Inyo National Forest, California
Weathered twisting branches of an ancient bristlecone pine seem to dance. Photo by Ken Lee. (Here are more spectacular photos of America’s national parks.)
Okayama Prefecture, Japan
Fireflies form blinking rivers of light in a still woodland. Photo by Trevor Williams.
Iceland
Cold Icelandic waters catch the aurora borealis’s iridescence. Photo by Thierry Bornier. For more of National Geographic’s Landscape Photography, check out Greatest Landscapes: Stunning Photographs That Inspire and Astonish.
Originally Published: December 14, 2016
Originally Published in Reader's Digest