物等传说和神话交织在公园小径中，给予徒步者丰富而美妙的体验。在许多方面，斯诺登尼亚国家公园完美代表了威尔士文化、人民和传统，这无疑是对威尔士本质的一种赞美。

峡湾国家公园，新西兰南岛 Fiordland National Park in South Island, New Zealand (© WitR/Adobe Stock)

峡湾国家公园 When landscape met wilderness

怀唐伊日

每年的2月6日是怀唐伊日，这一天在所有新西兰人心中有着特殊的地位，因为这一天是新西兰的国庆节。1840年2月6日，40位毛利部落酋长和英国王室在怀唐伊签署了《怀唐伊条约》，建国新西兰。怀唐伊当地的庆典活动一早便开始了，有独特的雕刻比赛和文艺表演，营造出浓郁的节日气氛。

South Island, New Zealand

Waitangi Day holds a special place in all Kiwis' hearts as it is the day when New Zealand became a nation. It is celebrated every year on February 6, the date when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 between 40 Māori chiefs and the British to make the nation of New Zealand. The founding document has inspired many to recognize the importance of cultural and political rights of the country, not just on this day, but every day. The festivities start typically early on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where celebrants take part in exceptional carving competitions and soak in the cultural performances to set the mood.

卡纳塔克邦的纳加尔霍雷国家公园，印度 (© Vivek BR/Shutterstock)

一条安静的林间小路

纳加尔霍雷国家公园，印度

纳加尔霍雷老虎保护区以前被称为拉吉夫·甘地国家公园，位于卡纳塔克邦，是一个重点老虎保护区，也是老虎保护计划和大象保护计划下的一个主要保护中心。这个保护区生活着大量的食肉动物和食草动物，如老虎、豹子、豺、懒熊、亚洲象、野牛、黑鹿、印度白斑鹿、麂、四角羚、野猪、大鼷鹿和西南叶猴等。

这个国家公园里有美丽的自然景观，还有像蛇一样蜿蜒曲折的溪流，让野生动物爱好者和游客为之惊叹。它还被联合国教科文组织列为世界遗产。

白沙漠中的岩石，埃及 Rock formations in the White Desert, Egypt (© Anton Petrus/Getty Images)

这些雪永远不会融化 This snow will never melt

白沙漠国家公园，埃及

这是沙漠中的雪吗？其实不是。这里是埃及的白沙漠，当地丰富的白垩岩、石灰岩、石英岩以及长年累月的风化作用造就了这些白色的沙子和形状奇特的岩石，白沙漠也因此得名。游客们蜂拥而至，来欣赏这些大自然的奇观。白沙国家公园距离开罗约5小时车程，这里不仅有白沙和怪石，还有多种濒危保护动物。

White Desert National Park, Egypt

Snow, in the desert? Not quite. Today we're in Egypt's White Desert, which gets its colorful name from an abundance of chalk, limestone, and quartz rock formations that give the sand its special hue. Tourists flock to this place to see these naturally occurring structures, honed over thousands of years into unique shapes through a process known as 'differential weathering.' Located about five hours to the southwest of Cairo, White Desert National Park is a lot more than just deteriorating rocks—it's also a protected refuge for several endangered animal species.

大帕拉迪索国家公园，意大利 Agnel Lake and Serrù Lake, Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy (© agustavop/Getty Images)

意大利最古老的国家公园 In the oldest national park in Italy

格兰帕拉迪索国家公园，意大利

格兰帕拉迪索国家公园（Gran Paradiso National Park）是位于格拉安阿尔卑斯山的一座意大利国家公园，位于奥斯塔山谷和皮埃蒙特地区之间。公园以位于公园内的格兰帕拉迪索山命名；它与法国瓦努瓦兹国家公园毗邻。

格兰帕拉迪索也有丰富的河流、瀑布，当然还有湖泊，就像照片中描绘的那样。Agnel和Serrù实际上是两个人工流域，为各种水力发电厂供水，最著名的是1969年电影《意大利工作》的最后一幕。

Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy

Gran Paradiso National Park is an Italian national park in the Graian Alps, between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions. The park is named after Gran Paradiso mountain, which is located in the park; it is contiguous with the French Vanoise National Park.

The Gran Paradiso is also rich in rivers, waterfalls and of course lakes, like those portrayed in the photo. Agnel and Serrù are actually two artificial basins that feed various hydroelectric plants, famous above all for having served as the setting for the final scene of the 1969 film The Italian Job.

犹他州锡安国家公园的维尔京河，美国 Virgin River in Zion National Park, Utah (© Jonathan Ross/Getty)

历经百年的锡安国家公园 103 years of Zion

锡安国家公园的维珍河

我们的照片将我们带到16英里长的维珍河，在那里它穿过犹他州锡安峡谷上游，形成了一个壮观的千英尺深的峡谷。流经锡安国家公园（今天已满103岁！），由于科罗拉多高原、大盆地和莫哈韦沙漠交汇处的独特生物群落，维珍河是其他地方所没有的独特植物和动物的家园。如果没有维珍河水系的水，像世界上最稀有的物种之一的wondfin小鱼这样的生物就不可能存在。

Virgin River in Zion National Park

Our photo brings us to a 16-mile stretch of the Virgin River where it cuts a spectacular thousand-foot-deep gorge through the upper reaches of Utah's Zion Canyon. Flowing through Zion National Park (which turns 103 today!), the Virgin River is home to unique plants and animals that aren't found anywhere else, due to the unique intersection of biomes found where the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert all meet. Without the water of the Virgin River system, creatures like the woundfin minnow, one of rarest species on the planet, couldn't exist.

雷暴中恶地国家公园的岩层，美国南达科他州 Rock formations in Badlands National Park during a lightning storm, South Dakota (© DEEPOL by plainpicture)

恶地国家公园的一场闪电？ A Bad Lightning?

荒地国家公园

44年前的今天，南达科他州一个崎岖、荒凉的地区被指定为国家公园，以保护在陆地上发现的许多化石。该地区作为美洲原住民的狩猎场已有11000年的历史。事实上，我们今天所知道的名字Badlands来自拉科塔语“mako sica”，字面意思是“糟糕的土地”它占地近380平方英里，被严重侵蚀的岩层使它成为美国最独特的景观之一。

它还在形成！国家公园管理局表示，荒地每年侵蚀约一英寸，随着侵蚀速度的加快，侵蚀速度非常快。科学家估计，在未来50万年内，荒地将被完全侵蚀。可能想很快开始计划你的访问。

Badlands National Park

Forty-four years ago today, a rugged, inhospitable area of South Dakota was designated a national park to protect the many fossils found on the land. The area had an 11,000-year previous history as hunting grounds for Native Americans. In fact, the name we know it by today, Badlands, comes from the Lakota phrase 'mako sica,' which literally translates to 'bad lands.' Covering nearly 380 square miles, its harshly eroded rock formations make it one of the most distinct landscapes in the United States.

And it's still forming! The National Park Service says the Badlands erode about an inch every year, which is awfully fast as erosion goes. Scientists estimate that within the next half million years, the Badlands will have eroded away completely. Might want to start planning your visit soon.

华盛顿州北瀑布国家公园，美国 North Cascades National Park, Washington (© Ethan Welty/Tandem Stills + Motion)

令人惊叹的后花园 Amazing backyard

North Cascades National Park

North Cascades is one of three national parks in Washington state (the others are Olympic and Mount Rainier). North Cascades is also the state's newest national park, created in 1968. It is perhaps the most rugged park in the lower 48 states, containing more than 500,000 acres of steep mountain peaks, vast forests, as well as the headwaters of many waterways. It boasts the most expansive system of glaciers in the US outside of Alaska. Most of the park is protected as wilderness so there are few roads, structures, or signs of human impact. It is relatively isolated even though it's within 100 miles (as the crow flies) from the metropolises of Seattle and Vancouver, Canada. This proximity of wilderness to human development reminds us why we created the NPS, to preserve some of the nation's most special places in their natural state.

北瀑布国家公园

北瀑布是华盛顿州的三个国家公园之一（其他两个是奥林匹克公园和雷尼尔山公园）。北喀斯特也是该州最新的国家公园，创建于1968年。它可能是48个州中最崎岖的公园，拥有50多万英亩陡峭的山峰、广阔的森林以及许多水道的源头。它拥有阿拉斯加以外美国最广阔的冰川系统。公园的大部分被保护为荒野，因此几乎没有道路、结构或人类影响的迹象。尽管它距离西雅图和加拿大温哥华的大都市不到100英里（就像乌鸦一样），但它还是相对孤立。荒野与人类发展的这种接近提醒我们，为什么我们创建了自然保护区，以保护国家一些最特殊的自然状态。

约书亚树，加利福尼亚州约书亚树国家公园 Joshua trees in Joshua Tree National Park, California (© Tim Fitzharris/Minden Pictures)

沙漠中的匕首？ Desert daggers?

Joshua Tree National Park

These immensely photogenic and relatable trees, their shaggy, sinewy limbs thrust upward into the pale light of the desert sky, are the main reason people come here to California's Joshua Tree National Park. Joshua Tree was declared a national monument on August 10, 1936, before being designated a national park in 1994. Perhaps no other national park is so completely defined by a single feature, be it a plant or wildlife or natural formation. While Joshua Tree National Park contains other wonders, this tree that looks drawn by Dr. Seuss is what visitors come to celebrate.

The park (and the town of the same name) could also be called the hippest national park in the country, owing to its proximity to Los Angeles, and the Insta-worthy, charismatic flora that have helped make JT a darling on social media. Van lifers, artists, celebrities, and other creative bohemians have fueled a boom in tourism, not just to the park itself, but to the surrounding towns, like Pioneertown. The kitschy outpost served as an old Hollywood set and is now a center of nightlife in the area. Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace serves artisanal cocktails with its barbecue and features live music, sometimes from the likes of Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, and Patti Smith. And if you can't find an elderflower martini in Joshua Tree, then Palm Springs and Indio and Coachella are a short drive away, something Yellowstone and Yosemite can't claim.

But for those going purely for the nature—the hikers, rock climbers, campers, and stargazers—the 1,200-square-mile park is no less a marvel. Two deserts, the high-elevation Mojave and the low-elevation Colorado, merge here, each with its own ecosystem. The Joshua tree itself grows only on the Mojave side, at elevations between 1,300 and 5,900 feet. Most of the world's Joshua trees are found here. A variety of yucca, Joshua trees live to be 500 and 1,000 years old with roots as deep as 35 feet. Most believe their name was first concocted by Mormon pioneers who likened their branches to the oustretched arms of the biblical Joshua. It proved catchier than its botanical name, Yucca brevifolia. And as any influencer worth their followers will tell you, it makes for a much more memorable hashtag.

约书亚树国家公园

这些非常上镜且相互关联的树木，它们粗壮有力的四肢伸向沙漠天空的暗淡光线，是人们来到加利福尼亚州约书亚树国家公园的主要原因。约书亚树于1936年8月10日被宣布为国家纪念碑，然后于1994年被指定为国家公园。也许没有其他国家公园如此完全由单一特征来定义，无论是植物、野生动物还是自然形成物。约书亚树国家公园还有其他的奇观，这棵树看起来是苏斯博士画的，是游客们来庆祝的。

这个公园（和同名的小镇）也可以被称为美国最时髦的国家公园，因为它靠近洛杉矶，以及有魅力的植物群，使JT成为社交媒体上的宠儿。范利弗、艺术家、名人和其他富有创意的波西米亚人推动了旅游业的繁荣，不仅是公园本身，还有周边城镇，如先锋镇。这个俗气的前哨站曾经是好莱坞的老片场，现在是该地区的夜生活中心。Pappy&Harriet的先锋城宫殿提供手工鸡尾酒和烧烤，并配有现场音乐，有时来自保罗·麦卡特尼（Paul McCartney）、罗伯特·普兰特（Robert Plant）和帕蒂·史密斯（Patti Smith）。如果你在约书亚树上找不到接骨木花马提尼酒，那幺棕榈泉、Indio和Coachella就在很短的车程之外，这是黄石公园和约塞米蒂不能宣称的。

但对于那些纯粹为了大自然而去的徒步旅行者、攀岩者、露营者和观星者来说，1200平方英里的公园同样是一个奇迹。两个沙漠，高海拔的莫哈韦和低海拔的科罗拉多，在这里汇合，每个沙漠都有自己的生态系统。约书亚树本身只生长在莫哈韦一侧，海拔在1300到5900英尺之间。世界上大多数约书亚树都在这里找到。各种各样的丝兰树、约书亚树的树龄分别为500年和1000年，树根深达35英尺。大多数人相信他们的名字是摩门教先驱们首先炮制出来的，他们把他们的树枝比作圣经中约书亚被驱逐的手臂。事实证明，它比其植物学名称短叶丝兰更吸引人。任何有影响力的追随者都会告诉你，这是一个更令人难忘的标签。