Pictures from Tasmania’s central plateau, shot by wilderness photographer Dan Broun, show the extraordinary damage wrought by more than a week of bushfires following lightning strikes in Australia’s southernmost state on January 13. 2016. The world heritage area was home to a range of unique alpine flora including pencil pines, king billy pines and cushion plants, some more than 1,000 years old. Now more than 10,000ha of land has been incinerated, and ecologist say that, unlike eucalyptus trees, the ancient flora will not recover. (Photo by Dan Broun)

“Mountain Goats, Colorado”. A herd of mountain goats huddle together on top of Mount Evans, Colorado during a lightning storm. This photo was selected out of more than 5,000 entries to go on display in “Wilderness Forever: 50 Years of Protecting America’s Wild Places”, a new photo exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, which will run through summer 2015. (Photo by Verdon Tomajko/Smithsonian Wilderness Forever Photo Contest)

“The Independence day”. While on storm chasing expeditions in the Tornado Alley in USA I have encountered many photogenic supercell storms. This photograph was taken while we were approaching the storm near Julesburg, Colorado on My 28th, 2013. The storm was tornado warned for more than one hour, but stayed an LP storm through all its cycles and never produced a tornado, just occasional brief funnels, large hail and some rain. Photo location: Julesburg, Colorado, USA. (Photo and caption by Marko Korošec/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Newly commissioned 2nd lieutenants throw their caps in the air as a team of F-16 Air Force Thunderbirds fly over the 2011 graduating class of the U.S. Air Force Academy on May 25, 2011 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A total of 1,021 graduates received their diplomas in front of their families and dignitaries at the Academy's Falcon Stadium. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Brittany Ching dressed as a character from the sci-film “Avatar” at the annual Denver Comic Con at the Colorado Convention Center on June 16, 2016. (Photo by AndyCross/The Denver Post)

Denver Broncos cheerleaders perform in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on December 31, 2023. (Photo by Isaiah J. Downing/USA TODAY Sports)

James Spears takes his 1964 German built Amphicar for a drive on Lake Mead in Nevada May 6, 2015. Its a journey many drivers dream of, rather than travelling round a lake simply driving through it. But for James Spears it may be time to make the most of the waters in Lake Mead in Nevada, as water levels are plunging as California struggles to cope with a fourthsuccessive year of droughts. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)