Some Iraqi candidates for Miss Iraq beauty contest pose in front of the Ishtar Gate at the ancient archaeological site of Babylon, outside the modern city of Hilla, south of the capital Baghdad on December 17, 2015. The beauty contest, which is the first one in more than 40 years, aims to boost tourism in the city and will take place on December 19, 2015. (Photo by Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP Photo)

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)

A participant runs on stairs during a vertical run event at China World Summit Wing hotel in Beijing, China, September 19, 2015. About 800 runners took part in the event on Saturday, which takes runners up 82 floors, covering a total of 2,041 steps to a height of 330 metres, the organizer said. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A BASE jumper is pictured against the skyline shrouded in a thick haze during the Kuala Lumpur Tower International Jump in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 02 October 2015. More than 100 BASE jumpers take part in this extreme sport event, which enters its 15th year. The haze hovering over Malaysia is caused by the ongoing plantation and forest fires in the nearby Indonesian provinces of Sumatra and Kalimantan. (Photo by Fazry Ismail/EPA)

A Muslim Shi'ite boy carries a toy gun while standing next to a picture of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as he takes part in a march organised by Hezbollah during a re-enactment of the battle of Kerbala during a mourning process, ahead of the day of Ashura, in Saksakieh village, southern Lebanon, October 18, 2015. Ashoura, the most important day in the Shi'ite calendar, commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, in the 7th century battle of Kerbala. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Reuters)

Chinese paramilitary guards monitoring passengers as they head to their train to travel to their hometowns for the “Spring Festival” or Lunar New Year at Nantong Railway Station in Jiangsu province, near Shanghai Travellers taking part in the world' s largest annual human migration must be home by January 27 to usher in the new year on January 28. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

Associated Press photographer Wong Maye-E tries to get her North Korean subjects to open up as much as is possible in an authoritarian country with no tolerance for dissent and great distrust of foreigners. She has taken dozens of portraits of North Koreans over the past three years, often after breaking the ice by taking photos with an instant camera and sharing them. Her question for everyone she photographs: What is your motto? Their answers reflect both their varied lives and the government that looms incessantly over all of them. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)

Young Japanese women dressed in colourful Kimonos take a photo of themselves as they gather for a ceremony marking the “Coming of Age Day” at the Toshimaen Amusement Park in Tokyo, Japan, 11 January 2016. The Coming of Age Day is the day to celebrate young people who turn 20 years old while the age of 20 is considered the beginning of adulthood and is the minimum legal age for voting, drinking and smoking in Japan. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/EPA)