Patience paid off for the photographer who waited for hours to catch a crocodile on Java, the largest Indonesian island in March 2023. (Photo by Tanto Yensen/Solent News)

These stunning images look to highlight the amazing natural beauty that can be found across the United States. The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) recently released their Best of 2015 list, featuring a variety of animals, weather conditions and landmarks. Included in the list are gleaming auroras, adorable groups of otters and owls, and breath-taking shots across the likes of the Grand Canyon and national parks. Each of the spectacular shots, all of which were taken during 2015, featured on the Department of the Interiors Instagram account throughout the year, taken by both members of staff and members of the public. Here: Arches, National Park. (Photo by Caters News)

People pose for pictures on the banks of Yangtze River on New Year's Eve in Wuhan, in China’s central Hubei province on December 31, 2020. (Photo by Noel Celis/AFP Photo)

A spot-billed pelican sits on a street light in Colombo on March 16, 2021. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)

Daniel Sheridan, a council worker from Poole, Dorset, runs a side hustle snapping dogs living their best lives in the second decade of December 2024. (Photo by Daniel Sheridan/South West News Service)

“The Sunsetter”. An EF-4 tornado rips through the open space of farmland near Rozel, Kansas. This tornado moves slowly but powerful towards the setting sun an gets its beautiful color right before sunset. Storm Chasers are spotting on the left side. Photo location: Rozel, Kansas. (Photo and caption by Dennis Oswald/National Geographic Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

JAPAN: A businessman stands at a pond in the Kyu-Shiba-rikyu Garden on a warm and sunny day in Tokyo, Japan, March 18, 2016. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Ivanka Trump poses with Kristina Hilko, Lauren Shovlin, and Anna Nesbitt, members of the Girls of Steel Robotics initiative, at the Astrobotic Technology facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14, 2018. (Photo by Jason Cohn/Reuters)