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)

October winner. “A burst of the aurora borealis over Kirkjufell, taken in September 2016. This shot has been a holy grail for me and was finally captured after many trips”. MICK RYAN, JUDGE: Iceland is a hotspot for aurora photography and this composition of the symmetric, free-standing Kirkjufell and the trident waterfall is much-sought after. If you can time your visit when the aurora “kp” index is high and know the settings for nighttime aurora images, you may end up with a beautiful photograph like this. (Photo by DВ/The Guardian)

Muharrem Yilmaz, 78, takes his dog “Toprak” to a scooter and a swing ride everyday in Aydin, Turkiye on June 14, 2024. Yilmaz started taking his dog to long scooter rides after realising it likes to play with his grandkids' scooter. Then, he made a swing out of fruit boxes for the dog. Yilmaz adopted his dog Toprak two years ago when he found it in a restaurant garden as a lost puppy. (Photo by Ferdi Uzun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

In more “raccoons are getting more like us” news, a drunk raccoon was found in a liquor store in Virginia, US in the first decade of December 2025. The animal had got into the shop via some loose ceiling tiles, knocked bottles of spirits off the shelves, lapped up the contents and passed out in the toilets. Once it had sobered up, it was released back into the wild – no doubt with a crashing hangover. (Photo by AP Photo)

A resident looks at a wildfire in Vina del Mar, Chile, March 12, 2017. Forest fires are a regular feature of Chile's hot, arid summers, but a nearly decade-long drought combined with historically high temperatures have created tinder-like conditions in the nation's central regions. (Photo by Rodrigo Garrido/Reuters)

Richard Silver's photographs show us the world's biggest sights like Machu Picchu in Peru or Copacabana in Brazil. His photos, however, are not simply depictions of the landmarks but planned, artistic visual constructions that, with their playful combinations of sharpness and blur, create new worlds of experience. Photo: Coliseum, Rome. (Photo by Richard Silver)