National Geographic Covers

National Geographic 'The Covers' The book features 650 of the magazine's most memorable cover photos. (Courtesy National Geographic)
October 1888 National Geographic Magazine's inaugural issue. It features the National Geographic Society's first seal, a map of the United States. (Courtesy National Geographic)
September 1959 Shockwaves produced during supersonic flight stream out of a U.S. Navy McDonnell F3H Demon jet fighter .(Courtesy National Geographic/Wilbur E. Garrett)
December 1969 Buzz Aldrin stands on the lunar surface. (Courtesy National Geographic/Neil Armstrong)
October 1978 A newly minted National Geographic photographer makes a self-portrait. (Courtesy National Geographic)
June 1985 Haunting eyes and a tattered garment tell the plight of a girl who fled her native Afghanistan for a refugee camp in Pakistan. (Courtesy National Geographic/Steve McCurry)
May 1986 A lioness and her cub bask in the protection of the Serengeti, Africa's premier wildlife haven. (Courtesy National Geographic/Mitsuaki Iwago)
February 1999 Peering out from red Australian sands, a desert spadefoot frog emerges for a rare drink of water. (Courtesy National Geographic/Franz Lanting)
June 2004 Evening rush hour moves at a fuel-wasting crawl on the Beltway. (Courtesy National Geographic/Sarah Leen
March 2006 Namibia's Ju/'hoansi people carry DNA markers that could predate modern-human migrations out of Africa. (Courtesy National Geographic/Chris Johns)
August 2007 The Temple of the Great Jaguar, built more than 1,000 years ago in Guatemala, exemplifies Mayan majesty. (Courtesy National Geographic/Simon Norfolk)
March 2008 "Betsy" is one smart border collie. She understands 340 words, and she'll pose for a portrait without bribery. (Courtesy National Geographic/Vincent J. Musi)
July 2008 A silverback mountain gorilla confronts life in a war zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Courtesy National Geographic/Brent Stirton)
August 2009 Heat-loving microorganisms add red and yellow hues to Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring. (Courtesy National Geographic/George Steinmetz)
October 2009 Part of a portrait made up of 84 shots, taken as cameras rode a rope rigged by canopy ecologist Jim C. Spickler. (Courtesy National Geograpahic/Michael Nichols)
February 2010 On a bone-chilling day, Utah patriarch Joe Jessop poses with his wives and some of his well-behaved progeny. (Courtesy National Geographic/Stephanie Sinclair)
August 2010 Extreme climate shifts forged this ancient Bahamian cave as seas rose and fell. Extreme danger awaits divers who explore it. (Courtesy National Geographic/Wes C. Skiles)
October 2012 The ivory market reaches from Africa to Asia. In Kenya (left) a ranger removes tusks from an elephant killed illegally; the aim is to keep the ivory off the black market. In China (right) a carver works with ivory. (Courtesy National Geographic/Brent Stirton)
(1/19)
Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up