Stories in geology, geomorphology, ecology, and climate unfold in small moments and expansive vistas. Ethan Welty pairs breathtaking photographs of natural features with extended captions that tell the rest of the story.
Images from the U.S., Mexico, Morocco, and Nepal invite us to notice the details (a lizard's-eye view of dune creation in Morocco, ice worms dwarfed by an exploded balloon on a Washington glacier) and take in wider perspectives (sherbet-colored hills in Oregon; a climber balanced on a knife edge of the Northern Cascades; a vast canyon in Chihuahua, Mexico). Learn why hills have rounded shapes, how lava tubes form, and how patterns from tiny ridges of beach sand to dunes to large fluvial networks form.
Ethan Welty is a gifted photographer (www.weltyphotography.com) and an INSTAAR/Environmental Studies PhD student. Ethan holds the copyright to all images; used with permission.