National Gergraphic : Photo of the Day: Best of March 2012

Water Resort, Dubai

Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak,

A huge water-themed resort rises on Dubai's coast.

Black Hole of Calcutta, Australia

Photograph by Carsten Peter,

"It feels like being swallowed by the Earth," says photographer Carsten Peter of the Black Hole of Calcutta in Claustral Canyon. Experienced canyoneers avoid it after heavy rains.

Horses, Mongolian Steppe

Photograph by Mark Leong,

An ocean of green, Mongolia is the most sparsely populated country in the world, with just under three million people in a landmass larger than Alaska. Mongolian culture—physical, mobile, self-reliant, and free—developed out here on the steppe. "When people move to Ulaanbaatar, they bring that mentality with them," says Baabar, a well-known publisher and historian.

North Face, K2

Photograph by Tommy Heinrich,

A full moon illuminates the north face of K2.

Baby Elephant and Keepers

Photograph by Michael Nichols,

Dedicated keepers at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust's Nairobi Elephant Nursery in Kenya protect baby Shukuru from the cold and rain, and the risk of pneumonia, with a custom-made raincoat.

Coral Reef, Red Sea

Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak,

Rarely visited, the reefs off Saudi Arabia in the northern Red Sea are some of the most undisturbed in the region. Sunlight penetrates deep into the clear waters, enabling lush gardens of corals to flourish along these wave–washed coasts.

Oil Tanker, Persian Gulf

Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak,

A relic of the Iran-Iraq war, this oil tanker was scuttled near the Kuwait-Iraq border on Saddam Hussein’s orders, to block access by sea to southern Iraq. Kuwaiti authorities are reluctant to remove the vessel for fear of damaging the wetlands of nearby Bubiyan Island, an important fish nursery and seabird breeding ground.

High Tide, Indonesia

Photograph by John Stanmeyer,

As night falls and the tide rises on the Indonesian island of Pulau Balai, off the west coast of Sumatra, more than an inch of water washes into the home of 20-year-old Busrani. In March 2005 a seafloor earthquake lowered the island by three feet. Busrani can't afford to raise his floor, which floods at every high tide.

Quiver Trees, Namibia

Photograph by Frans Lanting,

Quiver trees stand like eerie sentinels under the stars in the Namib Desert. The flowers of these desert–tough varieties of the aloe plant provide nectar for birds and insects.

White Pocket, Arizona

Photograph by Richard Barnes,

Miniature lakes reflect the sky in White Pocket, one of the geological spectacles on the Paria Plateau. Over the eons, groundwater has leached the color out of the Navajo sandstone here, and the weather has broken its surface into irregular polygons.