TRAVEL: Yellowstone And Yosemite

Yellowstone, the first national park in the world, was established by the U.S. Congress in 1872 and has welcomed millions of visitors in the 139 years since. Last year, Yellowstone recorded its highest number of visitors ever, as some 3.6 million people passed through its gates. Its well-known geothermal features -- geysers, hot springs, and fumaroles -- owe their existence to the massive Yellowstone Caldera, a 45-mile-wide volcanic system beneath the park. Tourists are also drawn to Yellowstone's hundreds of species of wildlife, massive waterfalls, and incredible vistas. Collected below are a few recent views of Yellowstone National Park.

A rainbow appears at the base of the Yellowstone River Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, on June 21, 2011.(Reuters/Jim Urquhart)

A coyote hunts in a the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, on June 20, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A tree sits on a submerged island in Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park, on June 21, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

Tourists watch the "Old Faithful" geyser, which erupts on average every 90 minutes, in Yellowstone National Park, on June 1, 2011.(Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) #

A herd of elk travels through the Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, on June 21, 2011.(Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A blue-billed ruddy duck lands in Floating Island Lake in Yellowstone National Park, on June 24, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

Grizzly bear cubs play on the snow in the Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park, on June 24, 2011. Picture taken June 24, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

View of the "Morning Glory" hot spring with its unique colors caused by brown, orange and yellow algae-like bacteria that thrive in the cooling water, turning the vivid aqua-blue to a murkier greenish brown, in Yellowstone National Park, on June 2, 2011.(Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) #

The Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest in the United States and third largest in the world, in Yellowstone National Park, photographed on June 22, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

The view of the Absaroka Mountain Range of the north eastern stretch of park at sunrise in Yellowstone National Park, on June 22, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

Bison swim across the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park, on June 21, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A bison emerges after swimming across the Yellowstone River, on June 21, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

Visitors watch for wolves in the Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park, on June 20, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A Chipmunk stretches while begging for food in Yellowstone National Park, on June 2, 2011. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) #

Trees line the bank of the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park, on June 21, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A fly fisherman on the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, on June 21, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A wolf walks with a pair of elk legs in the Hayden Valley, after killing and eating the elk, in Yellowstone National Park, on June 20, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

The Grand Prismatic Spring, in Yellowstone National Park, photographed on June 22, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A closer view of Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring. Picture taken June 22, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A stream meanders through the Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park, on June 21, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A black bear swims in Rainy Lake, near Tower Falls, in Yellowstone National Park, on June 20, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

Steam rises from geysers and thermal features in the Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park, on June 23, 2011.(Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

Michael Smith, center, prepares dinner for son Parker Smith, left, and wife Stacy Smith, right, at their camp site near Norris in Yellowstone National Park, on June 23, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

Old Faithful Geyser erupts in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, on June 22, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A herd of bison grazes in the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, on June 20, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

The shadow of a pine tree on a eroding cliff face composed of columnar basalt, near Tower Falls, in Yellowstone National Park, on June 22, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A bull elk with velvet still on its antlers grazes near Madison in Yellowstone National Park, on June 19, 2011.(Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

View of the Lower Falls at the Yellowstone Grand Canyon in the Yellowstone National Park, on June 2, 2011.(Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) #

People stand at the brink of the 93-meter tall Yellowstone River Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park, on June 24, 2011.(Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A bison rubs scratches itself against a fire hydrant to help remove molting fur, outside the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel in Yellowstone National Park, on May 15, 2011. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images) #

Water flows on the ever changing travertine-depositing Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park, on June 22, 2011.(Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A calf in a herd of bison in the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, on June 22, 2011. On average over 3,000 bison live in the park. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A gray wolf and its nursing pups are pictured in Yellowstone National Park in this photograph obtained on May 4, 2011. Federal protections for some 1,200 gray wolves in Montana and Idaho officially ended on May 5, under unprecedented legislation passed by Congress last month removing them from the endangered species list. (Reuters/National Park Service) #

Silica from geysers (front) and the partially frozen Yellowstone Lake (back) at the West Thumb Geyser Basin in the Yellowstone National Park, on June 2, 2011. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) #

A black bear walks across a meadow near Rainy Lake in Yellowstone National Park, on June 20, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

Sunset Lake hot spring, lined with unique colors caused by multicolored algae-like bacteria called thermophiles that thrive in the cooling water, turning the vivid aqua-blues to a murkier greenish brown. Photographed in Yellowstone National Park, on June 1, 2011. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) #

Boiling mud and water in Yellowstone National Park, on June 2, 2011. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) #

A night exposure of Old Faithful Geyser erupting in Yellowstone National Park, on June 23, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A fox hunts near Tower Falls in Yellowstone National Park, on June 24, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

Boulders deposited long ago by glaciers dot the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, photographed on June 23, 2011.(Reuters/Jim Urquhart) #

A black bear runs across a road bridge spanning the Yellowstone River near Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, on June 24, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart)

Yosemite National Park

Closed on Its 123rd Birthday. California's Yosemite National Park, established on October 1, 1890, stands closed today, along with all other national parks and monuments in the U.S. More than a century ago, naturalist John Muir, a strong advocate for the recognition and protection of the region, successfully lobbied congress to set aside more than 700,000 acres as one of the nation's first national parks. These days (when the park is open), up to 4 million visitors per year make the trip to Yosemite. As we wait out the government shutdown, here is a virtual tour of Yosemite over the past 123 years.

Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, 2009. Original here. (CC BY John Lemieux)

Visitors pose on Glacier Point, 3,201 feet above the floor of Yosemite Valley, ca 1887. (Library of Congress) #

Yosemite Valley, California, ca 1865. (Carleton Watkins/Library of Congress) #

Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir on Glacier Point, Yosemite Valley, California, in 1903. (Library of Congress) #

Yosemite's Domes, ca. 1865 (Carleton Watkins/Library of Congress) #

Buffalo Soldiers from Company H, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1899. America's Buffalo Soldiers (African-American regiments of the U.S. Army formed in 1866) stationed eight troops of the 9th Cavalry Regiment and one company of the 24th Infantry Regiment in California to serve as some of the country's first National Park Rangers. (U.S. National Park Service) #

The Valley, Half Dome, Nevada Falls, Liberty Cap, ca. 1902. (Library of Congress) #

In 1944, convalescent sailors rest in Ward A at the Yosemite Naval Convalescent Hospital, located in Yosemite National Park, California, on September 17. The Ahwahnee Hotel was converted to a hospital during World War II.(AP Photo/U.S. National Park Service/Ansel Adams) #

Some of the patients of the Yosemite National Park Naval Convalescent Hospital try their hand at trout fishing in the Merced River which runs through Yosemite Valley, California, on August 12, 1943. Seated on bank, left, is Joseph P. Clements, PFC in the marines. At right is George Whisman, ship's cook 2nd class of Portland, Oregon. In left background the North Dome rises 7,531 feet. At right, Half Dome rises 8,852 feet. (AP Photo/Ernest King) #

Patients from the Yosemite Naval Convalescent Hospital gaze at a tree on Sentinel Dome at Yosemite National Park, on July 24, 1944. The sailors are (left to right) Rockwell Jackson, Eugene Arata, John Rohn and R.T. Berlin.(AP Photo/U.S. National Park Service/Ralph Anderson) #

Bicycles are a favorite means of getting to key locations on the Yosemite Valley Floor in Yosemite National Park, on July 8, 1952. This small group is shown at Mirror Lake, a favorite spot with visitors. (AP Photo/Ernest Bennett) #

Deluxe camping is done by trailer travelers who bring their rolling homes to Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park in California, on July 8, 1952. The picture shows Mr. and Mrs. Eric C. Peterson, of San Fernando, California. (AP Photo/Ernest K. Bennett) #

At Glacier Point, 3,254 feet above the floor of Yosemite Valley and 7,250 feet above sea level, numerous peaks of the main Sierra Nevada range can be seen, July 8, 1952. (AP Photo/Ernest K. Bennett) #

Susan Ford, daughter of President Gerald Ford, learns photography from Ansel Adams at his gallery near Yosemite National Park, in June of 1975. (AP Photo) #

Park superintendent Bob Binnewies points out highlights from Inspiration Point to Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Yosemite National Park, on March 5, 1983. (AP Photo/Walt Zeboski) #

Mountains and meadows in Yosemite National Park. (Carol M. Highsmith/Library of Congress) #

The setting sun hits Horsetail Fall at just the right angle to light it up as if it's on fire, in Yosemite Park, in February of 2008. This natural phenomena occurs for just two weeks in February and is reminiscent of an old firefall of burning embers that park employees pushed over Glacier Point to entertain guests until 1968.(AP Photo/Yosemite National Park Service, Bethany Gediman) #

Banner Peak in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, outside Yosemite National Park, on September 25, 2012. (AP Photo/John Pain) #

Sky & Telescope Senior Editor Roger Sinnott sets up his 5x7 view camera toward the Clark Mountain Range on September 15, 2005, at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. Astronomers pinned down the exact time and date that photographer Ansel Adams snapped his ethereal picture "Autumn Moon," and determined that the sun, moon and mountains were to align in the same positions at 7:03 p.m. as they did more than 55 years ago when Adams photographed the scene. "Autumn Moon: the High Sierra From Glacier Point" depicts a gauzy moon hanging in the darkening sky above the jagged peaks of the Clark Range. Sinnott believes the spot he placed his camera to be the same spot used by Adams. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) #

Two juvenile Great Gray Owls sit on a tree branch in Yosemite National Park, on July of 2012. The unique Great Gray Owls of Yosemite National Park, left to evolve after glacial ice separated them from their plentiful Canadian brethren 30 millennia ago, are both a mystery and concern to the scientists charged with protecting them. (AP Photo/National Park Service) #

Half Dome as viewed from Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park. (CC BY SA David Liff) #

Last portion of the ascent to the top of Half Dome, Yosemite National Park. (CC BY SA Daniel Schwen) #

Vernal Fall. (CC BY SA Flickr user 'Dave') #

A bobcat, photographed during a group photo outing to Yosemite National Park in February of 2011. Original here.(CC BY Mike Baird) #

Massive granite towering over Tenaya Lake, in 2011. Original here. (CC BY Frank Kovalchek) #

Jugging up the haul line on Leaning Tower, Yosemite. Original here. (CC BY Maria Ly) #

A deer runs through a parking lot in Yosemite Valley on August 28, 2013. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) #

Yosemite Valley, withe Half Dome at left, seen from Cloud's Rest. (CC BY SA) #

Flames from the Rim Fire consume trees on August 25, 2013 near Groveland, California. Although it is currently 92% contained, the Rim Fire continues to burn in some areas, after scorching more than 250,000 acres, including parts of backcountry Yosemite National Park. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) #

Waterfalls in Yosemite, photographed in May of 2010. Original here. (CC BY SA Georg Lester) #

Spring runoff is in full swing as seen from a distance of Bridalveil Falls in Yosemite National Park, on May 16, 2008.(AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian) #

Facing Vernal Falls. Original here. (CC BY Steve Jurvetson)

These beautiful images show the landscape of Arizona at its most stunning.

They were captured by photographer Rolf Maeder who fell in the love with the Sedona region after moving to America from Switzerland 13 years ago.

His work captures the awesome beauty of a landscape sculpted by the elements to reveal a geological wonder.

Rock on: Rolf captured Arizona's beauty with a set of stunning photographs

Cact of the day: The majesty of the region has been brilliantly portrayed

On cloud nine: Rolf describes Arizona as a world-class destination

Rolf's work recently become internationally lauded when his jaw-dropping pictures of a lightning storm over the Grand Canyon made publications worldwide. He now shares some of his favourite images of his cherished new home in Arizona. Rolf said: ‘I moved to Sedona from Switzerland thirteen years ago. As a former classically trained professional musician the enchantment of an untamed landscape was a natural fit to my sensibilities. I started taking pictures, and photography soon became more than a hobby it became a passion.

‘Sedona, Arizona, with its spectacular Red Rocks, is a world-class destination, and the opportunity to meet delightfully unguarded people from all walks of life is quite unique. Who can remain unmoved at the edge of the Grand Canyon?

Seductive Sedona: Rolf moved to the area from Switzerland 13 years ago

Dramatic: Storm clouds lurk beyond old cars left to rot in the desert

Snow wonder: The normally dusty region is transformed during colder weather

‘Photography trips are a doorway for me into the surprising world of nature, people and experiences. Every moment in a photography session is an opportunity. Each step up the side of a mountain, setting up the equipment, and falling in tune with nature in the early hours before dawn, reminding me to be aware.

‘Then the final part of the journey, and for me not the least part, is the task of processing the Raw images at my computer. I work mostly with single Raw files, firstly because digital Raw carries a lot of information, usually lost in jpeg, allowing me to recover dynamic range, and secondly, the simple joy of discovering what lies hidden within a shot.’