Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering, Nebraska, United States 31 Aug 2025

Long before GPS, natural landmarks like Scotts Bluff in Nebraska, United States, rose high above the prairie, signaling 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 guiding 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.

© Hawk Buckman/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Aug 30, 2023International Whale Shark Day
How sweet to be a star, floating in the blue.
31 Aug 2024Rocks and sand in the Sahara, Algeria

More Desktop Wallpapers:

19 Nov 2025Hungarian Parliament Building, Budapest, Hungary
27 Jul 2024Cowes Week
13 Aug 2024Telašćica Nature Park, Dugi Otok, Croatia
23 Dec 2025Reindeer, Lapland, Finland
28 Nov 2025Val Brandet, Corteno Golgi, Brescia, Lombardy, Italy
6 Jul 2025Tour de France
International Nurses Day
9 Dec 2023Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona, USA
27 Dec 2023Kirkjufell, Iceland
24 Oct 2025Night view of the RMS Queen Mary, Long Beach, California, United States
11 Jun 2025Greater flamingos, Lüderitz, Namibia
8 Sep 2024Great North Run
7 May 2025Dunluce Castle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
15 Mar 2024Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California, USA
28 May 2024The Monastery of Roussanou, Greece
A Balearic islet
18 Apr 2024International Day for Monuments and Sites
9 Nov 2024Aït Benhaddou, Morocco
30 Dec 2024Mount Field National Park, Tasmania, Australia
10 Feb 2025Art installation of umbrellas, Borough Market, London, England
12 Sep 2025World Dolphin Day
2 Oct 2023World Architecture Day
12 Oct 2024World Migratory Bird Day
8 Jan 2026Tufted titmouse, Massachusetts, United States
In the running
2 Oct 2024Wind River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA
18 May 2024International Museum Day
Finding maths in nature
25 Oct 2023Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA
On the edge