10 Inspiring Images for World Environment Day – ImageQuest

This year, World Environment Day is calling on the Education Community to inform and inspire young people to be at the heart of its celebrations.

This June 5 is World Environment Day, the keystone day named by the UN to drive awareness of environmental issues and protection. This year, World Environment Day is calling on the Education Community to help inform and inspire young people to be at the heart of its celebrations.

To join in on the occasion, the Britannica team has happily buried ourselves in the ImageQuest troves and emerged triumphant with our favorite photos of the natural world.


 Rock outcrops in the Junggar Basin

Rock outcrops in the Junggar Basin
IMAGEQUEST: Ira Block / National Geographic Society / Universal Images Group

The extensive basin is situated in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, northwestern China. Just imagine, these rocky formations were once filled with dinosaurs!

Aerial view of the Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef
IMAGEQUEST: BILDAGENTUR-ONLINE/MCPHOTO-SCHULZ/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest accumulation of coral in the world, stretching on for 2000 km. Approximately two-thirds of the Reef is affected by bleaching caused by the rising temperature of seawater.

Dawn mists clearing over virgin dipterocarp rainforest

Virgin Dipterocarp Rainforest Malaysia
IMAGEQUEST: Louise Murray / Robert Harding World Imagery / Universal Images Group

The dipterocarp family of hardwood trees found in Danum Valley, Sabah, on the island of Borneo, Malaysia, are among the tallest tropical trees in the world today.

White Cloud scenic area, Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain)

Huang Shan Yellow Mountain
IMAGEQUEST: Jochen Schlenker / Robert Harding World Imagery / Universal Images Group

Huang Shan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Anhui Province, China. A complex mountain system that extends some 250 km, it is renowned for its unique rock formations, curiously-shaped namesake pines and thick seas of mist and clouds.

Silver birches, Dandenong Ranges, Victoria

Silver Birches
IMAGEQUEST: Jochen Schlenker / Robert Harding World Imagery / Universal Images Group

Reeves Glacier, Antarctica

Reeves Glacier
IMAGEQUEST: Science and Society Museum/ Universal Images Group

The image shows an aerial view of the Reeves Glacier, looking west towards the polar plateau. Glaciers are large masses of thick ice that remain frozen and slowly flow over land.

Satellite image of Mount Egmont

Mount Egmont
IMAGEQUEST: Science Photo Library

Also known as Mount Taranaki, Mount Egmont is a volcano on New Zealand’s North Island. From a birds-eye view, it forms an almost perfectly symmetrical cone. Lucky observers might catch the brief intervals when the volcano is topped by snow.

Rock formation, White Desert

Rock archway, White Desert
IMAGEQUEST: BILDAGENTUR-ONLINE/MCPHOTO-MOSER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

The erosion of the white chalk that forms the desert sands in Egypt’s White Desert has resulted in these gravity-defying formations.

Green sea turtle with two remoras

Remora
IMAGEQUEST: ALEXIS ROSENFELD/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Universal Images Group

These two Remoras are hitching a free ride from a Green Sea Turtle in the Red Sea, Egypt. Remoras attach themselves to large marine animals using sucking disks on top of their heads. This saves energy and also protects them from predators.

Siberian Tiger Cub

Siberian Tiger
IMAGEQUEST: Mary McDonald / Nature Picture Library / Universal Images Group

Siberian Tigers are the biggest in the world. He is only small now, but this cub will eventually grow up to be 4 meters long and weigh in at a formiddable 300kg!

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For more information on World Environment Day and how you could get involved, please visit the official website or join the hashtag #BeatPlasticPollution on Twitter.

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