In a few months Antarctic summer will begin. Tours to the southern continent have doubled and redoubled in less than a decade. Is this jump in tourism hurting Antarctica, or helping it?
Underwater explorers may have hit the mother lode with the discovery of the Civil-War era S.S. Republic. The steamship was wrecked in 1865 with a cargo of gold coins that may be worth as much as 180 million dollars. But that may not be all that's valuable about the wreck.
Each fall, more than 80,000 paddlers descend upon a 28-mile-stretch (48 kilometers) of West Virginia's Gauley River to raft and kayak a river at times sublime and extreme. For insights into this white-water mecca, National Geographic Adventure spoke with veteran guide Blaine Honea. His advice? Bring a wetsuit—and some jokes.
Humans and gorillas share much of the same genetic makeup—but that doesn't mean they always get along. Researchers in the dense forests of central Africa are working to bring the two together for ecotourism. Ensuring that the animals are worth more alive than dead may be their only shot at survival. This story airs on Ultimate Explorer, in the U.S. Sunday, 8 p.m. ET/PT on MSNBC.
Cowboys make a Hollywood comeback in Kevin Costner's new movie, opening today. Open Range focuses on the struggle between free-grazers and landowners, spotlighting the West's original cowboys, the tough vaquero.Includes a gallery of images from photographer Kendall Nelson's recent book, Gathering Remnants, a study of the last surviving cowboys.
Every year there are a half billion visits to America's national parks and forests. Tourists provide 78 percent of the national forest's contribution to the economy. That's why the government's Healthy Forests Initiative is being considered, although environmentalists decry it as bad policy for the National Forests.
For much of his career, photographer David Alan Harvey has trained his lens on the Hispanic world. Now the long-time National Geographic staff photographer has published a new book, Divided Soul.National Geographic News recently spoke with Harvey about it, and his abiding passion for Latin America. Includes a gallery of David Alan Harvey's photography.
A new species of dinosaur was announced by Indian and American scientists today: a 30-foot (9-meter), horned carnivore that hunted other dinosaurs 65 million years ago. The research was supported in part by the National Geographic Society. Includes a gallery of Rajasaurus images, charts, and maps.
In 1963, a dam plugged the flow of the Colorado River through Glen Canyon, giving rise to Lake Powell. But a severe, five-year drought in the Western United States has starved the reservoir, providing a tantalizing peek at the lost canyon.
Twenty-five years ago, it would have been impossible to find a woman smokejumper in the United States. Today, 27 serve in the elite corps that drops by parachute into the nation's backcountry to fight wildfires.
Media hype surrounding the SARS epidemic spurred an 82 percent drop in tourist visits to China this past year. Despite the hit, the Chinese government hopes its tourist industry will soon bounce back. Which means now is the time to visit, says Traveler Editor in Chief Keith Bellows.
After 20 days at sea, ocean explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau has reached Kure, in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The Pacific Ocean atoll marks the turning point of Cousteau's five-week expedition to explore and film one of the last pristine, large-scale coral reef ecosystems on the planet.
Nothing thrills and chills quite like a snake—unless it's a really, really big snake. National Geographic's Ultimate Explorer TV series went around the world in search of constrictors—the family of giant snakes that literally squeeze the life out of their prey.
The Greek government has decided to build an Olympic rowing center on the ancient Athenian battle site of Marathon in the western Schinias marsh. Conservation groups are fighting for the protection of the site before the 2004 Olympics in Athens kick off.
