1309 Items Tagged

Ecosystems

A few well-preserved cave dwellings remain in Langenstein, carved with hammer and chisel in the mid-19th century.

How 19th-Century German Farmers Turned Caves Into Homes

Preserving an unusual slice of rural life.

Yamuna Matheswaran April 21, 2021

Lincoln, Nebraska

Robber's Cave

Underneath downtown Lincoln resides a network of caves that was also the city's first brewery.

A cream-colored accent lets visitors to Arizona's Coconino National Forest know they have reached the Red Rock Ranger Station.

The Unsung Ranger Behind the U.S. Forest Service's Iconic Signs

Career ranger Virgil "Bus" Carrell had no design training, but "really gave a damn," say experts, about his lasting legacy.

Greg Christensen April 12, 2021

These 23 Trees Have Seen Some Things

Mighty oaks, stalwart spruce, and lush ceiba have been silent witnesses to—and sometimes participants in—treaties, burials, and wild parties.

Gemma Tarlach April 6, 2021

The "Cave Hotel" of Yoshimi.

Gankutsu Hotel

Chiseled out of a sandstone cliff, one farmer's unfinished art project lies in ruins.

The Grand Canyon's hundreds of caves hold information about the long-gone past.

The Grand Canyon's Caves Are Full of Sloth Dung and Mummified Bats

The limestone cliffs harbor hundreds of passages that offer glimpses into the distant past.

Shaena Montanari March 9, 2021

The partial skull found in Marcel Loubens Cave is more than 5,000 years old

Solved: The Mystery of a Lonely Human Skull in an Italian Cave

Scientists found answers in a single piece of evidence.

Gemma Tarlach March 5, 2021

Cave of Saint Ignatius

Cave of Saint Ignatius

The grotto where Saint Ignatius of Loyola lived as a hermit for nearly a year.

Iriomote is famously unsullied—with the exception of its problematic poop.

Leave Only Footsteps and Take Your Poop When Visiting Japan's Lush Iriomote Island

"Tent toilets" are helping to remedy a stinky situation.

Alice Barnes-Brown March 2, 2021

Lagoa, Portugal

Benagil Caves

Perhaps the most spectacular grotto along the Algarve coastline.

Bunjil's Shelter

Black Range, Australia

Bunjil's Shelter

This ancient rock shelter features cave art and is one of the most culturally important sites in the country.

A panoramic view inside Kawgoon Cave.

Myanmar's Cave of Ten Thousand Buddhas Lives Up to Its Name

Centuries of devotion line the walls.

Winnie Lee January 28, 2021

Whitethorn, California

Enchanted Forest

A grove of "candelabra redwoods" deep in California's Lost Coast.

View from the 4th cell.

Provadia, Bulgaria

Rock Monastery of Shashkunite

Crossing a suspension bridge above a forest is the only way to reach this 12th-century monastery.

The legend of the sasabonsam became a way for Christian missionaries to exert control.

Sasabonsam Enforced the Rules of Renewal in West African Forests

At least until Christian missionaries made them more purely devilish figures.

Nicole Zakheim October 28, 2020

Grotte di Pilato

Isola di Ponza, Italy

Grotte di Pilato

These artificial caves crafted by ancient Romans were elaborate fish farms for moray eels.

"Here lies Paul, and that's all."

Kelliher, Minnesota

Paul Bunyan's Gravesite

A memorial to a larger-than-life legend, inside a county that also holds Bunyan's death certificate.

View of the caves.

Margate, England

Margate Caves

This forgotten chalk mine was reopened thanks to a massive effort from the local community.