202509 Wallpaper Collection

At first glance, it looks like a surreal art installation: dark trees frozen on a clay pan, backed by sand dunes and a glowing sky. But this scene from Deadvlei, in Namibia's Namib-Naukluft Park, is entirely natural. The name 'Deadvlei' means 'dead marsh'—a remnant of the wetland that once filled this basin.

If you're looking for a view that really rises to the occasion, head to the Calcite Springs Overlook in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, United States. This thermal-meets-canyon overlook offers front-row views of the Yellowstone River carving its way through a lava-forged canyon. Along the basalt cliffs, white mineral deposits that gave Calcite Springs its name are visible, formed by mineral-rich waters still steaming from underground. You might spot a bald eagle gliding overhead or bison lounging nearby. Yellowstone is more than just a park—it's a supervolcano with a visitor centre.

Long before GPS, natural landmarks like Scotts Bluff rose high above the prairie, signalling to travellers that they were on the right path heading west. Before Gering became a town in 1887—and decades before Nebraska achieved statehood in 1867—these sandstone and siltstone formations were already serving a purpose. They had long guided thousands along the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails. Scotts Bluff National Monument is named after Hiram Scott, a fur trader with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company who died under mysterious circumstances nearby in the 1820s.