Photo Contest

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2025 Gala Photo Contest Submissions

1. 'Cinder Cones': Big Cinder Butte and Broken Top volcanoes, seen from the Caves Trail. (Craters Of The Moon NM&P, Idaho)

2. 'naptime': seal napping on a bed of kelp on folded siltstones of the Kaikōura peninsula with part of the seaward Kaikōura range in the background. (Kaikōura, New Zealand)

3. 'Glacier Time!': Taken from halfway up the trail to the Mueller Hut while overlooking the Sealy Tarns, with Mt. Sefton and Mt. Cook in the background. (Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park, New Zealand)

4. 'Among the Clouds': During the Juneau Icefield Research Program, two skiers slowly make their trek back up a glacier. (Juneau Icefield, Alaska)

5. 'Reflections': Meditation time. (Austin, TX.)

6. 'Lake Serene Outcrop': Outcrop of mountain situated at Lake Serene (Lake Serene, WA)

7. 'Mountain Parrot': A kea sits on a rock, overlooking the mountains. (Arthur's Pass, New Zealand)

8. 'When in Wenatchee': A quartz vein cutting through an intrusive igneous rock in Wenatchee. (Wenatchee, WA)

9. 'Milford Sound in the Rain': Only two waterfalls are present year-round at Milford Sound. When it rains, hundreds more appear. (Milford Sound, NZ)

10. 'Sun Halo': Silhouette of a person standing on blue ice, arms raised up to the sun. (The Allan Hills, Antarctica)

11. 'Jumping for Joy': Geologist jumping for joy. (Cave Stream, NZ)

12. 'Star trails': (Maine)

13. 'Mt. Tom': White Glacier and Mt. Tom photographed facing south at 8pm— late summer golden hour. (Mt Tom, Olympic National Park, WA)

14. 'Larch Season': Hike (North Cascades National Park)

15. 'Monviso in the clouds': A hike through the Monviso Ophiolite on a cloudy morning. (Parco del Monviso, Italy)

16. 'Accumulation': It began to snow while I was touring Kötlujökull, an outlet glacier of Mýrdalsjökull. This view greeted me upon emerging from an ice cave. (Kötlujökull, Iceland)

17. 'Looking down-canyon': Two distant people (low center of the frame) walk along a trail toward the mouth of the canyon, viewed from above. There is snow in the sand, and the center of the canyon is filled with trees. (Bryce National Park, Utah, USA.)

18. 'Night on the marge of Lake Lebarge': Northern lights through the treetops of a spruce forest (Lake Lebarge, near Whitehorse, YK)

19. 'Sedimentary Bird': Bird flies over sedimentary deposits in Utah (Near Stateline Campsite, UT)

20. 'Heading home': Sunset and moonrise on the PCT. Looking eastward from the Sierra Nevada's. August 10th , 2022, 8:02 PM. (Sonora Peak, California)

21. 'North Cascades November': frozen Cutthroat Lake on the east side of the Cascades the day before SR-20 closed for the winter (Cutthroat Lake, North Cascades, Washington)

22. 'Zion Wall': Shows the sedimentary rock layers (Zion National Park)

23. 'Skógafoss Rainbow': A rare break in February clouds in Iceland produces a rainbow over Skógafoss (Skógá River, Iceland)

24. 'Painted Canyons': Here lies the beauty of geologic time etched in stone. This canyon lies high in the mountains of Capitol Reef, showcasing its ancient stratified cliffs as if they were painted long ago. (Capitol Reef National Park)

25. 'Beinn Ime': (Scotland)

26. 'Mt. Rinjani Peak': Looking up at the peak of Mt. Rinjani, the highest point on the Indonesian island of Lombok (12,224 ft), with thousands of years of volcanic history exposed by the 1257 caldera-forming eruption that removed the previous (much taller) mountaintop. (Mt. Rinjani, Lombok, Indonesia)

27. 'Pioneer Park': Shows honeycomb weathering (Pioneer Park in Utah)

28. 'Tufa at the end of the rainbow': Tufa (rock that precipitates from water) in Mono Lake, CA, answering the age-old question “What’s at the end of the rainbow?” (Mono Lake, CA)

29. 'Geoscientists at the outcrop': (Mistaken Point, Newfoundland)

30. 'Mt. Rinjani Crater Lake': Looking down at the Segara Anak caldera lake from the rim at ~11,000 feet on Mt. Rinjani, the highest peak on the Indonesian island of Lombok. Mt. Agung and Mt. Batur, on the neighboring island of Bali, are visible in the distance above the clouds. (Mt. Rinjani, Lombok, Indonesia)

31. 'A Fiery Exhale': Small eruption of an open-vent volcanic system (Volcán de Fuego, Guatemala)

32. 'First Snow of Fall': Hike (North Cascades National Park)

33. 'Iceberg in Lago Argentino': An iceberg from the Upsala Glacier drifts across Lago Argentino in Patagonia (Provincia de Santa Cruz, Argentina)

34. 'Shi Shi Moonset': The moon sets behind the Point of Arches sea stacks as seen from Shi Shi Beach, on the Olympic coast. (Shi Shi Beach, Washington, US.)

35. 'A Tense Situation': A geologist using quarryman’s pins to apply tension on a granodiorite sample. (Bank’s Lake, WA)

36. 'Death Valley 2020': Looking towards the Grapevine Mountains from an outcrop of quartzite in the Panamint Range. February 17th , 2020, 9:22 AM. (Aguereberry Point, Death Valley, California)

37. 'The Ourea': In Greek mythology, the primordial gods known as the Ourea are considered the gods of rocks and mountains. These striking rock formations showcase vibrant hues of golden sandstones as they tower above the land below and touch the endless blue sky. (Capitol Reef National Park)

38. 'Kapadokya Rose Valley Outcrop': Arial view of an outcrop of Rose Valley, Kapadokya (Kapadokya, TR)

39. 'Ainsa Anticline': tilted carbonate beds on one limb of an anticlinal fold (Ainsa Basin, Spain)

40. 'Splish-splash, I was taking a bath': One Adelie penguin follows another into the Ross Sea (McMurdo Sound, Antarctica)

41. '富士山': View of Mt. Fuji seen during momijigari (autumn maple leaf hunting) on Mt. Kentoku. (Mt. Kentoku, Japan)

42. 'Soaring Over the Canyon': A bird of prey or a raven gliding over the grand canyon, with the Colorado River visible near the bottom of the picture (Grand Canyon National Park, AZ)

43. 'The Heart of Life': Driftwood on a misty morning (Beach 4, Washington)

44. 'Out for a ski': Students of the Juneau Icefield Research Program skiing above the Taku Glacier (Juneau Icefield, AK)

45. 'Between ridge lines': Looking down a washout stream bed, toward a jagged ridge of rocks with green grass and trees at the base. The sky is cloudy, but a beam of sunlight illuminates a patch of grass near the center of the frame. (Parco Naturale Puez-Odle, South Tyrol, Italy.)

46. 'Mountain and Moon': Alpenglow from the sunset touches the top of a peak above the Juneau Icefield while the moon perches above. (Juneau Icefield, Alaska)

47. 'Na Pali Ridges': Charismatic ridges of basalt wind down fluted cliffs to meet the Pacific Ocean above Kalalau Beach on Kauai. (Kalalau Beach, Kauai)

48. 'Icelandic Fans': Alluvial/Colluvial aprons on top of some beautiful volcanic layers observed during a brief weather window during field work. (Tröllaskagi Peninsula, Iceland)

49. 'The ripple effect': The ripple effect is a mesmerizing phenomenon! Take it or leave it. (Houston, TX.)

50. 'Lookout': A pipit looks out onto a misty alpine environment from the peak of Mt. Luxmore. (Mt. Luxmore, New Zealand)

51. 'Sea stacks': (Rialto Beach)

52. 'Blue Glacier': Basecamp at Lakes of the Gods for the 2024 field season at sunset. Blue Glacier and Snow Dome are visible in the background. (Lakes of the Gods, Olympic National Park, WA)

53. 'Lakes of the Gods': Tadpole Lake at sunrise. View of White Glacier and Mt. Tom in the background. (Lakes of the Gods, Olympic National Park, WA)

54. 'Home on the Forearc': As twilight settles over the Cascadia Subduction Zone, the Seattle skyline stands in vivid contrast to the distant the Olympic Mountains. This view from South Lake Union showcases the forearc as a living canvas — a landscape shaped by both the relentless motion of tectonic plates and the enduring presence of humanity. (Seattle, WA)

55. 'Where Stone Cradles Sky': Mist drapes the rugged peaks of the North Cascades, settling into an immersive stillness. (North Cascades National Park)

56. 'Not-So Useless Bay': The entrance to Double Bluff County Park during low tide. (Useless Bay, Whidbey Island, Washington)

57. 'Solar Eclipse': April 8th 2024 total solar eclipse (Arkansas, USA)

58. 'History Lessons on the Beach': Grande Dune du Pilat, Europe's tallest dune. The steep angles and sharp edges expose paleosols that record geologic and archeologic history starting from 3500 BCE. (Grande Dune du Pilat, Arcachon Bay area, France)

59. 'The View From the Dune': Taken from the top of the Dune du Pilat, the tallest sand dune in Europe. (Grande Dune du Pilat, Arcachon Bay area, France)

2024 Winners