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  • Carved stone jaguar heads were found at Chavin de Huantar, which was built around 900 BC as the religious and political center of the Chavín people. The advanced culture of Chavin lasted from 900-200 BC in the Andes Mountains, Peru, South America. The Chavín were located in the Mosna Valley where the Mosna and Huachecsa rivers merge. This area is 3150 meters above sea level and encompasses the quechua, jalca, and puna life zones. UNESCO honored Chavin Archaeological Site on the World Heritage List in 1985.
    03PER-22-21-Chavin-heads.jpg
  • Tourists explore a restored Inca stone corridor at Machu Picchu, a magnificent archeological site in the Cordillera Vilcabamba, Andes mountains, Peru, South America. Machu Picchu was built around 1450 AD as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (14381472). Spaniards passed in the river valley below but never discovered Machu Picchu during their conquest of the Incas 1532-1572. The outside world was unaware of the "Lost City of the Incas" until revealed by American historian Hiram Bingham in 1911. Machu Picchu perches at 2430 meters elevation (7970 feet) on a well defended ridge 450 meters (1480 ft) above a loop of the Urubamba/Vilcanota River ( Sacred Valley of the Incas). UNESCO honored the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu on the World Heritage List in 1983.
    03PER-16-24-Machu-Picchu-corridor.jpg
  • Standing within the Old Temple built 3,000 years ago at Chavin de Huantar archeological site, the mysterious Lanzon de Chavin obelisk is one of the most impressive monuments of early advanced Andean civilization. Chavin de Huantar is in the northern Andean highlands of Peru, South America. The knife-shaped Lanzon sacred stone sculpture, statue, or stela is artfully carved from white granite in a roughly lance-like shape 4.5 meters (15 feet) high. It depicts a human-feline hybrid with claws, writhing snakes for hair and eyebrows, fangs curved sideways in a smile (thus the nickname 'Smiling God'), and one arm raised while the other is lowered. The Lanzon de Chavin is variously interpreted as a principal deity of Chavin, as an oracle with the power to speak (through a hole in the roof of the chamber), or as a symbol of trade, fertility, dualism, or humankind's interaction with nature, or any combination of these. The major structures of Chavin de Huantar were built over many stages starting prior to 1200 BC and mostly finished by 750 BC. Religious ceremonial use ended by 500-400 BC, after which the Huaraz culture settled in. The sophisticated temple builders imported white granite and black limestone from distant quarries and demonstrated advanced skills in organization, drainage, acoustics, temperature control, metallurgy, and soldering. Chavin de Huantar is east of the Cordillera Blanca at 3180 meters elevation (10,430 ft) at the head of Conchucos Valley, a long day trip by car from Huaraz. The major pre-Inca culture of Chavín created the first widespread, recognizable artistic style in the Andes during their advanced civilization from 900 BC to 200 BC, and extended their influence to other receptive civilizations along the coast. The Chavín were based in the Mosna Valley where the Mosna and Huachecsa rivers merge, within the quechua, jalca, and puna life zones. UNESCO honored Chavin Archaeological Site on the World Heritage List in 1985.
    03PER-23-18-Lanzon-De-Chavin.jpg
  • Maya rattlesnakes were hewn from limestone at Chichen Itza, MEXICO. Published in 2002-2003 by design agency CODA Creative Inc.
    83YUC-05-13_Chichen-Itza-stone-rattl...jpg
  • A whitewashed church is built on Inca ruins at Chincheros (30 km from Cuzco), Peru, South America. Chincheros is capital of Chincheros province in the region Apurímac, on an Andean plain at an elevation of 3762 meters.
    03PER-04-30-Chinchero-church.jpg
  • The Wari people built this wall at Willkahuain archeological site between 600 to 1000 AD, near Huaraz, Peru, South America.
    00PER-24-Wari-wall.jpg
  • Self portrait under a balanced rock near Lee's Ferry, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona, USA. Published in PC Photo, June 2003, page 55 battery advertisement.
    90AZ-19-37-Balanced_Rock_Tom.jpg
  • Fantastic rock spires of Meteora rise above a blue house with red tile roof in Kastraki, near Kalambaka, in central Greece, Europe. Meteora (which means "suspended in the air") is a complex of six Eastern Orthodox Christian monasteries built by medieval monks on natural rock pillars near Kalambaka, in central Greece, Europe. The sandstone and conglomerate of Meteora were formed in the cone of a river delta estuary emerging into a sea about 60 million years ago, then later uplifted and eroded into pinnacles. The isolated monasteries of Meteora helped keep alive Greek Orthodox religious traditions and Hellenic culture during the turbulent Middle Ages and Ottoman Turk occupation of Greece (1453-1829). UNESCO honored Meteora as a World Heritage Site in 1988. Visit early in the morning and in the off season to avoid crowds. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    01GRE-41-35_Blue-house-Meteora-pinna...jpg
  • Grand Meteora Monastery (Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron) was built in the mid 1300s on a rock pinnacle in Greece, Europe. It was restored and embellished in 1483 and 1552, and is the largest monastery at Meteora. Meteora (which means "suspended in the air") is a complex of six Eastern Orthodox Christian monasteries built by medieval monks on natural rock pillars near Kalambaka, in central Greece, Europe. The sandstone and conglomerate of Meteora were formed in the cone of a river delta estuary emerging into a sea about 60 million years ago, then later uplifted and eroded into pinnacles. The isolated monasteries of Meteora helped keep alive Greek Orthodox religious traditions and Hellenic culture during the turbulent Middle Ages and Ottoman Turk occupation of Greece (1453-1829). UNESCO honored Meteora as a World Heritage Site in 1988. Visit early in the morning and in the off season to avoid crowds.
    01GRE-44-10_Grand-Meteora-Monastery.jpg
  • Blue and white patterns penetrate brown sedimentary rocks at Dawson Pass in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Since 1932, Canada and USA have shared Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site (1995) containing two Biosphere Reserves (1976). Rocks in the park are primarily sedimentary layers deposited in shallow seas over 1.6 billion to 800 million years ago. During the tectonic formation of the Rocky Mountains 170 million years ago, the Lewis Overthrust displaced these old rocks over newer Cretaceous age rocks.
    10GLA-2326.jpg
  • Blue dikes penetrate yellow orange sedimentary rocks at Dawson Pass in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Since 1932, Canada and USA have shared Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site (1995) containing two Biosphere Reserves (1976). Rocks in the park are primarily sedimentary layers deposited in shallow seas over 1.6 billion to 800 million years ago. During the tectonic formation of the Rocky Mountains 170 million years ago, the Lewis Overthrust displaced these old rocks over newer Cretaceous age rocks.
    10GLA-2322.jpg
  • Billion-year-old orange sedimentary rocks erode in complex patterns in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Rocks in the park are primarily sedimentary layers deposited in shallow seas over 1.6 billion to 800 million years ago. During the tectonic formation of the Rocky Mountains 170 million years ago, the Lewis Overthrust displaced these old rocks over newer Cretaceous age rocks. Since 1932, Canada and USA have shared Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site (1995) containing two Biosphere Reserves (1976).
    07GLA-0186.jpg
  • Billion-year-old rock breaks into blue, orange, and red patterns in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Rocks in the park are primarily sedimentary layers deposited in shallow seas over 1.6 billion to 800 million years ago. During the tectonic formation of the Rocky Mountains 170 million years ago, the Lewis Overthrust displaced these old rocks over newer Cretaceous age rocks. Since 1932, Canada and USA have shared Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site (1995) containing two Biosphere Reserves (1976).
    07GLA-0129.jpg
  • Billion-year-old sedimentary rock erodes into yellow and purple patterns in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Rocks in the park are primarily sedimentary layers deposited in shallow seas over 1.6 billion to 800 million years ago. During the tectonic formation of the Rocky Mountains 170 million years ago, the Lewis Overthrust displaced these old rocks over newer Cretaceous age rocks. Since 1932, Canada and USA have shared Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site (1995) containing two Biosphere Reserves (1976).
    07GLA-0102.jpg
  • Billion-year-old sedimentary rock erodes into yellow and purple patterns in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Rocks in the park are primarily sedimentary layers deposited in shallow seas over 1.6 billion to 800 million years ago. During the tectonic formation of the Rocky Mountains 170 million years ago, the Lewis Overthrust displaced these old rocks over newer Cretaceous age rocks. Since 1932, Canada and USA have shared Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site (1995) containing two Biosphere Reserves (1976).
    07GLA-0100.jpg
  • Billion-year-old rock breaks into a jagged pattern in Glacier National Park, Montana. This image is permanently displayed on the glass of two large lightboxes measuring 19.6 by 8.4 meters (64.3 ft wide x 27.5 ft high) and 16.3 by 3.5 meters (53.6 ft wide x 11.6 ft high), which wrap corners of the following skyscraper constructed by Axiom Builders in June 2019: SODO Residences, 620 10 Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta, CANADA (on the Corner of 5th St and 10 Ave SW). Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010. Since 1932, Canada and USA have shared Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site (1995) containing two Biosphere Reserves (1976). Rocks in the park are primarily sedimentary layers deposited in shallow seas over 1.6 billion to 800 million years ago. During the tectonic formation of the Rocky Mountains 170 million years ago, the Lewis Overthrust displaced these older sediments over newer Cretaceous age rocks.
    02GLA-04-38_Rock-edge-pattern.jpg
  • The Erechtheion (left) and Parthenon (right) are lit at night atop the Acropolis, in Athens, Greece, Europe. The Parthenon was first built from 447-438 BC, using Pentelic marble plus a wooden roof. The Parthenon is the largest Doric-column temple ever completed in Greece. It was designed as a treasury for tribute money moved from Delos Island and was dedicated to the worship of Athena. A huge, 12-meter tall statue of Athina Polias was placed in 432 BC. The Erechtheion, built entirely of marble in 421-406 BC, is the most sacred sanctuary on the Acropolis. The Acropolis of Athens and its monuments were honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
    01GRE-26-25_Acropolis-night.jpg
  • Billion-year-old seabed ripples are fossilized in a blue rock pattern on broken yellow and purple rocks above Logan Pass, in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010. Rocks in the park are primarily sedimentary layers deposited in shallow seas over 1.6 billion to 800 million years ago. During the tectonic formation of the Rocky Mountains 170 million years ago, the Lewis Overthrust displaced these old rocks over newer Cretaceous age rocks. Since 1932, Canada and USA have shared Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site (1995) containing two Biosphere Reserves (1976).
    07GLA-0182.jpg
  • Billion-year-old sedimentary rock erodes into yellow and blue patterns in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010. Rocks in the park are primarily sedimentary layers deposited in shallow seas over 1.6 billion to 800 million years ago. During the tectonic formation of the Rocky Mountains 170 million years ago, the Lewis Overthrust displaced these old rocks over newer Cretaceous age rocks. Since 1932, Canada and USA have shared Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site (1995) containing two Biosphere Reserves (1976).
    07GLA-0164.jpg
  • In Nepal, Buddhist prayers have been inscribed in the rocks of Sagarmatha National park, a World Heritage Site. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    07NEP-3344_Buddhist-prayers.jpg
  • At Machu Picchu, Peru, the kite-shaped sacred stone sitting in the small square around the Principal Temple might represent the Southern Cross constellation. This stone is a huaca (or waqa), or revered object, in Quechua language. Machu Picchu was built around 1450 AD as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (14381472). Spaniards passed in the river valley below but never discovered Machu Picchu during their conquest of the Incas 1532-1572. The outside world was unaware of the "Lost City of the Incas" until revealed by American historian Hiram Bingham in 1911. Machu Picchu perches at 2430 meters elevation (7970 feet) on a well defended ridge 450 meters (1480 ft) above a loop of the Urubamba/Vilcanota River (Sacred Valley of the Incas) in the Cordillera Vilcabamba, Andes mountains, Peru, South America. UNESCO honored the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu on the World Heritage List in 1983.
    03PER-16-05_Machu-Picchu_Southern-cr...jpg
  • An arched stone bridge, 300 years old, crosses a ravine near Kipi, Zagoria, Epirus/Epiros, Greece, Europe. Zagori (Greek: ) is a region and a municipality in the Pindus mountains in northwestern Greece. Zagori contains 45 villages collectively known as Zagoria (Zagorochoria or Zagorohoria).
    01GRE-37-25_arched-stone-bridge-Zago...jpg
  • An arched stone bridge, 300 years old, crosses a ravine near Kipi, Zagoria, Epirus/Epiros, Greece, Europe. Zagori (Greek: ) is a region and a municipality in the Pindus mountains in northwestern Greece. Zagori contains 45 villages collectively known as Zagoria (Zagorochoria or Zagorohoria).
    01GRE-37-19_arched-stone-bridge-Zago...jpg
  • A Minoan stone room with pier and door partitioning and chair are restored in the Knossos palace, at Heraklion (Iraklion), Crete, Greece, Europe. Knossos is a Minoan archeological site associated with the Labyrinth and Minotaur of Greek mythology. The Bronze Age palace of Knossos was first built around 1900 BC, destroyed by a large earthquake or foreign invaders in 1700 BC, rebuilt more grandly, then damaged several more times by earthquakes, by invasions, and in 1450 BC by the colossal volcanic eruption of Thera (modern Thira or Santorini). Invading Mycenaeans used Knossos as their capital as they ruled the island of Crete until 1375 BC. Archaeologist Arthur Evans excavated the Palace at Knossos from 1900-1905 and named the Minoan civilization of Crete after king Minos from Greek mythology. Homer's epic poems of the Iliad and Odyssey are the first Greek literature to mention Minos as a king of Knossos, Crete. Minos was son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years Minos made King Aegeus pick seven men and seven women to go to the Labyrinth to be eaten by the Minotaur, a creature half man and half bull. After his death, legendary Minos became a judge of the dead in Hades. The vast building complex at Knossos is popularly thought to be the site of the Labyrinth, which Greek mythology says was designed by architect Daedalus with such complexity that no one could ever find its exit. Published by Thames & Hudson Ltd in the book "Art and Archaeology of the Greek World" by Richard Neer 2012.
    01GRE-16-31mod_Minoan-Knossos-stone-...jpg
  • Stone Sheep (Ovis dalli stonei), Stone Mountain Provincial Park, Alaska Highway, British Columbia, Canada. Stone Sheep (Ovis dalli stonei) are a southern subspecies of Thinhorn sheep native to northwestern North America, slate brown in colour with some white patches on the rump and inside of the hind legs, and having curved yellowish brown horns. Stone's Sheep are primarily found in Northern British Columbia and can often be seen by travellers licking minerals along the side of the Alaska Highway in areas such as Summit Lake in Stone Mountain Provincial Park and Muncho Lake Provincial Park.
    1906AKH-6054.jpg
  • Stone Sheep (Ovis dalli stonei), Stone Mountain Provincial Park, Alaska Highway, British Columbia, Canada. Stone Sheep (Ovis dalli stonei) are a southern subspecies of Thinhorn sheep native to northwestern North America, slate brown in colour with some white patches on the rump and inside of the hind legs, and having curved yellowish brown horns. Stone's Sheep are primarily found in Northern British Columbia and can often be seen by travellers licking minerals along the side of the Alaska Highway in areas such as Summit Lake in Stone Mountain Provincial Park and Muncho Lake Provincial Park.
    1906AKH-6052.jpg
  • 1800s stone barns at Lake Louvie in Pennine/Valais Alps, Switzerland, Europe.   The dramatic Chamois Path (Sentier des Chamois) starts at La Chaux ski lift in Verbier and ends at Fionnay PostBus. Cross Col Termin (2648m/8688 ft) in Haut Val de Bagnes nature reserve and descend to Lake Louvie via 1800s stone barns to the north, then to Fionnay, for a cumulation of 640 m up and 1415 m down in 8.5 hours.
    16SWI-7352.jpg
  • 1800s stone barns at Lake Louvie in Pennine/Valais Alps, Switzerland, Europe.   The dramatic Chamois Path (Sentier des Chamois) starts at La Chaux ski lift in Verbier and ends at Fionnay PostBus. Cross Col Termin (2648m/8688 ft) in Haut Val de Bagnes nature reserve and descend to Lake Louvie via 1800s stone barns to the north, then to Fionnay, for a cumulation of 640 m up and 1415 m down in 8.5 hours.
    16SWI-7319.jpg
  • 1930s CCC stone water tower at Cathedral Gorge State Park, Panaca, Nevada, USA. The stone water tower was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s but is no longer in use. Million-year-old lake sediments have eroded into fantastic mud castles at Cathedral Gorge State Park.
    2103SW-A1530.jpg
  • 1930s CCC stone water tower at Cathedral Gorge State Park, Panaca, Nevada, USA. The stone water tower was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s but is no longer in use. Million-year-old lake sediments have eroded into fantastic mud castles at Cathedral Gorge State Park.
    2103SW-A1532.jpg
  • Stone Pools with palms along Indian Potrero Trail. Indian Canyons, Palm Springs, California, USA. We hiked the Palm Canyon Trail to Indian Potrero Trail to Stone Pools, and looped back via Victor Trail, in the Indian Canyons, just west of the city of Palm Springs. The Indian Canyons are the ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. California fan palms (Washingtonia filifera in the palm family Arecaceae) are native to the far southwestern United States and Baja California. Today's oasis environment was protected from a drying climate, restricting this cold-tolerant palm to widely separated relict groves. Multiple overlapping photos were stitched to make this panorama.
    2103SW-A1018-1027-Pano.jpg
  • Invasive nonnative African Fountain Grass (Cenchrus setaceus; previously known as Pennisetum setaceum) propagates via large red seed heads, at Stone Pools. We hiked the Palm Canyon Trail to Indian Potrero Trail to Stone Pools, and looped back via Victor Trail, in the Indian Canyons, Palm Springs, California, USA. The beautiful Palm Canyon Trail takes you through the world's largest California Fan Palm oasis. The Indian Canyons are the ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
    2103SW-A1016.jpg
  • Curvy Rock pattern at Stone Pools along Indian Potrero Trail. We hiked the Palm Canyon Trail to Indian Potrero Trail to Stone Pools, and looped back via Victor Trail, in the Indian Canyons, Palm Springs, California, USA. The beautiful Palm Canyon Trail takes you through the world's largest California Fan Palm oasis. The Indian Canyons are the ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
    2103SW-A1005.jpg
  • Stone Pools along Indian Potrero Trail. We hiked the Palm Canyon Trail to Indian Potrero Trail to Stone Pools, and looped back via Victor Trail, in the Indian Canyons, Palm Springs, California, USA. The beautiful Palm Canyon Trail takes you through the world's largest California Fan Palm oasis. The Indian Canyons are the ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
    2103SW-A1007.jpg
  • The 4000-year-old Burnmoor Stone Circles include five unique circles in Lake District National Park, Cumbria, England, United Kingdom, Europe. Behind these prehistoric monuments rises England's second highest peak, Scafell (964 meters or 3162 ft). England Coast to Coast hike with Wilderness Travel, day 2 of 14: from Eskdale in Cumbria county, we walked to Boot for lunch at a local pub and a visit to a working medieval corn mill. We then climbed via the Burnmoor Stone Circles to Burnmoor Tarn, then descended to the hamlet of Wasdale Head. Via minibus we returned to Irton Hall for the second night. [This image, commissioned by Wilderness Travel, is not available to any other agency providing group travel in the UK, but may otherwise be licensable from Tom Dempsey – please inquire at PhotoSeek.com.]
    17UK-0711_England.jpg
  • The 4000-year-old Burnmoor Stone Circles include five unique circles in Lake District National Park, Cumbria, England, United Kingdom, Europe. Behind these prehistoric monuments rises England's second highest peak, Scafell (964 meters or 3162 ft). England Coast to Coast hike with Wilderness Travel, day 2 of 14: from Eskdale in Cumbria county, we walked to Boot for lunch at a local pub and a visit to a working medieval corn mill. We then climbed via the Burnmoor Stone Circles to Burnmoor Tarn, then descended to the hamlet of Wasdale Head. Via minibus we returned to Irton Hall for the second night. [This image, commissioned by Wilderness Travel, is not available to any other agency providing group travel in the UK, but may otherwise be licensable from Tom Dempsey – please inquire at PhotoSeek.com.]
    17UK-0710_England.jpg
  • The 4000-year-old Burnmoor Stone Circles include five unique circles in Lake District National Park, Cumbria, England, United Kingdom, Europe. Behind these prehistoric monuments rises England's second highest peak, Scafell (964 meters or 3162 ft). England Coast to Coast hike with Wilderness Travel, day 2 of 14: from Eskdale in Cumbria county, we walked to Boot for lunch at a local pub and a visit to a working medieval corn mill. We then climbed via the Burnmoor Stone Circles to Burnmoor Tarn, then descended to the hamlet of Wasdale Head. Via minibus we returned to Irton Hall for the second night. [This image, commissioned by Wilderness Travel, is not available to any other agency providing group travel in the UK, but may otherwise be licensable from Tom Dempsey – please inquire at PhotoSeek.com.]
    17UK-0707_England.jpg
  • 1800s stone barns at Lake Louvie in Pennine/Valais Alps, Switzerland, Europe.   The dramatic Chamois Path (Sentier des Chamois) starts at La Chaux ski lift in Verbier and ends at Fionnay PostBus. Cross Col Termin (2648m/8688 ft) in Haut Val de Bagnes nature reserve and descend to Lake Louvie via 1800s stone barns to the north, then to Fionnay, for a cumulation of 640 m up and 1415 m down in 8.5 hours.
    16SWI-7347-48HDR.jpg
  • 1800s stone barns at Lake Louvie in Pennine/Valais Alps, Switzerland, Europe.   The dramatic Chamois Path (Sentier des Chamois) starts at La Chaux ski lift in Verbier and ends at Fionnay PostBus. Cross Col Termin (2648m/8688 ft) in Haut Val de Bagnes nature reserve and descend to Lake Louvie via 1800s stone barns to the north, then to Fionnay, for a cumulation of 640 m up and 1415 m down in 8.5 hours.
    16SWI-7325.jpg
  • 1800s stone barns at Lake Louvie in Pennine/Valais Alps, Switzerland, Europe.   The dramatic Chamois Path (Sentier des Chamois) starts at La Chaux ski lift in Verbier and ends at Fionnay PostBus. Cross Col Termin (2648m/8688 ft) in Haut Val de Bagnes nature reserve and descend to Lake Louvie via 1800s stone barns to the north, then to Fionnay, for a cumulation of 640 m up and 1415 m down in 8.5 hours.
    16SWI-7331-p1.jpg
  • 1800s stone barns at Lake Louvie in Pennine/Valais Alps, Switzerland, Europe.   The dramatic Chamois Path (Sentier des Chamois) starts at La Chaux ski lift in Verbier and ends at Fionnay PostBus. Cross Col Termin (2648m/8688 ft) in Haut Val de Bagnes nature reserve and descend to Lake Louvie via 1800s stone barns to the north, then to Fionnay, for a cumulation of 640 m up and 1415 m down in 8.5 hours.
    16SWI-7324.jpg
  • 1800s stone barns at Lake Louvie in Pennine/Valais Alps, Switzerland, Europe.   The dramatic Chamois Path (Sentier des Chamois) starts at La Chaux ski lift in Verbier and ends at Fionnay PostBus. Cross Col Termin (2648m/8688 ft) in Haut Val de Bagnes nature reserve and descend to Lake Louvie via 1800s stone barns to the north, then to Fionnay, for a cumulation of 640 m up and 1415 m down in 8.5 hours.
    16SWI-7320.jpg
  • Ancient Puebloan stone wall. Chetro Ketl was a massive stone building (Puebloan Great House) occupied from 950-1250s AD, now preserved at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico, USA. This park hosts the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Chaco Canyon is in remote northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington, USA. From 850 AD to 1250 AD, Chaco Canyon advanced then declined as a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 1800s. Climate change may have led to its abandonment, beginning with a 50-year drought starting in 1130.
    1403NM-0191Chetro-Ketl_Chaco-Culture...jpg
  • Puebloan stone window. Chetro Ketl was a massive stone building (Puebloan Great House) occupied from 950-1250s AD, now preserved at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico, USA. This park hosts the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Chaco Canyon is in remote northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington, USA. From 850 AD to 1250 AD, Chaco Canyon advanced then declined as a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 1800s. Climate change may have led to its abandonment, beginning with a 50-year drought starting in 1130.
    1403NM-0197_Chetro-Ketl_Chaco-Cultur...jpg
  • The four-sided Intihuatana (Hitching Post of the Sun) ritual stone sculpture was likely the most sacred place in Machu Picchu, a magnificent Inca archeological site in the Cordillera Vilcabamba, Andes mountains, Peru, South America. The name Intihuatana (coined perhaps by Hiram Bingham) is derived from the Quechua language: inti means "sun"; huata- is a Spanish spelling of wata-, the verb root "to tie or hitch (up)"; and the -na suffix derives nouns for tools or places. Scholars dispute various theoretical uses of Intihuatana such as a sacrificial altar, as a temple aligned with the surrounding mountains and their resident apus (gods), as a solar observatory (but unlikely as a sundial), or simply as an abstract art work. The mysterious Intihuatana is an important huaca (or waqa), a revered object, in Quechua language. The stone is at 13°9'48" South latitude. Machu Picchu was built around 1450 AD as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (14381472). Spaniards passed in the river valley below but never discovered Machu Picchu during their conquest of the Incas 1532-1572. The outside world was unaware of the "Lost City of the Incas" until revealed by American historian Hiram Bingham in 1911. Machu Picchu perches at 2430 meters elevation (7970 feet) on a well defended ridge 450 meters (1480 ft) above a loop of the Urubamba/Vilcanota River (Sacred Valley of the Incas). UNESCO honored the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu on the World Heritage List in 1983.
    03PER-16-10_Intihuatana_Machu-Picchu.jpg
  • See a carved stone copy of the Raimondi Stela outdoors at Chavin de Huantar archeological site, in the northern Andean highlands of Peru, South America. The 3,000-year-old stela (or stele) design is carved in the image of a god, possibly the main god worshiped in the New Temple of Chavín de Huántar, the "Staff Bearing God," which covers the bottom third of the stone. The upper two thirds is a head dress. The engraved design is one of the finest examples of contour rivalry, an artistic technique in which the image changes depending on point of view. From one point of view, see an image of a fearsome deity holding two staffs, but upside down see a smiling reptile and a stacked row of smiling, fanged faces. Italian archaeologist Antonio Raimondi found the stela in the hut of a peasant in Callejon de Conchucos in 1874. Go to the Museo Nacional de Arqueologia e Antropologia in Lima to see the original Raimondi Stela, made of highly polished granite seven feet high, dating from 1000 BC. The major pre-Inca culture of Chavín created the first widespread, recognizable artistic style in the Andes during their advanced civilization from 900 BC to 200 BC, and extended their influence to other receptive civilizations along the coast. Chavin de Huantar is east of the Cordillera Blanca at 3180 meters elevation (10,430 ft) at the head of Conchucos Valley, a long day trip by car from Huaraz. UNESCO honored Chavin Archaeological Site on the World Heritage List in 1985.
    03PER-22-32_Raimondi-Stela_Chavin.jpg
  • The "Bear's Head" (Medvedova glava) chock stone hangs wedged in verdant Zadlascica river canyon, in the Tolmin gorges (Tolminska korita), Triglav National Park, Julian Alps, Slovenia, Europe. Tolmin gorges (Tolminska korita) are among the longest and deepest gorges in Slovenia and are the lowest point (180 meters elevation) in Triglav National Park (TNP). Walk a trail to the confluence of two gorges (Tolminka and Zadlascica rivers), then along Zadlascica river canyon (locally called Skakalce, "the jumps") up to a chock stone called the "Bear's Head." Walk onwards to the scenic Devil's Bridge (Hudicev most, built 1907), which carries Tolmin-Cadrg road sixty meters above Tolminka River, then loop on foot back to the parking lot at the Triglavski narodni park (TNP) sign, near Zatolmin, Slovenia, Europe.
    11SLO-9131-35pan_Bears-Head_Tolmin-G...jpg
  • 1800s stone barns at Lake Louvie in Pennine/Valais Alps, Switzerland, Europe.   The dramatic Chamois Path (Sentier des Chamois) starts at La Chaux ski lift in Verbier and ends at Fionnay PostBus. Cross Col Termin (2648m/8688 ft) in Haut Val de Bagnes nature reserve and descend to Lake Louvie via 1800s stone barns to the north, then to Fionnay, for a cumulation of 640 m up and 1415 m down in 8.5 hours. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    16SWI-7331-35pan.jpg
  • The "Bear's Head" (Medvedova glava) chock stone hangs wedged in verdant Zadlascica river canyon, in the Tolmin gorges (Tolminska korita), Triglav National Park, Julian Alps, Slovenia, Europe. Tolmin gorges (Tolminska korita) are among the longest and deepest gorges in Slovenia and are the lowest point (180 meters elevation) in Triglav National Park (TNP). Walk a trail to the confluence of two gorges (Tolminka and Zadlascica rivers), then along Zadlascica river canyon (locally called Skakalce, "the jumps") up to a chock stone called the "Bear's Head." Walk onwards to the scenic Devil's Bridge (Hudicev most, built 1907), which carries Tolmin-Cadrg road sixty meters above Tolminka River, then loop on foot back to the parking lot at the Triglavski narodni park (TNP) sign, near Zatolmin, Slovenia, Europe.
    11SLO-9130.jpg
  • In the Everest Area of Nepal: Mani stones are stone plates, rocks and/or pebbles inscribed, usually with mantra or ashtamangala, as a form of prayer in Tibetan Buddhism. Out of respect, people should walk to the left or clockwise around Mani Walls. Mani stones are placed in mounds or cairns along roadsides and rivers as an offering to spirits of place (or genius loci).
    07NEP-3152.jpg
  • In Khumjung village (12,400 feet / 3780 meters), in Sagarmatha National Park, eastern Nepal: Mani stones are stone plates, rocks and/or pebbles inscribed, usually with mantra or shtamangala, as a form of prayer in Tibetan Buddhism. The repetition of the Tibetan phrase "Om Mani Padme Hum" invokes compassion. Om Mani Padme Hum means "Hail to the jewel in the lotus". Out of respect, people should walk to the left or clockwise around Mani Walls. Mani stones are placed in mounds or cairns along roadsides and rivers as an offering to spirits of place (or genius loci). Sagarmatha National Park was created in 1976 and honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
    07NEP-4830.jpg
  • In the Everest Area of Nepal: Mani stones are stone plates, rocks and/or pebbles inscribed, usually with mantra or ashtamangala, as a form of prayer in Tibetan Buddhism. Out of respect, people should walk to the left or clockwise around Mani Walls. Mani stones are placed in mounds or cairns along roadsides and rivers as an offering to spirits of place (or genius loci). The most common Tibetan prayer is “Om Mani Padme Hum”, repeated to invoke compassion. Om Mani Padme Hum means “Hail to the jewel in the lotus”.
    07NEP-3145.jpg
  • Sunset over the 1962 Cadillac "heel stone" of Carhenge. Carhenge replicates England's Stonehenge using vintage American automobiles, near Alliance, Nebraska, in the High Plains region, USA. After studying Stonehenge in England, years later, Jim Reinders recreated the physical size and placement of Stonehenge's standing stones in summer 1987, helped by 35 family members. Reinders said, "It took a lot of blood, sweat, and beers." Carhenge was built as a memorial to Reinders' father. 39 automobiles were arranged in the same proportions as Stonehenge with the circle measuring a slightly smaller 96 feet (29m) in diameter. Some autos are held upright in pits five feet deep, trunk end down, while other cars are placed to form the arches and welded in place. All are covered with gray spray paint. Reinders donated Carhenge to the Friends of Carhenge, who gifted it to the Citizens of Alliance in 2013. Additional sculptures have been erected in the Car Art Reserve, where Reinders' "Ford Seasons" is made of four Fords, inspired by Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Also, 29-year-old Canadian Geoff Sandhurst sculpted a spawning salmon.
    1909US1-1755.jpg
  • The mysterious Castlerigg Stone Circle dates from circa 3000 BC, in Lake District National Park, Keswick, England, United Kingdom, Europe. This Neolithic circle is about 97.5 ft (30 m) in diameter, with 38 stones remaining of formerly 42, varying in height from 3.3 to 7.5 ft. England Coast to Coast hike day 4 of 14. [This image, commissioned by Wilderness Travel, is not available to any other agency providing group travel in the UK, but may otherwise be licensable from Tom Dempsey – please inquire at PhotoSeek.com.] This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    17UK3-2088-92pan.jpg
  • A handsome stone bridge of the Blue Ridge Parkway (Milepost 45.6) crosses over US-60 (which goes west to Buena Vista & Lexington and east to Amherst) in Virginia, USA. Notice the white stalactites forming under the old arched stones. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, following crestlines and the Appalachian Trail. The Parkway is carried across streams, railway ravines and cross roads by 168 bridges and six viaducts. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a subset of the Appalachian Mountains.
    1510SE-11040_bridge_Blue-Ridge-Parkw...jpg
  • Stone spiral. Eagle Cap Wilderness, Wallowa–Whitman National Forest, Wallowa Mountains, Columbia Plateau, northeastern Oregon, USA. Hike 7.3 miles from Two Pan Trailhead (5600 ft) up East Lostine River to camp at popular Mirror Lake (7606 ft). Day hike to Glacier Lake via Glacier Pass (6 miles round trip, 1200 ft gain). Backpack out 8.7 miles via Carper Pass, Minam Lake and West Fork Lostine. From September 11-13, 2016 Carol and I walked 22 miles in 3 days.
    1609WAL-311.jpg
  • Support timbers decay in stone wall at Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico, USA. Pueblo Bonito is a monumental public building (Puebloan Great House) occupied from around 828 to 1126 AD, now preserved in Chaco Canyon. The huge D-shaped complex of Pueblo Bonito enclosed two plazas with dozens of ceremonial kivas, plus 600 rooms towering 4 and 5 stories above the valley floor. The functions of this building included ceremony, administration, trading, storage, hospitality, communications, astronomy, and burial, but few living quarters. Chaco Culture NHP hosts the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located in remote northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington. From 850 AD to 1250 AD, Chaco Canyon advanced then declined as a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 1800s. Climate change may have led to its abandonment, beginning with a 50-year drought starting in 1130.
    1403NM-0557_Pueblo-Bonito_Chaco-Cult...jpg
  • Stone wall pattern. Hungo Pavi is a Chacoan great house (monumental public building) occupied AD 1000-1250s and preserved in what is now Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Chaco Canyon hosts the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Chaco Canyon is in remote northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington, USA. From 850 AD to 1250 AD, Chaco Canyon advanced then declined as a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 1800s. Climate change may have led to its abandonment, beginning with a 50-year drought starting in 1130.
    1403NM-0538_Hungo-Pavi_Chaco-Culture...jpg
  • Filled stone doorway. Pueblo Bonito is a monumental public building (Puebloan Great House) occupied from around 828 to 1126 AD, now preserved at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico, USA. The huge D-shaped complex of Pueblo Bonito enclosed two plazas with dozens of ceremonial kivas, plus 600 rooms towering 4 and 5 stories above the valley floor. The functions of this building included ceremony, administration, trading, storage, hospitality, communications, astronomy, and burial, but few living quarters. Chaco Culture NHP hosts the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located in remote northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington. From 850 AD to 1250 AD, Chaco Canyon advanced then declined as a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 1800s. Climate change may have led to its abandonment, beginning with a 50-year drought starting in 1130.
    1403NM-0289_Pueblo-Bonito_Chaco-Cult...jpg
  • Tom showers in Stone Creek waterfall at Colorado River Mile 132.5 (measured downstream from Lees Ferry). Day 9 of 16 days rafting 226 miles down the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA.
    2103SW-B0821.jpg
  • Stone Creek waterfall at Colorado River Mile 132.5 (measured downstream from Lees Ferry). Day 9 of 16 days rafting 226 miles down the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA.
    2103SW-B0812.jpg
  • Stone cutting saw. Cassiar Mountain Jade Store, Jade City, British Columbia, Canada. The scenic Stewart–Cassiar Highway (Highway 37, aka Dease Lake Highway or Stikine Highway) is the northwesternmost highway in BC.
    1906AKH-0959.jpg
  • Stone steps & walls. Nijo Castle (Nijo-jo) was built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo Period (1603-1867). His grandson Iemitsu completed the castle's palace buildings 23 years later and further expanded the castle by adding a five-story castle keep. After the Tokugawa Shogunate fell in 1867, Nijo Castle was used as an imperial palace for a while before being donated to the city and opened to the public as a historic site. Its palace buildings are some of the best surviving examples of castle palace architecture of Japan's feudal era, and the castle was designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1994.
    1810JPN-6686.jpg
  • Stone pathway through forest on preserved feudal Nakasendo route from Tsumago to Magome, Japan. Tsumago preserves an Edo Period post town on the feudal Nakasendo route between Kyoto and Edo (present-day Tokyo). To enforce historic ambiance, phone lines and power cables are concealed, and cars are prohibited during daytime. Visitors are encouraged to stay in minshuku and ryokan lodging, and to hike a portion of the trail preserved between Tsumago and Magome villages, via pleasant rural and forest scenery. The Nakasendo, or "Central Mountain Route", was one of Five Routes (Gokaido, begun in 1601) which helped the Tokugawa shogunate to stabilize and rule Japan (1600-1868). Tsumago is in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
    1810JPN-5157.jpg
  • Stone pathway through forest on preserved feudal Nakasendo route from Tsumago to Magome, Japan. Tsumago preserves an Edo Period post town on the feudal Nakasendo route between Kyoto and Edo (present-day Tokyo). To enforce historic ambiance, phone lines and power cables are concealed, and cars are prohibited during daytime. Visitors are encouraged to stay in minshuku and ryokan lodging, and to hike a portion of the trail preserved between Tsumago and Magome villages, via pleasant rural and forest scenery. The Nakasendo, or "Central Mountain Route", was one of Five Routes (Gokaido, begun in 1601) which helped the Tokugawa shogunate to stabilize and rule Japan (1600-1868). Tsumago is in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
    1810JPN-5159.jpg
  • Stone pathway through forest on preserved feudal Nakasendo route from Tsumago to Magome, Japan. Tsumago preserves an Edo Period post town on the feudal Nakasendo route between Kyoto and Edo (present-day Tokyo). To enforce historic ambiance, phone lines and power cables are concealed, and cars are prohibited during daytime. Visitors are encouraged to stay in minshuku and ryokan lodging, and to hike a portion of the trail preserved between Tsumago and Magome villages, via pleasant rural and forest scenery. The Nakasendo, or "Central Mountain Route", was one of Five Routes (Gokaido, begun in 1601) which helped the Tokugawa shogunate to stabilize and rule Japan (1600-1868). Tsumago is in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1810JPN-5149-p1-Pano.jpg
  • Stone pathway through forest on preserved feudal Nakasendo route from Tsumago to Magome, Japan. Tsumago preserves an Edo Period post town on the feudal Nakasendo route between Kyoto and Edo (present-day Tokyo). To enforce historic ambiance, phone lines and power cables are concealed, and cars are prohibited during daytime. Visitors are encouraged to stay in minshuku and ryokan lodging, and to hike a portion of the trail preserved between Tsumago and Magome villages, via pleasant rural and forest scenery. The Nakasendo, or "Central Mountain Route", was one of Five Routes (Gokaido, begun in 1601) which helped the Tokugawa shogunate to stabilize and rule Japan (1600-1868). Tsumago is in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
    1810JPN-5146.jpg
  • Stone footbridge to Eilean Donan Castle at sunset, in Kintail National Scenic Area, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe. This picturesque island stronghold sits where three sea lochs meet at the village of Dornie in the western Highlands (Loch Duich, Loch Long, and Loch Alsh). Since restoration of the 1200s castle in the early 1900s, a footbridge connects the island to the mainland. The island is named after Donnán of Eigg, a Celtic saint martyred in 617. The castle was founded in the 1200s and became a stronghold of the Clan Mackenzie and their allies the Clan Macrae. In the early 1700s, the Mackenzies' involvement in the Jacobite rebellions led in 1719 to the castle's destruction by government ships. Lieutenant-Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap's 1920-32 reconstruction of the ruins made the present buildings. This image was stitched from several overlapping photos.
    17SC1-2658-71-Pano-Edit_Scotland.jpg
  • Vaulted stone ceiling. Visit spectacular Whitby Abbey which dates from 657-1538 AD, in the fishing port of Whitby, in North Yorkshire county, England, United Kingdom, Europe. This Christian monastery later became a Benedictine abbey, which was confiscated by the crown during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII in 1537-8. The abbey church overlooks the North Sea on East Cliff above Whitby. Whitby Abbey became famous in fiction by Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, as Dracula came ashore as a creature resembling a large dog who climbed the dramatic 199 steps leading to the ruins above the Esk River. England Coast to Coast hike day 13 of 14. [This image, commissioned by Wilderness Travel, is not available to any other agency providing group travel in the UK, but may otherwise be licensable from Tom Dempsey – please inquire at PhotoSeek.com.]
    17UK-6729_England.jpg
  • A hiker carries a symbolic stone across England Coast to Coast, to Robin Hood's Bay, on the North Sea, in North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire county, England, UK, Europe. On our England Coast to Coast hike day 13 of 14, we went from Grosmont to Robin Hood's Bay on foot and via van.  We walked a rural path through bracken, purple blooming heather moors, and farmland before descending cliffs to the beach and village of Robin Hood's Bay. We dipped our boots into the North Sea, having completed our journey via foot and car from the Irish Sea over two weeks. Lunch at Wainwrights Bar at the Bay Hotel. [This image, commissioned by Wilderness Travel, is not available to any other agency providing group travel in the UK, but may otherwise be licensable from Tom Dempsey – please inquire at PhotoSeek.com.]
    17UK-6467_England.jpg
  • Old stone bridge. We hiked the valley of Smardale Gill to cross its historic Viaduct and visit Smardale Gill National Nature Reserve, in Yorkshire Dales National Park, England, United Kingdom, Europe. England Coast to Coast hike day 7 of 14; overnight 2 of 2 in Brownber Hall Country House, Cumbria county. [This image, commissioned by Wilderness Travel, is not available to any other agency providing group travel in the UK, but may otherwise be licensable from Tom Dempsey – please inquire at PhotoSeek.com.]
    17UK-2782_England.jpg
  • Old stone bridge over Esk River. Eskdale Trail, in Lake District National Park. England Coast to Coast hike with Wilderness Travel, day 2 of 14: from Eskdale in Cumbria county, we walked to Boot for lunch at a local pub and a visit to a working medieval corn mill, in the United Kingdom, Europe. We then climbed to Burnmoor Tarn, then descended to the hamlet of Wasdale Head. Via minibus we returned to Irton Hall for the second night. [This image, commissioned by Wilderness Travel, is not available to any other agency providing group travel in the UK, but may otherwise be licensable from Tom Dempsey – please inquire at PhotoSeek.com.] This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    17UK-0487-89pan_England-p1-Pano.jpg
  • Old stone bridge over Esk River. Eskdale Trail, in Lake District National Park. England Coast to Coast hike with Wilderness Travel, day 2 of 14: from Eskdale in Cumbria county, we walked to Boot for lunch at a local pub and a visit to a working medieval corn mill, in the United Kingdom, Europe. We then climbed to Burnmoor Tarn, then descended to the hamlet of Wasdale Head. Via minibus we returned to Irton Hall for the second night. [This image, commissioned by Wilderness Travel, is not available to any other agency providing group travel in the UK, but may otherwise be licensable from Tom Dempsey – please inquire at PhotoSeek.com.]
    17UK-0483_England.jpg
  • Stalactites form under an arched stone bridge of the Blue Ridge Parkway (at Milepost 45.6) on the overpass for US-60 (which goes west to Buena Vista & Lexington, and east to Amherst) in Virginia, USA. The scenic 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, paralleling spines of the Blue Ridge Mountains (part of the Appalachians). The Parkway is carried across streams, railway ravines and crossroads by 168 bridges and six viaducts.
    1510SE-11037_bridge_Blue-Ridge-Parkw...jpg
  • Thached roof stone ranch house at Incahuain campground. Day 8 of 9 days trekking around the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Andes Mountains, one day's walk from LLamac, Peru, South America.
    14PER-4766_Incahuain-thatched-rock-h...jpg
  • Stone doorway. Pueblo Bonito is a monumental public building (Puebloan Great House) occupied from around 828 to 1126 AD, now preserved at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico, USA. The huge D-shaped complex of Pueblo Bonito enclosed two plazas with dozens of ceremonial kivas, plus 600 rooms towering 4 and 5 stories above the valley floor. The functions of this building included ceremony, administration, trading, storage, hospitality, communications, astronomy, and burial, but few living quarters. Chaco Culture NHP hosts the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located in remote northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington. From 850 AD to 1250 AD, Chaco Canyon advanced then declined as a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 1800s. Climate change may have led to its abandonment, beginning with a 50-year drought starting in 1130.
    1403NM-0636_Pueblo-Bonito_Chaco-Cult...jpg
  • Support timbers decay in stone wall at Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico, USA. Pueblo Bonito is a monumental public building (Puebloan Great House) occupied from around 828 to 1126 AD, now preserved in Chaco Canyon. The huge D-shaped complex of Pueblo Bonito enclosed two plazas with dozens of ceremonial kivas, plus 600 rooms towering 4 and 5 stories above the valley floor. The functions of this building included ceremony, administration, trading, storage, hospitality, communications, astronomy, and burial, but few living quarters. Chaco Culture NHP hosts the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located in remote northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington. From 850 AD to 1250 AD, Chaco Canyon advanced then declined as a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 1800s. Climate change may have led to its abandonment, beginning with a 50-year drought starting in 1130.
    1403NM-0554_Pueblo-Bonito_Chaco-Cult...jpg
  • Glass leaves decorate a plant-shaped art work by a stone bench on Murano, Italy. To reduce the threat of fire to Venice, all glassmakers were forced to the island of Murano in 1291 AD. Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, in northern Italy, Europe. Venetian glass is world-renowned as colorful, elaborate, and skillfully made. Once an independent comune, Murano is now a frazione of the comune of Venice. Venice and the Venetian Lagoon are honored on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
    13ITA-10034_Venice-Italy.jpg
  • An old stone is carved with a fanciful bird on a shield, on Torcello island, in the Venice Lagoon, Italy, Europe. Italy’s Veneto region is named for the ancient Veneti people from the 900s BC. More than 100 small islands spread across the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy, between the mouths of the Po and Piave Rivers. Barbarian invasions, such as Huns in 452 AD, drove mainland Veniti people to settle the islands. The population of Torcello peaked in the 900s AD with more people than the city of Venice. The Republic of Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, a staging area for the Crusades, and a major center of art and commerce (silk, grain and spice trade) from the 1200s to 1600s. The wealthy legacy of Venice stands today in a rich architecture combining Gothic, Byzantine, and Arab styles.
    13ITA-10189_Venice-Italy.jpg
  • An old stone is carved with dolphins on a shield, on Torcello island, in the Venice Lagoon, Italy, Europe. Italy’s Veneto region is named for the ancient Veneti people from the 900s BC. More than 100 small islands spread across the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy, between the mouths of the Po and Piave Rivers. Barbarian invasions, such as Huns in 452 AD, drove mainland Veniti people to settle the islands. The population of Torcello peaked in the 900s AD with more people than the city of Venice. The Republic of Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, a staging area for the Crusades, and a major center of art and commerce (silk, grain and spice trade) from the 1200s to 1600s. The wealthy legacy of Venice stands today in a rich architecture combining Gothic, Byzantine, and Arab styles.
    13ITA-10188_Venice-Italy.jpg
  • An old stone well is carved with an urn on Torcello island, in the Venice Lagoon, Italy, Europe. Because Venice was cut off from reliable sources of fresh water, Venetians built underground clay-lined cisterns to collect and filter rainwater. Many wellheads were decorated with carvings of saints, family crests, inscriptions in Carolingian, Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque era styles. An aqueduct from the mainland completed in the late 1800s made wells obsolete. The Church of Santa Fosca dates from the 1000s AD (as does the adjacent Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta) on Torcello island. Italy’s Veneto region is named for the ancient Veneti people from the 900s BC. More than 100 small islands spread across the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy, between the mouths of the Po and Piave Rivers. Barbarian invasions, such as Huns in 452 AD, drove mainland Veniti people to settle the islands. The population of Torcello peaked in the 900s AD with more people than the city of Venice. The Republic of Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, a staging area for the Crusades, and a major center of art and commerce (silk, grain and spice trade) from the 1200s to 1600s. The wealthy legacy of Venice stands today in a rich architecture combining Gothic, Byzantine, and Arab styles.
    13ITA-10186_Venice-Italy.jpg
  • The Incas finely crafted this stone wall with windows at Machu Picchu, a magnificent archeological site in the Cordillera Vilcabamba, Andes mountains, Peru, South America. Machu Picchu was built around 1450 AD as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (14381472). Spaniards passed in the river valley below but never discovered Machu Picchu during their conquest of the Incas 1532-1572. The outside world was unaware of the "Lost City of the Incas" until revealed by American historian Hiram Bingham in 1911. Machu Picchu perches at 2430 meters elevation (7970 feet) on a well defended ridge 450 meters (1480 ft) above a loop of the Urubamba/Vilcanota River ( Sacred Valley of the Incas). UNESCO honored the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu on the World Heritage List in 1983.
    00PER-15-30_Machu-Picchu.jpg
  • The Incas finely crafted this stone alcove in a wall at Machu Picchu, a magnificent archeological site in the Cordillera Vilcabamba, Andes mountains, Peru, South America. Machu Picchu was built around 1450 AD as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (14381472). Spaniards passed in the river valley below but never discovered Machu Picchu during their conquest of the Incas 1532-1572. The outside world was unaware of the "Lost City of the Incas" until revealed by American historian Hiram Bingham in 1911. Machu Picchu perches at 2430 meters elevation (7970 feet) on a well defended ridge 450 meters (1480 ft) above a loop of the Urubamba/Vilcanota River ( Sacred Valley of the Incas). UNESCO honored the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu on the World Heritage List in 1983.
    00PER-15-03_Inca-stonework-alcove.jpg
  • Around 1450 AD, the Incas diverted a spring through impressive stone work and waterfalls at the archaeological site of Tambomachay (El Baño del Inca), 8 km north of Cuzco, in Peru, South America. Tampumachay means "collective housing resting place" in Quechua language. The Incas perfected stonecraft to an amazing degree.
    00PER-03-14_Tambomachay.jpg
  • Visit Kalogeriko triple-arch stone bridge, 300 years old, near Kipi, in Zagoria, Epirus/Epiros, Greece, Europe. Zagori (Greek: ) is a region and a municipality in the Pindus mountains in northwestern Greece. Zagori contains 45 villages collectively known as Zagoria (Zagorochoria or Zagorohoria). Published in "Pindos: The National Park" (2010) by Alexander G. Tziolas, preface by Tom Dempsey et al, ISBN 978-960-98795-3-8.
    01GRE-37-30-Kalogeriko-triple-arch-b...jpg
  • A grave stone, farm building, and fence are preserved on historic Maria Island National Park, Tasmania, Australia.
    04AUS-30051_Cemetery-1825-Maria-Isla...jpg
  • Old weathered blue door in stone house at Clyde, South Island, New Zealand.
    07NZ_3218_door-weathered_Clyde.jpg
  • Stone beasts guard the Golden Temple (Hiranya Varna, or Suwarna Mahavihara), which is a Buddhist Monastery existing since 1409 or earlier, located just north of Patan's Durbar Square, in Nepal, Asia. Patan was probably founded by King Veer Deva in 299 AD from a much older settlement. Patan, officially called Lalitpur, the oldest city in the Kathmandu Valley, is separated from Kathmandu and Bhaktapur by rivers. Patan (population 190,000 in 2006) is the fourth largest city of Nepal, after Kathmandu, Biratnagar and Pokhara. The Newar people, the earliest known natives of the Kathmandu Valley, call Patan by the name "Yala"  (from King Yalamber) in their Nepal Bhasa language. UNESCO honored Patan's Durbar Square (Palace Square) as one of the seven monument zones of Kathmandu Valley on their World Heritage List in 1979. All sites are protected under Nepal's Monuments Preservation Act of 1956.
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  • This massive stone winged Garuda statue kneels in front of Trailokya Mohan Narayan Temple (left), which is dedicated to Vishnu or Narayan, in Durbar Square (Palace Square, or officially called Hanuman Dhoka), Kathmandu, Nepal.
    07NEP-1222.jpg
  • This mani stone and artful gate with prayer wheels marks the entrance/exit to Sagarmatha National Park, between Monjo (Manjo) and Jorsale, along the Dudh Khoshi (or Kosi) river, in eastern Nepal. Sagarmatha National Park was created in 1976 and honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
    07NEP-5103.jpg
  • Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal: This mani stone wall and chorten, or stupa, are located above the village of Namche Bazaar, about 4 kilometers from the snowy mountain of Kongde Ri (sometimes called Kwangde Ri; 20,320 feet elevation) in the Himalaya of eastern Nepal. Sagarmatha National Park was created in 1976 and honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
    07NEP-5056.jpg
  • This Tibetan Buddhist mani stone cairn is on the north side of Ama Dablam, a beautiful mountain in the Himalaya range of eastern Nepal, in the Khumbu District. This was photographed between Dingboche and Chhukhung, in the Imja Khola river valley. Ama Dablam was first climbed in 1961. The main peak is 22,349 feet (or 6,812 meters) tall, and the lower western peak is 18,251 feet (or 5,563 meters). Sagarmatha National Park was created in 1976 and honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
    07NEP-3624_Ama-Dablam_north-face.jpg
  • A loaded yak (yak-cow hybrid) passes a horse, on a stone road in Nepal
    07NEP-3183.jpg
  • A creek flows over eroded stone in Nepal
    07NEP-3179.jpg
  • A trader carries caged chickens up a stone road in the Annapurna Conservation Area of Nepal.
    07NEP-3097.jpg
  • Carol walks a stone path through rice terraces along the trail to Annapurna Sanctuary, near Kimche, in Nepal.
    07NEP-3054.jpg
  • Trekking past loaded donkeys on stone stairs near Chomrong (or Chhomrung) in the Annapurna Mountain Range of Nepal.
    07NEP-2744.jpg
  • Trekkers ascend steep stone steps up to Chomrong (alternative spellings Chhomrong, Chhomrung, Chhumro; 7250 feet elevation) in the Annapurna Conservation Area of Nepal.
    07NEP-2719.jpg
  • Three porters carry loads up stone stairs by marigold flowers and a bright cyan blue painted brick building, at Taglung (7152 feet / 2180 meters elevation) in the Annapurna Range of Nepal.
    07NEP-1806.jpg
  • Trekkers climb a steep stone stairway towards Chomrong (Chhomrong, Chhomrung, or Chhumro), in the Annapurna Range, in Nepal.
    07NEP-1804.jpg
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Portfolio of Tom Dempsey / PhotoSeek.com

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