Among the fish populations that could be harmed by the Xayaburi dam in Laos is the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish, considered by the Guinness Book of World Records to be the world’s largest freshwater fish. The fish, which grows to 650 pounds and about 10 feet long, is only found in the Mekong River. It is migratory, moving between downstream habitats in Cambodia upstream to northern Thailand and Laos each year to spawn. Some experts fear the Xayaburi dam could block the migration and drive the giant catfish to extinction. (Photo by Courtesy of Zeb Hogan/University of Nevada, Reno)

Burning Man 2013. The federal government issued a permit for 68,000 people from all over the world to gather at the sold out festival, which is celebrating its 27th year, to spend a week in the remote desert cut off from much of the outside world to experience art, music and the unique community that develops. (Photo by Neil Girling)

Tracy Sarita celebrates the sunrise during the Burning Man 2015 “Carnival of Mirrors” arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, September 3, 2015. Approximately 70,000 people from all over the world are gathering at the sold-out festival to spend a week in the remote desert to experience art, music and the unique community that develops. (Photo by Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

These stunning images show the phwoar-some power of some of Americas most extreme weather. Camille Seaman’s wondrous work features huge super cells, crashing lightning and gale-force winds. The roaming photographer has chased storms across the US from Iowa to Wyoming and from Minnesota to Texas. Her favorite places to chase are Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota – notorious hotspots for spectacular storms. Here: Supercell in Minnesota, near Browerville, Minnesota in 2014. (Photo by Camille Seaman/Caters News)

A hot air balloon floats past an almost full rising moon on a warm fall evening near Encinitas, California October 5, 2014. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

People walk past the sculpture by artist Danger Dave titled “Damien Hirst looking for sharks” at the Swell Sculpture Festival at Currumbin Beach on the Gold Coast, Australia, 17 September 2021. The Swell Sculpture Festival is the largest outdoor art exhibition in Queensland and features 65 large scale contemporary sculptures set along Currumbin Beach. (Photo by Darren England/EPA/EFE)

Every year, participants in the Burning Man Festival descend on the playa of Nevada's Black Rock Desert to form a temporary city – a self-reliant community populated by performers, artists, free spirits, and more. Last week, an estimated 68,000 people came to Burning Man 2013 from all over the world to dance, express themselves, and take in the spectacle. Gathered below are some of the sights from the festival, which lasted a week and came to its conclusion yesterday