Environmental
Star trials spiral around the North Star over Dent Bridge on Oct 18, 2022, near Orofino, Idaho. This photo illustration was made by layering 200 long exposure images together.
An orb weaver spider spins its web as the sun begins to set Aug. 23, 2022, in Lewiston, Idaho. Many orb-weavers build a new web daily, remaining hidden during the day becoming active at night, according to National Geographic.
Lighting illuminates the night sky over the Palouse Prairie near Colton, Wash., during the early morning hours of Aug. 12, 2022. According to the National Weather Service, Whitman County, Wash., received 47 cloud to ground strikes and Garfield County, Wash., received 184.
The shell of a brood brood XIX or XIII cicada grips a telephone poll as the evening daws to a close May 17, 2024, in Columbia, Mo. The XIX and XIII broods emerge from the ground every 13 and 17 years, respectively, to mate and die within a few weeks. This year the two broods reproductive cycle overlap in a rare event, one which can be heard clearly across the city.
A fallen red leaf floats in an oily puddle creating a rainbow like mosaic of vibrant colors on a rainy fall day Nov. 11, 2023, in downtown Lewiston, Idaho.
Male coho salmon hang out in Lapwai Creek as they wait for females to mate with Nov. 22, 2022 near Lewiston, Idaho. About 18,300 adult coho returning from the Pacific Ocean have passed Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River west of Lewiston this fall. Coho in the Snake River Basin were declared extinct in the 1980s but a decades-long effort by the Nez Perce Tribe has revived the run. The fish now provide annual tribal and non-tribal fishing opportunities.
A dragonfly reflects off the surface of a large puddle Aug. 11, 2022, at Airport Park in Lewiston, Idaho.
A large bumble bee gathers pollen from a flowering canola field May 17, 2023, near Anatone, Wash.