Best pictures from the August 2011 National Geographic

• The best pictures from the August 2011 National Geographic

Focus on the best photos of the last month of summer, according to National Geographic magazine.

Elephants, Kenya

prairie dog: the invocation of the heavens. These rodents are a family of squirrels. They live in North America. They are typical representatives of the animal world prairie. Prairie dogs have great loyalty and courage, they will fight bravely defending their home territory and family. Adult black-tailed prairie dog reaches a length of 30-38 cm and weighing 1-2 kg. Prairie dogs quickly become accustomed to captivity and its owner.

The Swimmer, Portugal

The dunes of the Namib Desert. The name "Namib" in the language of the people of Nama means "place where there is nothing." Namib Desert in southwestern Africa is extremely dry and almost uninhabited. It is considered the oldest desert in the world: the desert or semi-desert conditions exist here continuously for the past 80 million years, that is, the desert was formed during the time of dinosaurs. For thousands of years of wind, like a sculptor, created here the highest dunes in the world. They are red from iron oxide.

The Mosque "Al-Kazim" in Baghdad

Starfish, British Columbia. These brightly colored animals belong to the class of invertebrates such as echinoderms. Their sizes range from 2 cm to 1 meter, although the majority - 12-25 cm Average number of rays -. 5 to 50. Starfish - predators, albeit slow-moving animals. In total there are about 1600 modern species of sea stars.

Memorial to the Victims of the Great Irish Famine (1845-1852) in Dublin. Then for seven years as a result of famine, disease, exile from the land died in the 1.1 to 1.5 million. Man. And more than a million emigrated. Ireland has lost up to 25% of the population. The memorial was built in Dublin in 2006.

Woman of the Year 2008, Yemen. Nujood Ali (born in 1998) - Yemeni girl who "Woman of the Year 2008" began in 2008. In 8 years Nudzhud given in marriage to a man three times her age. Two months later, "marriage" the girl managed to escape and come to court. The award "Women of the world," established the first Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and is awarded to women who have committed acts that cause great respect and become an example for others.

White American black bear in a tree, British Columbia. In the years when the number of salmon is low, bears have to seek out other food sources, such as climbing trees for fruit.

Fishermen, Myanmar

The family of shepherds, Turkey

The image of Cleopatra, Dendera, Egypt. This temple dedicated to the goddess Hathor - the daughter of the sun god, revered by the Egyptians as a symbol of femininity, motherhood, and referred to as "golden mistress." In the outer walls of the temple depicts Cleopatra accompanying prayer in the temple of Hathor to her son Caesarion.

Leaf Viburnum. Already felt the approach of autumn ...

Morning mist, Adirondack. Adirondack - a mountain range in the northeast of the State of New York, the northern part of the mountain system of the Appalachians.

Touareg, looking into the distance. Algeria.

The yellow birch, USA. Another autumn picture. It is the largest of all American birches. Under favorable conditions of growth it reaches a height of 30 m and a diameter of 1 meter, but more often 18-24 m in height and a diameter of 0, 75 m.

Buddha, China. An interesting picture: a huge Buddha head stands near the site of the coal procurement. Coal reserves may run for several decades, making it necessary to search for alternative sources of energy in China.