The Yaeyama Islands are an archipelago in the southwest of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, and cover 591.46 square kilometres and consists of 10 inhabited islands and several islets. They are home to numerous species of subtropical plants and mangrove forests. The islands produce sugarcane and pineapples. Coral reefs around the islands are ideal habitats for dolphins, sea turtles, and larger fish such as manta rays and whale sharks. Ishigaki is the most populated and most developed island of the Yaeyama archipelago and serves as the region’s main transportation hub.

credit: Pierre Bear

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is located on the Colorado Plateau in northern Arizona. It includes the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. The Monument borders Kaibab National Forest to the west and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area to the east. The 3,000-foot escarpment of the Vermilion Cliffs reveals seven major geologic formations in layer-cake fashion. This remote, unspoiled 294,000-acre national monument is a geologic treasure of towering cliffs, deep canyons, and spectacular sandstone formations.

credit: mypubliclands