The best photos of the natural world in 2023

Scorching lava spurts out of Iceland’s Litli Hrútur volcano on this fiery scene captured by photographer Kristinn Magnusson. The volcano started erupting on 10 July, the day this {photograph} was taken, which marked the third time in simply two years that lava has flowed from the Fagradalsfjall volcanic space in south-west Iceland.

This gorgeously preserved fossil reveals the second when a five-petalled Symplocos kowalewskii flower launched its pollen greater than 33.9 million years in the past. At roughly 28 millimetres in diameter, the specimen is the most important amber-encased flower ever discovered. It was first unearthed in 1872 and was lastly described intimately by a pair of scientists in January 2023 – greater than 150 years after its discovery.

A remarkably moist winter in California resulted on this spectacular “superbloom” of wildflowers in April. On the Carrizo Plain Nationwide Monument, Mario Tama snapped some walkers among the many golden blossoms, which embody fiddlenecks (Amsinckia) and California goldfields (Lasthenia californica). A slew of atmospheric river storms – skinny strips of concentrated moisture within the air – contributed to the state’s historic ranges of rainfall.

A rare, immense lenticular cloud looms over Villarrica, one of the vital lively volcanoes in Chile, on this shot. The lava within the crater illuminates the cloud from under, giving it a vibrant orange glow. Lenticular clouds are a stationary sort of cloud that usually appear like alien craft. Photographer Francisco Negroni uncovered his digital camera for 4 minutes to take the image.

In March, an enormous snowstorm swept by means of components of southern California. The barrage of blizzards dumped greater than 2.5 metres of snow in some areas and trapped tons of of individuals of their houses for weeks. On this shot by photographer David McNew, a resident of Working Springs known as Robert Hallmark makes an attempt to clear the thick snow surrounding his home.

Plumes of white and brown ash stream from Indonesia’s notorious Krakatoa volcano in a placing aerial view captured by the Sentinel-2 satellite tv for pc on 12 Could. Krakatoa began one other eruption cycle in September, marked by intensifying volcanic exercise.