Croatian photographer Mirna Pavlovic, 27, travels frequently throughout the year, exploring and photographing abandoned buildings across Europe. (Mirna Pavlovic) Croatian photographer Mirna Pavlovic, 27, loves to explore and photograph obscure, long-forgotten homes and buildings that have been left to the elements. “I always loved, but never got to do archeology,” she told weather.com. “I was always obsessed with the desire to make discoveries [and] that desire translated into the next best thing, which is exploring abandoned places. (MORE: Creepy, Abandoned...

A close-up of a fox in Hokkaido, Japan. (Hiroki Inoue) From rolling farm hills to birch tree forests, the Hokkaido northern island of Japan is full of stunning landscapes that are brimming with wildlife, such as foxes, bears, deer and owls. Japanese photographer Hiroki Inoue, 37, loves to photograph these breathtaking landscapes and the animals he spots. Inoue told weather.com that he first started taking photographs after the Great East Japanese earthquake, but instead of taking photos of the tragedy,...

10. Fernando de Noronha, Brazil A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha is the world's 10th best island according to TripAdvisor's 2016 Travelers' Choice Awards. Visitors are restricted, but the lucky few are rewarded with unrivaled beaches and soothing warm waters filled with dolphins and sea turtles, making Noronha one of the world’s top diving destinations. (TripAdvisor) While they may all seem the same to some, there's more to an island than just sun, sand...

10. Mackinac Island, Michigan Ranked 10th in TripAdvisor's 2016 Travelers' Choice Awards for Best Island in the U.S., Mackinac Island is a charming throwback to old-timey seaside leisure, with its candy-colored facades of downtown shops and the impressive (record-breaking, in fact) front porch of the Victorian-era Grand Hotel. Visitors also flock to the island for its homemade fudge and stunning views at Mackinac Island State Park. (TripAdvisor) The world is dotted with spectacular islandsbut some of them are located right...

In the Oas region of Northern Transylvania, near the border with Ukraine, shepherding used to be more than a profession, it was a way of life, with traditions passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years. Photographer Remus Tiplea, 44, spent nearly five years documenting their customary way of shepherding. (Remus Tiplea) In the Oas region of northern Transylvania, near the border with Ukraine, shepherding used to be more than a profession, it was a way of life,...

The world is dotted with spectacular destinations shaped by nature and then there are places that are overtaken by nature, left crumbling and decaying in the elements. Here, we take a surreal but fascinating tour of the world's abandoned places: structures, towns and cities deserted by people because of natural disasters, economic crises and conflict. In an interview with Living on Earth, Alan Weisman, the author of the bestselling nonfiction book The World Without Us, described what would happen if...

Photographer Erez Marom frequently travels to Iceland to capture the country's diverse landscapes, ranging from frozen waterfalls to erupting volcanoes. (Erez Marom) With the country boasting a diverse landscape of volcanoes, waterfalls, ice caves, glaciers and black beaches, photographer Erez Marom described Iceland as “an abundance of natural treasures that [is] almost too good to be true.” The Israeli photographer has been traveling to Iceland every winter for five years, experiencing new and different things with each visit. “I never...

African buffalo (Syncerus caffer), Amboseli National Park, Kenya. (Migrations - Wildlife in Motion/Art Wolfe) From African buffalo in Kenya, to emperor penguins in Antarctica, to monarch butterflies in Mexico, Art Wolfe, 64, traveled the world to photograph fascinating animal migrations for his book “Migrations – Wildlife in Motion.” A photographer for decades, Wolfe travels nine months out of the year and estimates that he has taken around two million photos throughout his career. As the son of commercial artists with...

A sign warns of radiation contamination near abandoned apartment buildings on April 9, 2016 in Pripyat, Ukraine. Pripyat, built in the 1970s as a model Soviet city to house the workers and families of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, was evacuated following the April 26, 1986 disaster, and is now a ghost town. The world is commemorating the 30th anniversary of the April 26, 1986 Chernobyl disaster.(Sean Gallup/Getty Images) To many, it's difficult to imagine that the city of Pripyat,...

Sometimes the best way to see wildlife is from the water. So whether you are looking to swim, snorkel, dive, cage-dive or kayak near wild marine animals, here are 10 of the best places around the world to see animals in the water. 1. Sharks and Rays - Shark Ray Alley, Belize Located in the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Shark Ray Alley is a shallow, sandy-bottomed area one mile off the coast of Belize. It is home to an abundance...

Here's a first look at one of the world's largest cave systems. Meteorologist Domenica Davis tells the story. ...

Big Sur, California (Andrew Ling) From the vast desert landscapes of Death Valley to the glaciers of Patagonia, Seattle-based photographer Andrew Ling, 22, loves to photograph sweeping landscapes that show the scale and beauty of the world. “When I travel, I look for a place that is trying to tell a story,” Ling told weather.com. “Mountains and glaciers don’t tend to have voices, so I try to create one for them: Who has climbed them? How are we losing them?”...

The world's tallest and longest tunnel slide opened at London's ArcelorMittal Orbit Tower. The slide is made up of 30 sections, with 12 turns, including a tight corkscrew twist. It has a top speed of 15 miles per hour, taking 40 seconds to go down the slide. (ArcelorMittal Orbit) Thrill-seekers can now buy tickets for a ride on the world's longest, tallest tunnel slide at the ArcelorMittal Orbit in London, England. Set to open to the public on June 24,...