A girl with Russian national flags painted on her cheeks takes part in celebrations marking the first anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea, in central Simferopol March 16, 2015. Russia marks one year anniversary of annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula this week. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Winner of the National Park Foundation's photo contest; Honorable Mention: Fan Favorite. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Three friends enjoy sunrise over the Grand Canyon. (Photo by Peter Blanchard)

Camelot, with rider Kris Anderson, wins an exhibition race billed as “The Cameltonian” at the Meadowlands Race Track in East Rutherford, New Jersey June 21, 2014. Run by Hedrick's Promotions in Nickerson, Kansas, this is the third year the race has been run at the track, in tandem with an ostrich race. (Photo by Ray Stubblebine/Reuters)

Mount Sinabung volcano erupts, as seen from Tiga Pancur village, Karo Regency in Indonesia's North Sumatra province October 8, 2014. (Photo by Y. T. Haryono/Reuters)

Wingsuit flyer contestant Melissa Pemberton of the U.S. jumps off a mountain at Tianmen Mountain National Park in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province October 19, 2014. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

Sultan, a famous captive fennec that is displayed tied on a rope in front of a tourist shop, is the main attraction in the souk of Douz, a desert town in Tunisia. By the display of such a charismatic animal, tourists are often lured to buy things or pay for pictures. On inquiry, although Sultan has been caught as a pup in the wild, the owners of the shop reassure the foreigners stating that the animal is ‘domestic’. (Photo by Bruno D’Amicis/Fritz Pölking Prize/GDT EWPY 2015)

A woman holds her umbrella while walking against strong winds as Typhoon Chan-hom approaches Taiwan, in Taipei, July 10, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)

Merit: A Night at Deadvlei. The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadveli. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the milky way and magellanic clouds. Deadveli means “dead marsh. The camelthorn trees are believed to be about 900 years old, but have not decomposed because the environment is so dry. (Photo and caption by Beth McCarley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)