Penitentes, or nieves penitentes (Spanish for “penitent-shaped snows”), are a snow formation found at high altitudes. They take the form of tall thin blades of hardened snow or ice, closely spaced with the blades oriented towards the general direction of the sun.

World War II veteran Jack W. Schlegel, 91 years-old, from Mount Tremper, New York, of the 508th Parachute Infantry Division of the 82nd Airborne who parachuted near Sainte-Mere-Eglise on June 6,1944, poses with American and French flags as he visits the American War cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, on the Normandy coast June 2, 2014. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

Sea lions wait on the deck of the boat before being released in front of Palomino island, in Callao, Peru September 12, 2015. Four young sea lions returned to the wild after being rescued by marine biologists and treated for various illnesses. The sea lions are survivors of various illnesses which they contracted off the coast of Peru caused by the elevated temperatures in the water because of the El Nino phenomenon, according to Carlos Yaipen, Director of Animal Science and Well-being Organization (ORCA). (Photo by Mariana Bazo/Reuters)

This undated photograph shows one of the 14 new species of so-called dancing frogs discovered by a team headed by University of Delhi professor Sathyabhama Das Biju in the jungle mountains of southern India. The study listing the new species brings the number of known Indian dancing frogs to 24 and attempts the first near-complete taxonomic sampling of the single-genus family found exclusively in southern India's lush mountain range called the Western Ghats, which stretches 1,600 kilometers (990 miles) from the west state of Maharashtra down to the country's southern tip. (Photo by Satyabhama Das Biju/AP Photo)

Women in kimonos look at pictures they took in front of paper lanterns during the annual Mitama Festival at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo July 13, 2014. Over 30,000 lanterns light up the precincts of the shrine, where more than 2.4 million war dead are enshrined, during the four-day festival. The festival goes on till July 16. (Photo by Yuya Shino/Reuters)

It’s time to start watching for Comet PANSTARRS, one of two comets to get excited about in 2013. Photo: This image provided by NASA shoaws the comet PANSTARRS as seen from Mount Dale, Western Australia on March 5, 2013. According to NASA on March 10, it will make its closest approach to the sun about 28 million miles (45 million kilometers) away. As it continues its nightly trek across the sky, the comet may get lost in the sun's glare but should return and be visible to the naked eye by March 12. (Photo by AP Photo/NASA)

“The Portuguese Water Dog is a breed of working dog as classified by the American Kennel Club. Portuguese Water Dogs are originally from the Portuguese region of the Algarve, from where the breed expanded to all around Portugal's coast, where they were taught to herd fish into fishermen's nets, to retrieve lost tackle or broken nets, and to act as couriers from ship to ship, or ship to shore. Portuguese Water Dogs rode in bobbing fishing trawlers as they worked their way from the warm Atlantic waters of Portugal to the frigid fishing waters off the coast of Iceland where the fleets caught cod to bring home. Portuguese Water Dogs were often taken with sailors during the Portuguese discoveries”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Kix, a Portuguese Water Dog , enjoys a walk around the muddy fields near his home before the grooming and preparation starts for this years Crufts on March 3, 2009 in Telford, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Airmen and their Japanese dates “do” the town together, visiting the local points of interest. Almost every community in Japan has it's famous shrines and parks. Tachikawa boasts beautiful environment. Girls are wearing western dress, May 1952. (Photo by National Archives and Records Administration)