Punakaiki on South Island, New Zealand Aug 25, 2020

Punakaiki on South Island, New Zealand

This portion of New Zealand"s South Island coast features plenty of strange geology. The Pancake Rocks, so named due to the stacked, flat layers of sediment and stone, were once underwater. As the Tasman Sea receded, the unusual rocks became the Punakaiki region"s shore. Erosion created openings along the cliffs called "blowholes." When the tide comes crashing in, water sprays up through the openings, and if you"re standing too close, you"ll get soaked.

© Maurizio Rellini/Sime/eStock Photo

palette

Today in History

Aug 25, 2018Happy trails for the 21st century
Aug 25, 2019A desert arts pop-up, just popped up
Aug 25, 2021Happy anniversary to the National Park Service!
Aug 25, 2022National Park Service Founders Day
Aug 25, 2023National Park Service anniversary
Aug 25, 2024National Park Service Founders Day
Aug 25, 2025Yellowstone for the National Park Services birthday

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jul 22, 2025Badlands National Park in South Dakota
Jan 5, 2022National Bird Day
Mar 29, 2018It’s Opening Day for Major League Baseball
Jul 4, 2020Happy Independence Day!
Feb 14, 2023Valentines Day
Mar 6, 2020Hello, harbinger of spring
Dec 7, 2024National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
May 8, 2019’Chess on ice’
Oct 23, 2021Eurasian scops owl
Oct 3, 2020In the belly of Fat Bear Week
Mar 14, 2018Happy Pi Day!
Mar 1, 2022Women s History Month
May 25, 2022The Alhambra in Granada, Spain
May 6, 2020The (Inca) empire strikes back
Jan 30, 2026St. Michaels Mount in Marazion, Cornwall, England
Mar 14, 2021Perfect timing
Aug 21, 2022International Lighthouse Weekend
Dec 30, 2025Whooper swans, Kotoku Pond, Japan
Jan 5, 2020Digging the birds
Sep 6, 2020Summer winds down in the Hamptons
Mar 19, 2021Life carries on, rising from a ship s skeleton
May 11, 2023Henningsvær Stadion, Norway
Dec 12, 2020What are we looking at?
Dec 27, 2024Lake Bled, Slovenia
May 31, 2023World Otter Day
May 17, 2022Salt ponds of Maras, Peru
Jan 6, 2019A winter wonderland in Northeast China
Apr 19, 2022Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia
Feb 21, 2026Red fox, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Oct 14, 2023Ring of fire solar eclipse