National Geographic Magazine

Amazing discoveries and experiences await you in every issue of National Geographic magazine. The latest news in science, exploration, and culture will open your eyes to the world’s many wonders.

GETTING TO KNOW EARTH ANEW

WELCOME TO EARTH

PATTERN • SPIRALS. STRIPES. SYMMETRIES. THROUGHOUT NATURE, PATTERNS HELP ANIMALS BLEND IN OR STAND OUT.

A PHOTO ARK FULL OF PATTERNS

FINDING MUSIC IN VIBRATIONS OF SPIDERWEB STRANDS • DON’T JUST GIVE THESE PAGES A LOOK—GIVE THEM A LISTEN. USE YOUR PHONE’S CAMERA TO SCAN THE QR CODE WITH EACH ARTICLE TO HEAR THE SOUNDS IT DESCRIBES.

SNAKE USES ITS RATTLE SPEED TO FOOL FOES

WHAT’S A SONGBIRD WITHOUT ITS SONG? • A SPECIES ’ SURVIVAL MAYRE STONELDERS TEACHING YOUNG MALES MATING CALLS.

NOTING THE CALLS OF THE WILD

WHALE SONGS ACT AS AN ULTRASOUND OF SEAFLOOR • LONG REGARDED AS INTERFERENCE ON QUAKE RECORDINGS, CETACEAN CALLS COULD HELP MAP THE EARTH’S CRUST.

THE SOUNDS OF HUMANITY

A PHOTOGRAPHER’S LONG, AMAZING DAY WITH A VOLCANO • Stephen Wilkes documented an eruption in Iceland for 21 hours straight, making images of the fiery scene as day turned to night.

COLOR • VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS CREATE A CANVAS FOR LIFE IN EVERY HUE, FROM BTINY MICROBES TO TOWERING TREES.

SMELL • THIS TREE LAST BLOOMED ON A HAWAIIAN SLOPE MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO. NOW SCIENTISTS HAVE RESURRECTED ITS EXTINCT FRAGRANCE. TAKE A WHIFF!

SPEED • SINCE 2000 THE WORLD’S GLACIERS HAVE SHED MORE THAN 5.3 TRILLION METRIC TONS OF WATER, REMAKING LANDSCAPES AND RAISING SEA LEVELS.

SWARM • SERENGETI MIGRATION IS ONE OF EARTH’S GREAT SPECTACLES, VITAL TO LIFE IN A LAND OF AMAZING VISTAS AND VIBRANT CULTURES.

AN INTRICATE WEB OF LIFE

THE UNLIKELY KING • THE SERENGETI’S MOST IMPORTANT ANIMAL IS THE WILDEBEEST, AN AWKWARD-LOOKING ANTELOPE WHOSE AGE-OLD MIGRATION DRIVES A COMPLEX CIRCLE OF LIFE.

WAYS OF THE WILDEBEEST • Driven by a constant search for food, 1.3 million wildebeests chase the rains across the greater Serengeti ecosystem every year. The migration stretches from the fertile short-grass plains of the southeast to the woodlands and savanna of the north when rainfall gets scarce.

A POPULATION SURGE

NUMBERS LEVEL OFF

HUMAN IMPACTS ON THE HERDS

GUARDIANS OF THE LAND

THE SPIRITUAL VOICE OF THE FOREST • THE LOITA FOREST IS THE HIDDEN SERENGETI, A PRISTINE WILDERNESS SACRED TO THE MAASAI. THE FOREST’S OCTOGENARIAN PROTECTOR SEES A MYSTICAL LANDSCAPE INCREASINGLY THREATENED BY GREED.

SERENGETI’S HEIGHTS • The Loita region is a lesser known but integral part of the greater Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. It includes a lush forest a mile above sea level that overlooks the Great Rift Valley. The isolated forest supports Maasai traditional ceremonies and serves as a refuge for elephants and other animals—far from the wildebeest herds in the grassy plains below.

A FIGHT TO SURVIVE

THE FRESH EXPLORER • ARMED WITH HIS GRANDMOTHER’S GUIDANCE ABOUT FACING FEARS, ACTOR WILL SMITH TREKKED TO EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS

WHAT’S COMING DECEMBER