Sometimes you just can't avoid a confrontation with Mother Nature. Whether it's the wild ferocity of a tornado or the rumbling tremors of an earthquake, humans have developed plenty of methods for coping with calamity when it arrives. Ecuadorians, especially those living in and around the city of Quito, have made an art of uncertainty. The city is perched on the eastern slopes of an active stratovolcano named Pichincha, which erupted in 1999, but spared the city from destruction and...

Inside the Ice Castle in Breckenridge, Colo. (Lon Lovett/Ice Castles) Ever fantasized about walking in a real-life winter wonderland? Ice Castles, a Utah-based company, has made it a reality for its visitors. Brent Christensen started Ice Castles after he moved his family from California to Utah. He wanted to create something for his children in their new cold-weather environment, so he started with an ice rink. The ice rink, however, wasn’t just a regular skating rink — it included a...

Michael Hodson, who traveled around the world in without flying, white water rafting in New Zealand. (Michael Hodson) In December 2008, lawyer Michael Hodsonquit his practice in Arkansas to set off on a quest to circle the globe the green way — without taking a single flight.After 16 months, six continents and 44 countries, he succeeded on his quest, and has not stopped traveling since. For Hodson,circling the globe without flying represented a big travel challenge that also highlighted environmentally...

Pilot Karim Nafatni has captured these stunning images of Dubai, his hometown. (All images courtesy of Karim Nafatni) Karim Nafatni is a pilot from Dubai who has a superb collection of images of the blossoming Middle Eastern city. Some of his images are a look down from rooftops, while others are taken at street level, giving a true feel for the enormity of Dubai's skyscrapers. Recently, Nafatni spoke to weather.com and shared some thoughts about how weather affects his photo...

Grey Seals A grey seal is released on the southern coast near Czolpino on the Baltic sea, June 2005. Early this week, 10 young grey seals were released into the chilly waters of the Baltic as part of a project to reintroduce the voracious carnivores to the southern Baltic. (JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP/Getty Images) Not too long ago on the geologic time scale (around 9 million years ago), carnivorous beasts roamed the forests of Europe. The giant mammals, including an enormous "bear...

No, time hasn’t frozen. Hierve el Agua looks very much like a waterfall stuck in time, but the cliff is a mineral formation that was created over thousands of years. This hidden gem of a world wonder is located in the central valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico. Surrounded by rolling green hills, two turquoise bathing pools sit atop the cliffs offering a unique place to swim as well as an amazing view of the landscape. Daring swimmers can approach the edge...

Ellora Caves, India Tourists look at a large Hindu stone structure at the Ellora Caves in the western Indian state of Maharashtra on November 16, 2012. The 34 Ellora caves are structures excavated out of the vertical face of the Charanandri hills. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images) Sacred sites are known for their beauty, both in architecture and setting. Their construction is amazing proof of religious devotion — many are built on mountain tops and some hang off the side of a...

Though it may be isolated from most of the world, Borneo is hardly a small place. Geographically, it's the third largest island in the world and is divided between three countries: Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia. Environmentally, it has one of the oldest rain forests in the world and hosts an enormous array of endemic species. And because it was an island apart from the world of much of its history, Borneo is rich with the cultural traditions of its indigenous...

Blue holes are some of the most mysterious and under-explored wonders of the Earth. They serve as the entryway to the world's most spectacular cave systems, attracting free diverswho dare to plumb the mysteries of these underwater chambers. At more than 600 feet deep, Dean's Blue Hole in Long Island, the Bahamas, is said to be the world's deepest blue hole.It is almost twice as deep as any other explored cave in the Bahamas, according to the Bahamas Journal of...

Hot air balloons carrying tourists rise above the pagodas at dawn in Myanmar's northern ancient town of Bagan on Feb. 26, 2012. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) For years, Myanmar was an island unto itself. Though the Asian country of 60 million is bordered by multiple countries, for years it practiced a policy of isolationism. Little was known of what happened inside the country's borders aside from the ethnic violence that became deadly enough to make international headlines. But after a democratic election...

An aerial view of Los Angeles seen from the Goodyear Blimp in Feb. 2014. (Dan Marker-Moore) “It has always been a dream to ride in the [Goodyear] blimp,” said photographer Dan Marker-Moore, who got his wish this year. The photographer not only took incredible photos from inside the blimp, he also got to test out his flying skills. The Los Angeles-based photographer got to ride in the Spirit of America, one of the three blimps in Goodyear fleet. The Spirit...

Azure Window, Gozo, Malta New York's Brooklyn Bridge and China's Lupo Bridge areamazing feats of engineering, but many of the world's most awe-inspiring bridges were crafted by Mother Nature herself. Natural bridges and arches areformed by the natural, selective removal of rock, caused by processes of erosion, according to the Natural Arch and Bridge Society. Some of the stunning bridges and arches on this list were formed by the corrosive action of flowing rivers or ocean waves. Some were formed...