Summer is the season for growing and harvesting, when a number of vibrantly colored flowers bloom across acres and acres of farmland. Among some of the most beautiful of the crops are lavender, canola, poppies and cotton. Farms filled with these plants are dazzling when seen from high above or from on the ground, and they attract tourists interested in agriculture, regional economics, and health. Although poppies are most infamous for being the plant from which opium is derived, the...

Some of the best views of a city can be seen from above -- an impressive skyline lit at night, buildings engulfed in dramatic fog, or majestic monuments set against a mountainous landscape. Aerial views offer a unique perspective of a city, and highlight its natural features, such as parks, rivers or canals, as well as its architecture and other man-made wonders. Aerial photographs, however, are some of the most tricky to successfully shoot and aerial photographers need to depend...

(Chris Hondros/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Top U.S. officials met Saturday to review the threat of a terrorist attack that led to the weekend closure of 21 U.S. embassies and consulates in the Muslim world and a global travel warning to Americans. President Barack Obama was briefed following the session, the White House said. Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, led the meeting and then joined Lisa Monaco, Obama's assistant for homeland security and counter-terrorism, in briefing the president, the White...

Aerial view from a hot air balloon as it flies over the ruins of Pompeii city, near Naples, May 27, 2005. (Mario Laporta/AFP/Getty Images) ROME — Italy's government is trying to spare the ancient ruins of Pompeii from further neglect. Premier Enrico Letta told reporters that his Cabinet on Friday approved the appointment of a special superintendent to ensure that millions of euros in government and European Union funds for maintenance and restoration of the archaeological marvel and tourist site...

Viewers' Choice National Geographic readers selected Dody Kusuma's photo, Another Perspective of the Day, as the winner of the Viewers' Choice award. Kusuma snapped the photo of a fisherman casting a net at Bira Beach, off the waters of Indonesia. (Photo and caption by Dody Kusuma/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) Winners of the 2013 National Geographic Traveler's Photo Contest have been announced, and the images are nothing short of stunning. This year's judges had the daunting task of narrowing the...

Birds of War December 5, 1941: Two American dive-bombers fly over Miami on a training mission. (Keystone/Getty Images) In 1909, the U.S. Army Signal Corps purchased its first aircraft, a Wright Model A. The first military role for an aircraft was reconnaissance, and by World War I military aviation grew to include several roles including scouts, artillery observers, fighters and bombers. World War II signified an era of rapid advancement in aircraft technology, with major performance and range increases and...

A Southwest airline's plane rests on the tarmac earlier this month after what officials say is a nose gear collapse at LaGuardia. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) NEW YORK -- The captain of a Southwest Airlines plane that landed on a collapsing nose gear at LaGuardia Airport took control from the first officer just 400 feet from the ground, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday. It's unusual for a co-pilot or captain to take over a plane that's landing when...

People exit a plane from Ireland that made an emergency landing because of an unspecified threat. ((AP Photo/Matt Rourke)) PHILADELPHIA -- A bomb threat investigation that prompted a search of a trans-Atlantic flight and questioning of its passengers has turned up nothing suspicious, officials said. US Airways Flight 777 from Shannon, Ireland, landed in an isolated part of Philadelphia International Airport on Wednesday afternoon and was met on the tarmac by fire trucks and federal and local authorities. A telephone...

The sinkhole in a Kansas field estimated to be 90 feet deep and 200-300 feet wide. (Wallace County Sheriff's Department) SHARON SPRINGS, Kan. — A sinkhole estimated to be about 90 feet deep in western Kansas is drawing so many onlookers that the landowner is pleading for people to stay away. The sinkhole, which is 200 to 300 feet wide, was discovered July 31 in a pasture several miles north of Sharon Springs on land owned by 82-year-old Margaret Hoss...

In an effort to increase tourism to remote Daocheng County inGarzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, China, an area known for its sacred mountain peaks and alpine valleys, the Chinese government is currently building the Daocheng Yading Airport, which at 14,469 feet (4,410 m) above sea level, will become the world's highest tourism airport. The airport, likely to cost around $238million, is expected to open later this year and will offer routes through to the western cities of Chengdu,...

In this Monday, July 29, 2013 photo, the Terrafugia roadable plane flies during the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis. (AP Photo/The Oshkosh Northwestern, Joe Sienkiewicz) Can't decide if you'd rather hop in the car or take to the skies for your next big trip? You might not have to choose anymore. The Transition flying car, which had a test flight in March of this year, was recently on display at an air show in Oshkosh, Wis. for its...

Tourists ride past the Desert Lotus Hotel under construction in Xiangshawan Desert, also called Sounding Sand Desert on July 17, 2013, in Ordos of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. (Feng Li/Getty Images) Xiangshawan Desert in the Inner Mongolia region of China probably isn't the first place you'd look at for a vacation. In the wintertime, temperatures are frigid with frequent blizzards, and the summertime brings hot, dry weather that can cause huge sandstorms. Yet those conditions are exactly what make...