Merit Prize Winner: “A Well Earned Rest in the Sahara”. This photo of Moussa Macher, our Tuareg guide, was taken at the summit of Tin-Merzouga, the largest dune (or erg) in the Tadrat region of the Sahara desert in southern Algeria. Moussa rested while waiting for us to finish our 45-minute struggle to the top. It only took ten minutes of rolling, running, and jumping to get back down. The Tadrat is part of the Tassili N'Ajjer National Park World Heritage area, famous for its red sand and engravings and rock paintings of cattle, elephants, giraffes, and rhinos that lived there when the climate was milder. Photo location: Summit of Tin-Merzouga, Tadrat, Tassili N'Ajjer National Park, Algeria. (Photo and caption by Evan Cole/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A woman participates in an insect-eating competition at a scenic spot in Lijiang, Yunnan province, China June 25, 2017. Insects have been a part of Yunnan cuisine for centuries, long before their potential as sustainable sources of protein caught the eye of the Western world. Bee larvae, grasshoppers and cicadas are just some items found on menus in the region. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

A demonstrator holds up hands in front of police during a protest the day after Election Day in Portland, Oregon, U.S., November 4, 2020. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

A ballet dancer poses in a giant plastic bubble as she entertains Christmas shoppers in Melbourne on December 13, 2020. (Photo by William West/AFP Photo)

A person dressed in a chicken costume walks through Westminster on Good Friday in London, United Kingdom on April 2, 2021. (Photo by Hannah McKay/Reuters)

Moldova's Victor Ciobanu in action with Georgia's Dato Chkhartishvili during the men's 60kg semi final at the World Wrestling Olympic Games Qualifier in Sofia, Bulgaria on May 8, 2021. (Photo by Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)

A handout photo made available by Jose Juan Rodriguez Rocha, on 17 November 2021 shows lightning over Cumbre vieja Volcano as seen from El Paso, La Palma, Canary Islands Spain, 14 November 2021. The lightning over a volcano is sometimes seen due to the charge of electricity caused by the friction of the expelled particles within the column of ashes and pyroclastic rocks. (Photo by Jose Juan Rodríguez Rocha/EPA/EFE)

Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders perform before the game against the New England Patriots in Arlington, Texas on October 1, 2023. (Photo by Kevin Jairaj/USA Today Sports)