Five Weeks in the Galápagos
On September 15, 1835, HMS Beagle sighted the Galápagos Islands, beginning the five-week visit that would help Charles Darwin rethink the origin of species.
Tagged: nature
Snow Falls in the Sahara Desert
On February 18, 1979, a freak storm dropped snow on the Sahara Desert in Algeria — the first snowfall in living memory in one of the hottest places on Earth.
Roosevelt's Gamble to Save the Grand Canyon
On January 11, 1908, Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the Grand Canyon a national monument, shielding more than 800,000 acres that Congress had refused to protect.
Columbus Sees 'Mermaids' — and Finds Manatees Instead
On January 9, 1493, Christopher Columbus recorded three 'mermaids' he had seen off Hispaniola the day before — manatees, and decidedly 'not half as beautiful as they are painted.'
The Night Niagara Falls Fell Silent (1848)
On March 29, 1848, an ice jam choked the Niagara River at its source, silencing the falls for 30 hours while astonished townsfolk walked the dry riverbed.